Chapter 5 #2
Mike drops our plates on the table, and we take a few moments of silence to stuff our faces.
Mica takes a drink of coffee and toys with his cup for a moment before saying, “If your wildest dream had come true this morning and you’d been patched into Sons, you would have spent the next twenty years being a good brother and a loyal soldier.
And at the end of those twenty years you’d be exactly where you started, which is not at the officer’s table. ”
Tommy says, “True. I knew that going into the situation there.”
“Look, I’m not trying to be critical of my family’s club. Rock built the club for his sons, other than Jinx, all the officers are my brothers. The only problem with that is that it doesn’t leave a lot of room for a man like you to grow into a role that takes advantage of your strengths.”
I don’t particularly like what Mica just said, so I speak up.
“From my perspective, not every brother wants the responsibility of being a mover and a shaker. Some of us are happy to be just another brother.” Turning to look at Tommy, I tell him, “I guess it all comes down to what you really want out of life. Would you be satisfied being just another brother or do you want more?”
“I want more,” Tommy says as if he should be ashamed of it.
I stare at Mica, because he’s somehow picked up on what I missed.
My best friend has ambitions I didn’t know about.
Then I remember that out of all my cousins, Mica is the smart one.
Realization dawns on me that Rock is worlds smarter than most of us and Mica inherited that quality. How did I never see that before?
“Mica,” Tommy says finally. “My sister’s at my house right now.”
“Jules, right? Is she in town for long?”
“Looks like it. She drove in from the East Coast a few weeks ago. She saw some shit she shouldn’t have and isn’t doing well right now. I can’t leave her alone right now. She needs me.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to abandon your blood in her time of need, brother. Family comes first. Whatever we work out on this, we’ll work around her needs.”
“What if it means I can’t be out at the property full-time during the build phase?”
“If that’s how it is, we’ll figure something out.” Glancing in my direction, he murmurs, “Maybe you can find someone to look out for her, someone both of you can trust.”
Mica’s a clever bastard. I’ll give him that. It’s not like I can speak up and tell them that I’m not Jules’s babysitter. That would be rude and keep Tommy from this opportunity of a lifetime that fell right into his lap.
Tommy’s eyes shift to me and back again. I can see him turning the offer over in his head. “How long do I have to think it over?”
“Take whatever time you need. Just don’t leave me hanging.
Whatever answer you give, I’ll respect it.
If the answer is no, you can still come to us after this thing with your sister is taken care of.
Like Flint said, there ain’t nothing wrong with being just another brother until another officer’s position comes open. ”
“That sounds fair, Mica. I appreciate you understanding about my family responsibilities.”
“Not a problem,” Mica responds.
Turning his attention to me, he gives me a lopsided smile.
“Flint. I want you to know that if you ever wanted to wear a Raging Vulture’s patch, our club would be glad to have you.
No prospecting or anything like that would be required.
But I know your heart is with Sons, and I’m not asking you to consider anything.
I’m just saying you’re welcome to join in what I’m building. ”
“I hear what you’re laying down, Mica. For the record, I’m Sons until they pull my patch or put me in the ground.”
“That’s exactly what I thought you’d say.”
We finish our food and head out into the noonday sun. Mica says as we reach our bikes, “No pressure, brother. You call me when you make a decision.”
“I will, Mica. You have my word. And I appreciate that you see me as worthy of being an officer in your club.”
Mica pulls Tommy into a one-armed hug and claps him twice on the back, and then he does the same to me. In the blink of an eye, he’s on his bike and rolling out of the parking lot. Tommy and I stand there for a moment watching his taillights shrink towards the county road.
I think we’re both stunned at this latest turn of events. I know that I sure as fuck am. In a way I’m elated. This is the best opportunity Tommy has ever gotten. We just need to figure out how to make this work.
“Flint,” Tommy says when Mica is out of sight.
“Yeah, bro. What do you need?”
“Let’s get out of here. I need to ride the open road for a bit and get my head straight before I head home to Jules.”
“We can ride down the coast and stop at one of the scenic overlooks and talk this shit out.”
“That sounds fuckin’ perfect.”
***
Nothing feels better than a nice long Saturday ride with a full belly and nothing pressing to do.
We ride out through the rolling hills and winding backroads, letting the scent of dry grass, eucalyptus, and warm earth clear our heads.
We eventually come upon my favorite scenic overlook.
It’s got benches and a sweeping view of the valleys below.
The perfect place to help my friend sort his life out. We park up and claim our bench.
He finally asks the question that I knew was coming. “So, what do you think, Flint?”
“For starters, I honestly never knew you had ambitions.”
“Yeah, you never saw it because you were always in the lead position. It was your idea to join the military. You were the one with the idea to open the gun shop. And you joined the Sons of Rage and then invited me. I feel like I’ve spent my entire life drafting along in your slipstream.”
That fuckin’ hurt to hear. “I never knew you felt that way.”
“At first it didn’t matter so much because I didn’t really have a life plan worth mentioning.”
“But when Mica offered you an officer’s spot you realized what you’d been missing, right?”
“I’d be lying if I denied it. When I was prospecting, the plan was to be just another brother, like you. We could ride together, go to rallies together and cover each other’s six if we ever ended up in the shit. It seemed like a pretty good plan at the time.”
“Mica’s not playing you. He sees you like I see you. As a loyal brother with valuable skills. He sees you as a genuine asset, just like I do. I think you can take him at his word.”
Tommy nods slowly, still looking out over the valley. “Mica’s smart. That would be a problem if we decided he wasn’t trustworthy.”
I watch a red-tailed hawk soar through the air and circle around us. Tommy is just staring at the ground, deep in thought.
“He’s right about there being no upward mobility at Sons,” he says finally.
“Yeah,” I agree. “The real question is what you really want out of a club experience.”
He finally looks at me. “I want to be respected for what I bring to the table, not just because I’m your best friend, Flint. I want a seat where my voice is heard and I can help build something meaningful.”
“It sounds like you’ve already decided to accept Mica’s offer. Now, you just need to figure out how to make it work.”
“Jules needs me,” he says quietly.
“She doesn’t need you in particular. She’s a grown woman who just needs someone to look out for her.”
“One thing is for fuckin’ sure. I can’t abandon her, put her in a half-built clubhouse or ask her to sleep on a cot for months on end while I’m working on making my dreams come true.”
“That goes without saying. I don’t think she’d go for that anyway.”
“And I can’t leave her alone, Flint. Not with the trauma she’s carrying around in her head from that night on the beltline.”
I take a breath and say what I’ve been thinking since Mica first offered him the position of Road Captain.
“I can look out for her. She trusts me and you do too. We already agreed to offer her a job at the shop. If you’re gonna be busy at the Vultures clubhouse, I’ll actually need to hire someone for the front counter.”
Tommy’s expression turns hopeful. “She’s really personable and smart too. It wouldn’t take her long to catch on.”
“Well, that’s our answer. We need to go back to the farmhouse, sit down together and tell her what’s going on.
The vote, Mica, the offer, all of it. She’s twenty-two years old, and she’s gonna want a say in what her life looks like while you’re gone.
We can’t make decisions and just expect her to go along with it. ”
“She’s gonna tell me to go. I already know she won’t want to hold me back.”
“I’ll be working with her all day and keep an eye on her the rest of the time. My word is my oath. You already know that about me.”
“I know,” he says slowly. “I just feel like I’m asking everyone to rearrange their life around mine. And I don’t know how fair that is.”
“But it’s somehow okay for you to rearrange your life around all of us? Come on, bro. You are smarter than that.”
“Come with me,” he says. “I want her to hear this from both of us. You’re right about her trusting you, Flint.
And I need her to know that you’re serious about being there for her.
I need her to know we’re making this decision together as a family, and you’re family.
You’ve always been family to me and Jules. ”
Something moves in my chest when he calls me family. I’ve always felt that way about the two of them but never said anything. This is not the moment to analyze it. “I’ll come with you, brother. We might as well get to your house and get this over with.”
As we ride back, I think about how this all went down.
Tommy is my best friend, my brother. He’s well worth taking on the extra responsibility of looking after his sister.
I’d do it gladly. Although I’ve never really thought of her as my little sister but I’ve thought of her as a kid.
I still do at times. She’s only twenty-two years old and as innocent as the day is long.