Chapter 2 #3
“Jesse’s father cheated on me, and I always forgave him.
Always. He had the same lines, the same lies, every time.
That it meant nothing, that he’d never do it again…
and I’d believe him, until the next time.
Finally, he decided that playing house wasn’t a good image for him anymore, and he left us.
Jesse wasn’t even born yet.” Margery shook her head.
“I thought Jesse was different. I thought I’d raised him to be kind to women, but he’s too much like his father.
Sleeping around in high school and in the Army with those barrack sluts was one thing, but his fiancée?
His wife?” Margery’s expression turned disappointed, an expression Kelly knew well from her own mother.
“I love Jesse, but he has his faults, and I don’t want you to experience them.
He’s my son, I have to love him. But there’s still time for you.
I see the way you look at him. There’s no ring on your finger or cut on your back.
You can walk away, and never have to know what it’s like to have your heart broken by my son. ”
Kelly’s mouth hung open. She truly had no idea what to say.
Grumpy? A cheater? But what would be the point of the lie?
Kelly could easily find out what happened with the fiancée and the wife.
Not that she would go prying into his past, but she could.
Grumpy had told her he’d been married while in the Army.
But Margery was right about one thing: Kelly didn’t have to be here.
She wasn’t Grumpy’s girlfriend, ol’ lady, or wife.
She could leave. Was that Margery’s plan, though?
Maybe she’d lied. Maybe this whole thing was a lie to get Kelly to leave.
But to what end? Grumpy would get out of the hospital eventually.
It might take time, but he’d be up and back to his life in several months.
He’d be right back in the diner, and maybe, just maybe, he’d want to pick up where the universe had rudely interrupted them.
Margery wasn’t staying. She had her own life she was going to have to return to.
So what was the point of the lie if it was a lie at all?
“You’re making that up,” Kelly defended Grumpy through a shaky voice. “Grumpy is a good man.”
“The best man,” Margery agreed. “I am not saying this because I believe otherwise, Kelly. I am saying this because I love my son. Because I know the sort of man he is. He’s good and he’s loyal and he’s a fighter…
but he also loves women. All women. He’ll never be faithful to you.
If that’s something you can live with, then that’s your choice.
But if you choose to walk away, then you’re a stronger woman than me, because I couldn’t.
I just want you to be aware, because she,” Margery waved down the hall where the crying woman had left, “won’t be the last.”
Kelly’s head turned towards the young woman who had left, though she was long gone and no longer in Kelly’s sight. “Wait, are you saying she and Grumpy were…”
“I don’t know the extent of their relationship and I don’t want to know,” Margery stipulated. “But I do know that she claims they were sleeping together when the accident happened.”
Kelly frowned, her perplexed mind taking Margery’s words too literally. “Wait, she was in the bar when—”
“No, no,” Margery waved off Kelly’s claim. “I’m assuming before that day. As I said, I don’t want to know. Probably one of those hook ups you young people do with your phones.”
Kelly did not think Margery had a clear understanding what a “hook up” was if she thought it was done with cell phones.
“All I’m saying, dear, is that if you’re able to love my son beyond his faults, then you’re a stronger woman than I ever was.” Margery patted Kelly’s arm as she walked past. “I won’t hold it against you if you stay or leave. The choice is yours.”
* * *
Six Days Later
The foggy haze lessened but did not dissipate completely as Grumpy blinked.
His body was both numb and in agony, which made no sense.
This wasn’t the first time he’d woken up in the hospital.
He remembered a little more each time he did.
So while waking was good in that aspect, it did not change just how much he wished he didn’t wake up.
Anything to escape this hazy void of uncertainty.
Just as before, he couldn’t speak. He wasn’t sure how long his jaw was going to be wired shut, but at least this time he remembered that it was. He’d been a bit too combative when he’d woken once and found he couldn’t move his mouth.
Grumpy was still in denial about his eye. He’d lost his fucking eye! Maybe it wasn’t as bad as they thought. Maybe it could heal itself. Miracles happened, right?
His fucking hair hurt. He had no idea how that was even possible, but he’d swear on Scotty’s life that he could feel every single strand as it pulsed in pain.
Grumpy winced as the bed automatically moved beneath him as the mattress readjusted to prevent bed sores.
At this point, he’d take the fucking bed sore over the mattress shifting under him like that.
The room looked slightly different. He didn’t know how long he’d slept this time.
Why were there so many fucking flowers in his room?
Grumpy hated flowers. The ol’ ladies should take them and do whatever it was they did with flowers.
The kids could have the balloons. Why was there a teddy bear on the window sill? Grumpy didn’t want or need that shit.
Something sounded to his right. The visitor chair was there, always on his right side.
It prevented him from moving his head too much to see who was next to him.
Usually it was his mom. She must have flown down from Maine when he’d gone into the hospital.
Grumpy didn’t remember why he was in the hospital.
He knew he’d asked before, knew he’d been told, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember.
It was like he’d watched a movie, knew he’d watched it, but couldn’t think of the lines.
Kelly had been in that chair when he’d gone to sleep.
He had mixed feelings about her presence.
He liked seeing her, liked knowing she cared, but he also didn’t want her seeing him like this.
Weak, helpless. A fucking tube stuck up his dick.
He didn’t even want to think about the other end.
Then again, his jaw was currently screwed shut.
How was he eating or drinking? Was shitting himself in bed even a concern right now?
Seeing Grumpy shift his head on his pillow, Pirate smiled over at him. “I’d just like to go on record that there can only be one ‘Pirate’ in the club. You may borrow my eye patch, but I am the OG Pirate. Understand?”
Grumpy shakily lifted his right hand, forcing his middle, ring, and pinky fingers up and then switching to just pointer and middle fingers pressed together.
Pirate laughed at the signed F-U. “And they were worried your brain was damaged. Good to see you still kept your sense of humor, brother.”
Though the hospital had given Grumpy a notepad to write on, his hand was so unsteady, it was practically illegible.
Fingerspelling short words in American Sign Language was faster and easier for him to communicate with his brothers.
Most of them recalled the alphabet from their military days, and it wasn’t like they were having advanced mathematical conversations.
It took several minutes for him to get his fingers to move again to spell K-E-L-L-Y. Though Pirate likely knew who he was asking about the moment he’d form a K, he still waited patiently for Grumpy to finish the thought. Grumpy appreciated that, knowing he wouldn’t have liked to be cut off.
“She’s with Sophia and Jazz in the cafeteria. I gotta say, man. I really like her. I mean, I knew you had your eye on her for a while, but it takes an extraordinary woman to stay by your side as she’s done.”
Grumpy wanted to frown, not understanding. Instead his face just ended up twitching painfully. He took his pointer finger and drew an invisible hook in the air, hoping Pirate would understand the makeshift question mark.
Pirate watched him for a few seconds before he asked, “Do you remember why you were in the bar?”
The bar? As in the club’s bar? Grumpy wasn’t sure why Pirate was bringing up the bar. He touched his pointer and middle fingers to his thumb to signify his reply of “no”.
“You asked Kelly on a date, man. You were at the bar waiting for her when it exploded.”
Exploded? Did he just say the bar exploded? Fuck! What had happened? Why? Was Kelly there? Was she hurt too?
“Hey, hey! Calm down!” Pirate stood up. “Don’t make me get that nurse back in here to sedate you.”
The threat worked, and Grumpy froze. He wanted answers, not sleep.
“So clearly you don’t remember Ghost talking to you yesterday. That was my bad. I’m sorry. The doctors said some things might retain and others won’t. So I’ll start at the beginning, but you can’t freak out. You can’t stress yourself out. Understand?”
Grumpy made a fist and shook it up and down several times.
Pirate didn’t look like he believed him, but he continued talking.
“About three weeks ago, a bomb was planted in the bar. The police are still investigating who did it.” The pointed expression on Pirate’s face told Grumpy that the club knew damn well who had done it and they’d taken care of it their way.
Good. But that didn’t answer Grumpy’s question about Kelly.
Was she okay? “Of the club, you and Ghost were the only ones in there. He’s fine.
Got some minor injuries, but he was up and moving that night.
Your injuries were more extensive. Do you want me to repeat them? ”
Grumpy put his pointer and middle fingers to his thumb again before he switched over to spelling out Kelly’s name again.