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“Ladies,” Rex says, plopping cans of soda in front of Kiki and Kitty.
Meanwhile, Zeke slides into his seat on the bench next to me, still keeping his head low.
“Here,” He says quietly, pushing a red plastic cup towards me. “It’s a rum and soda, but light on the rum,” Zeke winks.
“Thanks,” I reply, gingerly taking a sip.It’s drinkable. I’ll have to give him that.I consider trying out a beer next time.
“Where’s my son?”
I turn around to see Lulu scanning the crowd, her hand shielding her eyes from the sunshine.
“Fuck,” Zeke curses, folding his arms on the picnic table to bury his face in.
“There, he is! Zeke!” Lulu makes her way towards our picnic table, wobbling a bit on her red wedge heels.
“That’s Zeke’s mom, Lulu,” Kiki explains in a whisper, as Zeke’s face is still covered.
Rex winks and slides into the space next to me, but he’s turned in the opposite direction.
“Hello, Lulu,” Rex says, grinning.
“Hey there, Rex, sweetie,” Lulu replies, wiggling her fingers in a wave. “How have you been?” As soon as she closes the distance between herself and her son, Lulu ruffles Zeke’s blonde hair.
“Oh, Mom!” Zeke lifts his head, groaning. He quickly stands up to envelop his mother in a bear hug.
“Oh, I’ve missed you,” Lulu murmurs as Zeke lifts her until her feet dangle in the air.
“I missed you, too,” Zeke replies, gently lowering his mother to the ground.
I’m having trouble comprehending this situation when Lulu turns towards me. These terrifying bikers havecookouts?With theirmothers?This is not adding up to the horror stories that I’ve been told.
“So who are you, sweetheart?” Lulu drawls, slightly narrowing her blue eyes. They’re the exact same shade as Zeke’s.
“This is Goldie, Mom,” Zeke replies quickly. He’s blushing, and it makes him even more handsome. “And this is why I hid when I saw you coming over here.”
Lulu reaches down and takes my right hand in both of hers. She leans towards me and her lightly lined but tanned face breaks into a beaming smile.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Goldie,” Lulu says warmly, shaking my hand. She seems sincere.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I say, smiling. Lulu is a beautiful and intimidating older biker chick, but none of that is enough to outweigh her maternal qualities. I find myself liking her immediately.
“Oh, girls! I almost didn’t see y’all over there!” Lulu rushes over to the other side of the table to wrap her arms around Kiki and Kitty.
“Come and get it!” A deep, raspy voice bellows.
When Rex takes me by the elbow to help me up from the bench seat, I realize the call was a crude invitation to fill our plates. We begin to form a line, and I see Gunner manning the grill. He’s transferring burger patties from the heat onto a plate, his brow furrowed with concentration. It’s always been attractive to me, a man that can cook. Even just grilling. Somehow, I’ve found myself two men with that coveted quality.
Gunner glances up from the hot coals and catches me staring. I quickly dart my eyes away, but feel my cheeks burn. I stumble, and Zeke clutches my side to steady me.
“Woah, Goldie,” Zeke says playfully. “We’re too close to food for you to faint now.”
I smile at Zeke weakly. My stomach grumbles and I realize that he’s not far off from the truth. We had a late breakfast, but nothing since, and the smell wafting off the grill has my mouth watering.
The bikers outnumber the women by at least four to one, but there’s a buffet table bursting with dishes. It can’t be just the women that cancook.There’s pasta salad, broccoli salad, hot macaroni and cheese, cobblers, potato chips and dip, chocolate cake, potato salad, hash brown casserole, and a crudités tray. It’s so surprisinglynormaland it all looks delicious.
An orderly line forms and guests wait patiently to scoop food onto their plates. I’m surprised that there’s no pushing or shoving and even more still when Warden raises his hands and a hush falls over the crowd.
“Ladies, first,” Warden announces, and the women in attendance titter. He lowers his hands with a flourish. “Let’s eat!”
