Page 27 of Kiwi

Piper

Night has fallen, and the clubhouse is booming with conversation and laughter for the second day in a row. Yesterday was the grand opening of Kings Custom, and it went off without a hitch. Dozens of people from our community showed up to offer their support for New Orleans' latest business. The entire club is proud to have a chain bike shop, and I'm even more proud the club offered Tai the position to run the place. For as long as I can remember, Tai has spent a lot of his time rebuilding bikes, using the small shop located out back here at the clubhouse. Tai can take almost anything apart and put it back together by memory. It doesn't matter what it is, a motorcycle, a truck engine, a lawnmower. You name it; he can disassemble and put it back together, making it like new again. Hell, when I was ten, I was playing with my Easy Bake Oven at the clubhouse when it suddenly quit working. Tai witnessed my upset and wasted no time getting to work on fixing it for me. I remember sitting at the bar watching as he took it apart, located the problem, fixed it, and put it back together. It took him three hours. In the end, my tears had dried, and Tai was my hero.

"Hey, Bean," my dad calls out to me, snapping me out of my wandering thoughts. "I'm goin' on a beer and ice run, want to tag along with your old man?"

I smile. "Sure."

Following dad out to his truck, I jump into the passenger side while he climbs in behind the wheel.

"This turned out to be a wild weekend. With the Montana Chapter showing up and all."

"Hell, yeah. I'm fuckin' stoked. Jake and the boys have been promisin' to come down for over two years. None of us knew it would be now. And I know it means a lot to your uncle, and especially to Kiwi, they showed up to support the opening of Kings Custom."

"I'm happy for Kiwi. Running the garage will be perfect for him. And having a proper place to build his custom bikes and show them off to the public."

"I'm happy for him too. This business will be good for him and the club."

I nod. "The community coming out to support the club made it special too. I heard one guy say he was going to start bringing his business to the garage because the place he normally goes has been jerking him around."

"Oh, yeah?" dad asks.

"Yup. He was talking about Mr. Dennis's place."

"Makes sense," dad remarks. "Old man Dennis retired last year, and his nephew took over the shop. Service hasn't been the same since."

We spend the remainder of the ride to the store in comfortable silence. It's not until we are strolling through the beer aisle with me, pushing the cart that dad speaks again. "How's everything going down at the clinic?"

"It's great. I know I've told you before but being back has made me realize how much I miss home; how much I miss my family and the clinic. It's crazy that just a year and a half ago, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life, and now I have never been so sure."

Dad puts his arm around my shoulders. "Remember, when I told you it would come to you, that everything would eventually fall into place?"

I look up at him, "I remember. Always so wise," I chuckle.

"Always a smartass." Dad pokes me in the ribs.

Sighing, I begin to nibble on my bottom lip.

"Spit it out, Bean. You're chewin' on your lip and that means you got somethin' on your mind."

"I was just wondering what your thoughts would be on me moving back home and finishing school here?"

"Are you that homesick?"

"It's not only that. I'm also working on building a relationship with Madison. We're taking things slow but being back home would make our progression easier." I let out another sigh. "I'll admit I only went to Texas because running away seemed easier than staying. Not that I regret my year in Texas because I feel like I have grown a lot. Being away from home has helped me put things into perspective. I now know more than anything what I want."

"And what is it that you want?" Dad asks.

"I want to be with my family, I want to see my brother grow up, I want to continue working for Dr. Channing, and I want to keep building a relationship with my mom. I can't do any of those things in Texas."

"You know I will support any decision you make, Piper. As long as you're doing it for you and not because we all miss the hell out of ya." Dad squeezes my shoulders. "I'm fuckin' proud of ya, Bean. I have your back no matter what road you choose."

"Thanks, dad. That means a lot."

After loading up on beer, we hit the produce section because Payton called saying they needed more steaks to grill and some charcoal. I also spotted one of those small kiddie pools and suggested dad get one for Jaxson along with some cute little Spider-Man arm floats for him and some pink princess ones for Uncle Abel and Luna's little girl Aria. I have agreed to help look after the little nuggets since Payton and Josie will be busy in the kitchen cooking.

"I appreciate you offerin' to help with the kids today, Piper."

"No problem, dad. Spending time with my brother and cousin is no hardship. I adore them and want to soak up as much time with them as I can. Plus, you guys haven't seen your brothers in a while. Keeping the kids entertained is the least I can do."