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Some of the brothers nodded.
“Y’all remember Crash from the San Jose Chapter? He and Cole were out here for Bulldog’s funeral.”
Heads around the table nodded. Shades sat up straighter at the mention of Crash. His mind immediately going to Skylar.
“They were his family. His grandmother…”
Shades looked over when Butcher hesitated.
“And his sister.”
Oh my God, Shades thought, his eyes dropping down to the table. Not Letty. She’d been so full of life. Always laughing and cutting up with his brothers. And then his mind connected the dots.
Skylar. My God, she’d lost her best friend. This would rip her heart out. And then he couldn’t stop the selfish thought from consuming his brain and pushing all the others out. She’ll be returning. She’ll come home for the funeral. He’ll see her again.
“There’ll be a group flying in from his chapter tomorrow,” Butcher continued. He looked over at Boot. “They’ll need someone to pick them up at the airport.”
“I’m on it,” Boot replied.
Butcher nodded and looked around the table. “Whatever they need, I want everyone to accommodate them. We’re gonna make this as easy as possible on them.”
The guys all nodded.
“Of course,” Slick replied. “Damn. Little Letty. I can’t believe it.”
“Yeah. She sure was a sweetheart. A lot of us are going to miss her coming around.”
“We putting ‘em up at the clubhouse?” Heavy asked.
Butcher shook his head. “They’ve got motel rooms lined up. But we’ll be supplying the guys with loaner bikes while they’re out here, and they’re gonna need a car as well.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Slick offered.
Butcher looked around the table. “It’s not mandatory, but I’d like a good show of brothers from this chapter at the funeral.”
“Yeah. Sure. Of course,” Boot replied, speaking for the group. “I’m sure we’ll all be there. Right, guys?”
They all nodded in agreement.
Three nights later…
Shades stood at the back of the viewing room in the funeral home where Crash’s grandmother and sister were laid out. On one side of the room was his grandmother’s casket. A spray of white roses lay across it. Cole and his wife, Angel stood quietly paying their respects to her. On the far side was Letty’s casket, hers covered in pink roses. In front of her casket stood a man he’d heard referred to as Ace. Someone had told Shades that Ace was Letty’s man. Next to him stood Crash, his head bowed in grief. And next to Crash stood Skylar.
As Shades watched, her hand reached out finding Crash’s. Shades saw Crash squeeze Skylar’s hand in return, and then his head turned toward her. Skylar’s shoulders began to shake, and Shades knew she must be crying. Cras
h’s arm came up, his hand moving to her hair and pushing her head down to his shoulder. She rested both palms on the lapels of Crash’s suit jacket and gave in to her tears. Crash enfolded her in his arms, his head coming down to rest on the top of hers.
Something inside Shades twisted. He wanted more than anything to be the one to comfort her. To be the one she turned to in her hour of grief. To be the one to get her through this. But he couldn’t. She’d moved on from him, and he couldn’t blame her. He’d fucked things up so badly with her, he wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to forgive him. And now another man held her, and there wasn’t jack-shit he could do about it.
****
The procession to the cemetery the next day was a long one. Shades was about seven bikes back. Crash followed immediately behind the two hearses, riding one of the bikes that had been provided. Behind him was his chapter brother, Cole and his Chapter President, Mack, also on bikes. Then came Butcher and all their guys. Behind them was a car carrying Angel and Ace and his immediate family. And behind that was a long line of cars containing neighbors, church members, and friends.
The two women were buried beside the three grave stones already standing in a row. Crash’s grandfather, his mother and his brother, Shades learned. And now they would lay his grandmother and sister with them. The graveside was crowded with people. Although there weren’t really any other family there other than a couple distant cousins, there were a lot of people that loved Crash’s grandmother and sister. That was evident by the crowd of people standing around the graveside. Half the old lady’s neighborhood and most of her congregation had turned out, along with many of Letty’s and Ace’s friends from the artist community.
Scanning the faces, Shades searched for Skylar.
Crash sat in the front row of metal folding chairs with Cole, Angel and Mack on one side, and Ace on the other side, whose family took up the second row. Crash’s leg was jumping a mile a minute, his knee bouncing up and down. Shades knew this had to be one of the worst days in the man’s life. He couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in.
