Chapter 9
Mia draped her scarf around her neck and pulled open her door. Since Lola had discovered her scars, she didn’t always loop it around to cover her throat, but she did keep it with her in case someone came in. Lola. She smiled. She loved how he made her feel. Not just that, it was the way she felt about herself when she was near him. Free to be herself, even though they had strained communication, she was comfortable when he was near.
His door was open. Mia smiled. He had beaten her downstairs for coffee. She glanced into his room as she passed. She turned and walked to his nightstand. Odd that he didn’t carry the thermos down with him. She had left it there for him the night before. Surely, he had noticed it. Oh well. She scooped it up. It was still weighted. She lifted her shoulders and turned to head to the kitchen.
She hurried down to the kitchen and poured it into the sink. She glanced toward the still empty coffee pot and back to the thermos in her hand.
“Hey, girl, what’s up?”
Mia snapped her head toward Amber.
“You’re staring at the thermos like it’s about to attack you.”
Mia placed the container into the sink and began signing.
“Whoa. Slow down. I’m trying to learn this.”
Mia held up the thermos and pointed up.
“Okay.” Amber’s voice trailed off.
Mia shook her head. Amber must think she’s lost her mind. She inhaled. How do I explain? She held up three fingers then pointed to Amber, herself, and up.
“Me, you, and Tim.”
Mia nodded.
“I know it wasn’t me. What did he do?”
Mia folded her hands by her cheek.
“Still asleep?”
Mia shook her head.
“Okay. I’ve picked up a few things. Just go slow,” Amber told her.
Mia spelled out Tim’s name along with a couple of extra motions.
“Tim’s not home.”
Mia nodded and forced herself to mouth the words slowly as she relayed her thoughts.
“Ohhh. Tim never came home last night.”
Mia nodded.
“That’s no big deal. He could be doing club business or crashed at the clubhouse after partying. Or,” Amber grinned, “he could have gotten lucky last night and be at some chick’s house.”
Mia felt her eyes widen. She hadn’t considered that. She just knew he had been dependable even if it was late, he always came here to sleep.
Amber grinned. “Want to call him?”
Mia nodded.
“You do realize that he could be getting a morning piece with some bike bunny.” Amber laughed. “Let’s do it. If we’re lucky, he got lucky, and we get to dampen the mood.” She pulled her phone from her back pocket and dialed.
“Lola here.”
Amber switched the conversation to speaker. “Are you alive?”
“Barely,” he replied.
“We were wondering what happened to you. You sound rough. Have you been to bed?”
“Why? What you got in mind? Or should I ask what Mia has in mind? I can be there in thirty minutes.”
Amber laughed. “I do believe Mia is cussing you.”
“She just wants me all to herself. Don’t you, sunshine?” Lola asked, humor lining his voice.
“She rolled her eyes,” Amber told him, laughing.
“You’re not fooling me. Head on up to my room, I’ll be there before you know it.”
“We just wanted to make sure you were alive,” Amber cut in.
“Want me alive? Then both of you go strip down and wait for me to slide in bed between you two.”
“Argh,” Amber growled.
“That’s okay too. I’m down for watching,” he negotiated.
“Shut up,” Amber shouted, causing Lola’s laughter to grow. “Go to work,” she ordered and ended the call.
***
Later that evening Lola sat on his bike in the drive, his legs stretched to the side and crossed at the ankles, staring straight ahead. He hadn’t moved for at least forty minutes. Mia knew this because she had been strolling along the palm tree lined drive when he arrived home. She watched him turn off the engine. When he finally did budge, he only swung his leg over the tank to sit sideways.
She stopped next to him. He was so lost in his thoughts, that he hadn’t noticed her approach. Carefully, she placed her palm on his arm, snapping him back to the present. Or at least she had thought that, but he only stared at her blankly.
She smiled and tugged him to his feet, leading him inside the house to the kitchen. Must be something big. No flirty comments, no resistance at all. She glanced back. No emotion either. He followed like an empty shadow attached to her. She dropped his hand and grabbed a tumbler from a cabinet and pulled a bottle from the pantry, then laced her fingers with his and guided him with her to a small room off the foyer. The room where she usually retreated to with her therapist for quiet sessions.
She closed the door and motioned to a chair. Lola perched onto the edge of the seat as she poured the dark liquid into the glass and placed it in front of him. His usual wit didn’t surface. He only stared at the drink. She kicked off her shoes and curled her bare feet underneath her as she settled onto the brightly colored sofa within arm’s reach of the chair.
Eventually, he lifted the tumbler. Holding it in both hands as he leaned forward to rest on his knees, he looked up for the first time since sitting down. “Do you know both your parents?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Where are they?”
Twisting her lips, she looked around. Leaning over the end of the sofa, she reached for the globe displayed in the corner between the sofa and chair. She spun it slightly and tapped a spot.
“Texas,” he clarified. “See them often?”
She wrinkled her nose and waved her hand, palm facing the floor.
“Sometimes. Gotcha,” he said and pushed out a breath. Throwing back his head, he emptied the glass, returning it to the table and falling back into the chair.
“I grew up not knowing who my father was. I always believed he was some scumbag who ran out on my mom. She never talked about him, good or bad. Except for the one time that she commented how much I was beginning to look like him. That’s when I dyed my hair. I didn’t want to remind her of something bad, and I certainly didn’t want to resemble someone who didn’t care enough to be around. So, in my teenage mind, I thought that if I changed the color and grew out my hair, it would work. And she never mentioned it again, so I thought I had solved the problem.” He huffed a laugh. “The things teenagers believe.” He shook his head.
“I ran into someone yesterday. He told me that I looked the same as someone he knew well from years ago. It weighed on my mind, but I told myself I was tired and misheard him. That’s when I decided to crash at the clubhouse. Figured my mind was too fucked to drive any longer. Anyway, today I began noticing some things. Things I had only thought strange and marked off as club ritual that I didn’t understand. But if he’s my father, it all makes sense in a way.”
Lola looked up. “What if he is my father? What am I supposed to do? And how do I know for sure?”
She smiled and dropped to sit on the floor, pulling the legal pad and pen that were on the coffee table toward herself.
Birth certificate.
He shook his head. “He’s not listed.”
Mother.
“She’s gone. I’m not from here, but she did live here not long before I was born,” he told her.
Mia handed him the pen and tapped the word ‘mother’.
He leaned forward and printed his mother’s full name and birthdate. “That’s all I know,” he told her. “You think we can confirm it without talking to Mac?”
She would do her best to help him. She smiled and nodded.
His smile was faint, but it was there. “You never fail to amaze me.”
She popped to her feet, ripping the sheet from the pad. London had given her permission to use the office computer. She’d start there. She stepped from the room with Lola right behind her. She paused as his phone rang, the sound growing louder until he answered.
“Lola here . . . Got it . . . Yes, sir . . . Good boudin. Not the shit you find in the local grocery stores . . . No problem.” He pushed the phone back into his pocket, looking at Mia. “Gotta go.”
“Where you going now?” Amber walked from the kitchen, biting into a cookie.
“Picking up boudin,” he told her.
Amber cocked her head. “How long have you lived here?” she asked.
“Long enough to know about boudin,” he said turning to leave.
“You know Cowboy is from the south and knows every spot to find it. Come to think of it, Ghost is too. They hung out at the clubhouse a lot when I was there,” Amber told him.
“So.”
“Just saying.” She lifted her shoulders.
He turned back, hands on his hips. “If you want to go, just say so.”
She grinned. “Can I?”
“I’m riding to Scott and back. No stopping.”
“I’ll grab my helmet and meet you outside.” Amber let out a soft squeal and Mia watched her head for the stairs.
Lola chuckled and glanced toward Mia. “Want to go too?”
She would love to go. She shook her head. She had things to research, and she couldn’t do that on the road.
“Want me to bring some back for you?”
She lifted her shoulders.
“Never had any?”
She shook her head.
“You’re in for a treat,” Lola told her with a wink and walked out.