I jump from foot-to-foot like boxers do, and I give it my best to intimidate this bitch. Her eyes are so round it’s a wonder they don’t fall out of her eye sockets.
I do my pretend shuffle like the Greatest Boxer of all time, you know, Ali…I do the shuffle with as much enthusiasm as I can muster and this seems to do the trick as she turns and bolts. She pushes past Winter and Jo while the crowd behind parts like the Red Sea in the Bible stories.
Winter walks over to me, wraps her arm around my shoulder and grins so broadly I can see all her teeth. “You are the shit, babe.” That is all it takes for the ol’ ladies to wrap me in a huddle and laugh loudly.
Chaos pushes through and wraps me in his arms, telling the women to go find their men. “You are a tiger when you need to be.” Now, he laughs and kisses my forehead before hugging the shit out of me. The hug is so strong I think he’s going to break my ribs.
“Let go of me, oaf,” I say as I push him slightly away from me. Then I give him my fiercest look. “You ever show your meat and two veg to anyone ever again and you’ll be more than sorry. You’ll be speaking soprano.”
Laughing at me, Chaos kisses me with no embarrassment that everyone may be watching. When applause starts and I look around, I’m as red as a tomato, but oh, no, not Chaos…he has no shame.
****
Six Weeks Later
Bitty and I are behind a banquet table in the mall. Thankfully, the mall owner is tight with the MC. He has allowed us to fundraise for abused victims and even found us a charity that works with victims who are recovering from physical assault.
“That beard trimming thing is going well, Victoria. It looks like the girlfriends and wives are enjoying it. The men, not so much,” Bitty laughs as she points to the area we located outside the hairdressing salon who were kind enough to partake in the fundraising.
“What about the raffle for the weekend at the Hotel in Brigstone? Do you think that’s doing well?” I ask Bitty. I have paid for a weekend as a prize because I think it is something a couple would enjoy. Sometimes in a relationship, a step away is needed, but cannot be afforded. I hope this will be won by someone who really needs it, and for the right reasons.
Bitty spins around fast and has a look on her face that tells me she is guilty of something. “Oh, I’m sorry, Victoria. I forgot to tell you that the manager of the hotel came over while you were in the restroom. He said the hotel would foot the bill for the weekend. They’ll provide all the meals, drinks and even a sauna.”
“Oh, that is awesome,” I reply, and I have a huge smile on my face. “I’m going to check how it’s doing.”
Standing next to Eden and Paisley, who are manning the raffle table, I can’t hold back the huge smile when Paisley tells me how well the raffle is doing. There are a lot of folded tickets in the bucket on the table when I peek inside.
“When it’s time to dip into the bucket we need to make sure it’s well shaken up, and how about we just grab a bystander to do the picking? That way it cannot be said we fixed it.” I look at Paisley and Eden, and they are nodding in agreement.
“Good idea…and done here so openly that it cannot be said it was done behind a closed door where people couldn’t see it happen. How about we set a time for the picking?” Eden suggests.
Paisley quickly jumps in. “Yeah, we can get home at a decent hour. I don’t want to be here until eight this evening.”
“Okay, let’s put a notice out for five and then we can get packed up and home to eat at a decent hour. I’ve got to get Corey home to eat and bed.” I start to walk away but stop when I see the little shit running around the mall laughing his butt off. “Corey!” I shout grabbing his attention. I wave at him to come to me, which he does along with Mia’s twins. “Stop running or you’ll knock into someone and hurt them. You can play without running, okay?”
“Okay,” Corey quickly responds, and the twins nod before they run off again. Yeah, run off again! I sigh because honestly, I’m not going to chase them around the mall.
Back at the table I’m happy to see Bitty is talking and smiling along with Amelia and Sybil. It looks like they have gotten themselves back to being friends. As I reach them I grin when Amelia asks, “Have you seen the twins? They are supposed to be at the face painting table, but they disappeared.”
“They are running around the mall.”
I don’t add more because Amelia sighs and replies. “I told them to stay where they were, and no running. Mia is going to get pissed off with me again. I may stop watching them boys. They are too fast for me now. I reckon Mia needs to get younger childminders.”
“Maybe Dallas’ mom would have them? They could run around the ranch and tire themselves out?” I suggest, and I can see the three of them contemplating my suggestion, but you know what? I’m staying out of it because kids can drop you in hot water without even trying.
