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Gigi tried to balk about Delia taking on that expense.
“Listen baby girl, I’ve given them a credit card number we keep for club emergencies. We’ll worry about it later.”
“But that’s not…”
“Don’t worry about it. Get through your grieving and we’ll talk about it down the road. Now, I’ve just told ‘em to do the basics, which’ll mean the ashes come back to us in a plain little box. So, you can decide if you wanna get a fancy urn later on when you’re ready for that, or just spread those ashes somewhere special.”
“I can’t let you-” Gigi started to protest.
Delia waved dismissively, talking over the protests.
“Girl… how many loads of dishes and laundry have you done around here?”
“Huh?”
“A lot. And vacuuming, and serving slop and drinks to the brothers. Helpin’ me put away food and supplies. Cleaning toilets. Makin’ beds for last minute guests. Mopping up puke while the prospects watch you do it when that’s their job. Goin’ out to buy shit when we run low. You’ve been someone I’ve leaned on a bunch. Over the past few years, almost any time my hands are full or there’s a mess around here you’ve been one of the first and sometimes the only girl to run to my aid. How many times I phone you to ask you for help and you come runnin’?”
Gigi pulled her lips tight. I did the opposite. Smiling at her. Pride swelled up in me.
“Huh?” Delia put a hand to her waist and waited.
“But…” Gigi finally started.
Delia didn’t let her finish. “Lean on us here. That’s what the club is about. Leaning on one another. Laughing together. Takin’ care of one another when there’s tears instead of giggles.”
“But Delia, that’s-”
She kept going. “It’ll probably be covered before the bill even comes in. We’ll have a fundraiser or something, maybe. Pass the helmet or do up a big cookout and auction. We’ll talk about it in a couple weeks. Plan a memorial or something. Even if it’s small, it’s necessary for you to move on. You’ll need closure. But anyway, you two get goin’ and hit the road.”
“Um…” My girl’s mouth twisted with uncertainty.
“Go on,” Delia smacked the hood of my truck. “Get outta here. Go have some campfires and relax. That cabin is fantastic. Get there and enjoy yourselves.”
I kissed Gigi’s temple. “Sounds like a plan to me. Right?”
Reluctantly, she gave a quick nod, and they exchanged hugs before I got a hug from Delia and the suggestion about the shirt. She’d obviously already heard there was discourse in the breakfast area this morning.
***
“You good?” I asked a while later when I was tired of the silence in the truck. I knew she was stewing, so it wasn’t peaceful silence.
We had three Harleys tailing, providing an escort until we were out of the city limits. I knew it was probably still feeling new to her to be getting this sort of help. Protected by the club. By me. I already told her we were under strict curfews and would be traveling in groups for the most part. Once we knew we had no tail, the brothers following would go their way and we’d be on our own the rest of the way to the cabin.
“I’m not comfortable with what Delia wants to do,” she leveled with me.
“It needs doing, though.”
She sighed.
“Your sister needs lookin’ after, right?” I pushed.
She winced. “I hate to think of her like… that.”
“I’m sure you do. But baby, she needs seeing to, right?”
“Yeah.” Her chin quivered. “Nearly every minute since it happened other than last night, I thought about her bein’ in a metal drawer. Cold. Alone. Keep getting flashbacks of that picture, what she looked like.”
I didn’t let my thoughts linger on the fact that she didn’t think on it last night. Felt good that being with me, becoming what I made it clear we were becoming, helped her through the night.
“So, if someone gives a shit and wants to help, let ‘em help. You don’t have the money to pay for those final expenses, you said.”
“I definitely don’t.”
“So, it’s solved. Don’t worry about it for now, just let your mind rest with the fact she’s been seen to.”
“But…”
She let that hang a minute, so I finally spoke.
“Baby, I’ve only been in this club not even a year and I’ve seen it time and again, that’s what we do. We pitch in when one of our own needs help. When Speedy’s place flooded, we all pitched in and rebuilt his basement. When Mick’s old lady had to have her leg amputated, we all jumped in and built that ramp up to their place from the driveway and did a fundraiser to upgrade their vehicle to a van that’d work for their needs. We pass the helmet when we need to, and we put extra in a donation jar when it’s warranted.”
