CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“How many more were there?” asked Matthew staring at the men.
“We got them all Matthew,” said Akin.
“You got them all under that bridge. But what about the other bridges?” The men stared at him and they wondered if he was serious. “I’m serious. How many more bridges and people are out there cold, wondering how they can possibly celebrate Christmas in a tent under a bridge?”
“I’m not sure,” said Whiskey. “Is that something you want us to do? Check all the bridges?”
Matthew just stared at Whiskey, not wanting to point out that it was a silly question. Of course he wanted him to do that. He really wanted to check every bridge in the country but just couldn’t. He didn’t have the time or the manpower.
“Got it,” smirked Akin. “We’ll head out first thing in the morning, Matthew. We’ll check them all. At least all that are in our parish and in and around New Orleans.”
“I appreciate that,” smiled Matthew. “It will make me feel better.”
“Where do we take them, Pops?” asked Luc. “We don’t have space for them here and most of the shelters are full this time of year.”
“I’ve taken care of that,” he smiled.
“Of course you have,” smirked Gaspar. “What did you do?”
“I actually did it several months ago. I knew this was going to create an issue.” Grant was coming toward him and raised a hand, smiling at him. “All good, Grant.”
“Yes, sir. All good. One-hundred and ten apartments ready to go. My boys are awful tired Matthew.”
“I know they are son, but if you’d get them to work just a little longer, we’ll be done by Christmas Eve.”
“Oh, they don’t want a break. They’re just tired.” Grant laughed, shaking his head at the tenacity of his team.
“Grant, what did you build?” asked Nine.
“I didn’t build it. We bought it. It was the old Cypress Pointe Hotel off I-10. It was scheduled to be torn down but it had good bones. It just needed a lot of love. We gutted it, cleaned everything top to bottom, new paint, new carpet, new hardwood floors, all of it.”
“But that place had to have had three-hundred rooms or more. You said you had a little over a hundred,” said Ghost.
“Yep. We expanded the rooms, combining two rooms together to create studio suites. Every room has at least one bed, small kitchen space with stove, refrigerator, oven, and microwave. Linens and dishes are included and we’ve got some folks helping out from the church to get folks checked in.”
“Is that where Shaquille went?” asked Skull.
“No,” said Matthew. “We put them in a little cottage closer to his school. He’s all settled in. This would be more ideal for those without children, but Lord knows we won’t turn them away.”
“And what’s this place called?” asked Gaspar.
“Irene’s Place,” smiled Matthew. “It seemed appropriate.”
“Matthew, you never cease to amaze me,” said Ian. “I’m not sure how all of this is possible and I’m not sure I want to know.”
“It’s possible because you’ve all worked hard to make it possible,” he smiled.
“I’ll be heading to the island to spend the evening with my wife.
I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Oh. Razor?
Skull? Would you boys mind heading out to the Berthelot Farm?
He’s having trouble with some of his equipment.
It’s old and might need to be replaced but I told him I’d have you boys check out the engines and see what’s going on. ”
“Of course, Matthew,” smiled Razor. Matthew was gone in a fade of smoke and stardust as the others just shook their heads.
“It was a good day,” said Gaspar. “We got a helluva lot done at the warehouse and I heard what you boys were doing. It feels good. Like good deep in our soul.”
“I feel the same,” nodded Ghost. “Helping others has always been our thing but this feels different somehow.”
“I feel the same,” said Max. “We’ve all been running in a million different directions these last few years and now it seems as though we’re all headed to the same place. It’s nice.”
“Hi,” smiled Erin as she and the other wives walked up. They hugged their husbands, kisses and smiles all the way around. “How was your day?”
“We were just talking about that,” said Nine. “It was a good day for us as well.”
“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted and yet so happy,” smiled Sara as she took a seat on Wilson’s knee. “I’ve been baking since five a.m. this morning with the help of my elves and the things we got done are just magical.”
“Please tell me there were no fruitcakes,” frowned Alec.
“My fruitcakes are delicious!” laughed Sara. “But no. No fruitcakes. We did cookies, pies, cakes, candy, so much candy! I think we must have made a thousand pralines.”
“You smell like sugar,” inhaled Wilson.
“I should,” she laughed.
“Some of us have been making quilts, coats, dresses, and pants,” said Gwen. “I don’t normally do things that aren’t intricate but this has been a welcome break for me. And I have to say, some of y’all are great seamstresses.”
“You’re being nice,” smiled Marie. “I’m terrible but you made it easy.”
“How many quilts did we end up with?” asked Lauren.
“Over a thousand! Can you believe it? I took all the scraps I had, Mama Irene gave us scraps the church ladies delivered and then we went through some of the old clothing we had here that wasn’t repairable.
T-shirts, dress shirts, jeans, anything.
The quilts are definitely colorful but they’ll be warm with all the filling we used.
It will be a wonderfully warm holiday for these folks. ”
“I’m proud of all of you, all of us,” said Gaspar. “This isn’t our normal gig but man we’re all having a blast.” Chaos was in his arms, sound asleep.
“We’re not sleeping with that dog again tonight, Gaspar. He has a crate and a bed. Lucy told you that he needs to be crate trained.”
“But babe,” he started.
“Don’t babe me. He’s going to be huge! We can’t have him in the bed every night.”
The others started to laugh and Gaspar frowned at his brothers.
“What are y’all laughing at?”
“It’s just funny seeing the man that bitched about having all the animals cuddling his puppy in his bed at night,” smirked Antoine.
“He’s right, brother,” grinned Luc. “But it’s also cool to see. I’m sure it gives Mama some peace knowing the animals will be taken care of.”
“Shut up,” he growled. Alexandra kissed his cheek, and he turned, kissing her again.
“I love you and I love that you’ve recognized your gift. Being able to speak with the animals is special. It’s part of the identity here at Belle Fleur and I for one, love it.”
“Thanks, babe,” he smiled.
“We owe your folks so much,” said Nine staring at his old friend. “Think about it. Had we not left our compound in Virginia and Ghost and his team left their compound in the mountains in Virginia, we all might have been killed. Your folks welcomed us all with open arms. No questions asked.”
“If you remember,” smiled Miller, “Pops had already been building cottages for years. He knew. They always knew we’d all come back here with an entire community in tow.”
“They loved it,” smiled Marie. “They loved it all. Even when I was going through my marriage from hell, Mama would tell me about all of you being here, visiting, and how it made their day. They missed all of the chaos with us being here. I think I would too. As much as I love a little privacy with Dex, I love being around all of you.”
“That’s the point, though, isn’t it?” said Gabriel. “Pops knew to give us space that was our own. Our own cottage or cabin, our own front porch, our own kitchens and laundry. We have our own yards and yet no one has put up a fence. Not one of us. What does that say about us?”
“We’re gluttons for punishment,” said Zulu with a smile.
They all laughed, nodding. “You’re right.
We’re family and this time of year reminds us of it every day.
Seeing all those names of folks needing our help this year, it’s humbling.
We complain about stupid shit sometimes, the dumbest things ever, and yet these folks are just praying for a warm place to lay their heads at night, a hot meal, or a tree for their kids. ”
“We had a lot of Christmas’ that were lean,” said Kane. “We didn’t want to make a big deal about it because we were usually hiding. But we always managed a hot meal together.”
“It wasn’t always a turkey or goose or ham,” smiled Aislinn. “One year we had spaghetti.” The others laughed at that.
“It was delicious,” said Fiona. “Best dinner ever because of the company.”
“I suppose that’s another lesson from Mama and Pops,” said Jean.
“It’s not the what. It’s the who. We all got holiday meals when we were serving, when we were away, but there was nothing that could take the place of that kitchen in that big old house filled with people, loud, laughing, crying, yelling. It was the absolute best.”
Nine noticed that Ace and Trak were both quiet but smiling at the group and he felt a gut punch.
“Don’t be sad about me,” said Ace. “After my adoptive father took me in, my life was amazing. There are days I don’t remember anything about that time in my life.
And that’s because of all of you. There’s been too much good happen for me to let the bad cloud my days any longer.
I’m grateful. More than grateful that Ghost took a chance on me. ”
“There was no chance taken, brother. You were the best at what you did and any man that risks his career to save the lives of my team will always win,” said Ghost.
“It took me longer to see what you see, Ace,” said Trak. “The first Christmas with Erin and Lauren. That was what did it for me. Seeing Nine so happy and Lauren making me feel like a new man, it changed my world. All of you have changed my world.”
They all just smiled at one another, nibbling on the cookies and drinking coffee or hot cocoa by the bonfire.
“We’re lucky people. Blessed,” said Gabriel. “Maybe that’s what we needed to be reminded of this holiday season.” Gaspar hugged his brother, ripping him from his wife’s arms with a big laugh.
“Amen, brother. Amen.”