Chapter 32
RORY
“Come on, Grady,” I shout and grab my bag ready to leave the house. We are going ice skating, and it's years since I’ve been, so I’m as excited as Grady. “If you don’t hurry, we’ll not be going.”
“I’m coming, Rory,” Grady says exasperated, as he runs into the hallway.
“Let’s go, bub, I’m looking forward to this.”
“I’m good at skating, Rory. Will you be able to keep up?” Grady smirks at me.
I give him a noogie, earning myself a groan from him, but he isn’t really annoyed and the grin on his face confirms that. We have a nice relationship, and it’s growing all the time with the pranks we pull on each other.
Entering the rink an hour later, I stand in shock when Grady takes off on the ice.
Oh my, he’s a natural. I’m hanging onto the side because I don’t have my skating legs on yet.
I lean against the side and watch in awe as Grady whirls around the rink.
He has grace, balance, and confidence like I’ve not seen in someone his age.
Maybe he will be an ice hockey star in the future?
I relax and push away from the wall. Missing a mother and young daughter who glide past as if they do it every day of the week.
I’m still wobbling a little when I’m hit from behind.
I spin around, out of control I might add, and lose my balance.
Yeah, you got it. I go down hard, and my coccyx bone twangs.
Under my breath I mumble, “Effing shit, that hurt.”
“I’m sorry,” a voice quakes and I look up to see a young boy looking down at me.
“It’s okay. I’m not very good at this, so I probably would have fallen, anyway. You just got me to do it earlier than expected,” I say along with a huge smile. I’m hoping that will ease the worry on his little face.
“Are you okay?”
Turning my face, I see a man holding his hand out to help me get up. “I’m okay. I just told the young man that I would have fallen eventually, so he just helped me get it over with.”
He chuckles and takes the boy's hand. “He got away from me. I’m pleased you are okay. Anything we can do?”
Grady appears at that moment and stands next to me with a huge smile on his face. “I lost my bet with Truck. I said you’d fall after fifteen minutes, he said four minutes.”
“No! You did not take bets...” I turn to look at the man when he chuckles at Grady’s comment and my reply.
“Seems you are the bet of the week,” he laughs again at his own reply. “If you are okay we’ll move along.”
“I’m fine, but thanks for checking.” I watch him skate away with the boy and turn to Grady. Pointing at him, I give the best scowl I can conjure up, which earns me a smirk. “I’ll get you for that, Grady.”
“Yeah, yeah, come on, Rory, get skating. You’re hopeless.” Not waiting for me to reply Grady glides away from me, backward I might add, before flipping himself smoothly and skating away.
“Goddamn skating, I’m not suggesting this again. Maybe horse-riding next time!”
Before we leave the rink I’ve taken more spills than a beginner, and I’m sure my ass is going to be purple when I check it out later. I keep my awe at Grady’s skating to myself, but I’m going to speak to Truck about Grady’s skill.
“Did you see that fuzzy thing around you before you had that last fall?” Grady asks.
“What fuzzy thing?” I have no idea what he is talking about.
Grady frowns as he continues. “There was like a blur near you, but before I could get closer to look, it disappeared. It was weird.”
Now, the hair on my arms and neck stands on end, and I can’t help but think about Truck, the other men at the clubhouse, and Cilla, all talking about their brothers. Who are dead I might add. I am going to speak to Cilla as I’ve thought to do before, but now I’m going to make sure I actually do it.
Stopping at the diner on the way home from skating, we take a seat, and Jill who is here now makes sure we have lunch served quickly.
Shelby comes over to the table and takes a seat next to me.
She listens while Grady fills her in on our ice skating and how bad I was at it.
My excuse was and is that I have not been skating in years, so it’s not my fault I was like Bambi on ice.
“Are we still organizing a fundraiser for Jill?” Shelby asks, changing the subject when Grady goes to the restroom.
“No. Jill has all her finances sorted out now. Her mother had some things paid for and organized. But you know she made Jill pay freaking rent for the home her kids were staying in, just so she could put that money away for Grady as a college fund. That was okay for Grady, but she made her daughter suffer for the sake of her son. I’m pleased I didn’t know her, Shelby, because I’m sure I would have opened my big mouth and told her some home truths. ”
Shelby nods. “I agree. I have seen Jill struggle, and she has been a mother and sister to Grady. She loves him dearly, and it’s obvious to anyone who watches. Having you as a sister and helping her with Grady has given her the time to be herself, take a breath of air and relax for a moment.”
We both stop speaking about Jill when Grady returns, with a piece of chocolate cake on a large plate. I look at Shelby who smiles. “Well, looks like you got yourself a double helping of that cake, Grady.”
“Sure did. It’s good, and I was hungry.” Both Shelby and I laugh at the way he gobbles down the cake and wears chocolate around his mouth.
Shelby gets back to work, and I tell her I’ll see her later when my shift starts. Next on our daily agenda is a trip to the clubhouse. I have to speak to Coin who sent me a text asking to look at the dumpster business finances.
Walking into the common room, I’m met by Cilla singing to Ayla who is fighting sleep by the look of it. I walk over and tickle Ayla who giggles at me. “Can I hold her, Cilla?”
“You can. She’s being a tough cookie and not wanting her early afternoon nap.
I think it’s...” stopping mid-sentence I give her a questioning look.
“I’m sorry, Rory. Truck told me not to speak to you about my ability to see and speak to ghosts.
But I can’t stop it happening, and you have someone following you around. ”
I take a seat while placing Ayla on my shoulder where she can see everything that is going on in the common room.
Which isn’t a lot, as everyone is mostly at work.
“I have been meaning to speak with you, Cilla, and admit that it spooks me a little. But, seeing how everyone isn’t worried or panicking about it I am chilling out with it now. ”
“Nobody is here to hurt you. Bono, Tank, and Pyro are brothers to the MC brotherhood. They are great men, and all three died well before they should have. Not wanting to move on they are hanging around and sometimes making a menace of themselves. They have helped in many ways I might add. It seems Ayla has the ability to see them too, because Rory, she keeps saying their names so I’m sure they are playing games with the club brothers.
Finger is getting more frustrated that she has said three names now, yet still hasn’t said dada. ”
I can’t help but giggle at the thought of Finger getting frustrated because I’m sure any father would want their child to say their name first. But how do you even start to compete with ghosts? “I can see why he’d be frustrated,” I quickly state because I’m sure she wanted a reaction.
“The man I had here was your husband. He is moving on and wants you to do the same. He told me that Truck is your one and you need to go into that relationship open-minded, and with all the love you can muster. He wants to see what comes next, Rory, and I told him to move along because you don’t need him hanging around you. ”
A tear tracks down my cheek, and Ayla who must notice pushes a finger into my cheek to stop it.
She frowns at me and when I give her a watery smile, she gives me a smile in return.
She is not anywhere near sleepy, and I look at Cilla.
“I am okay with Terrence moving on, Cilla. I just don’t want to see stuff from these ghosts.
You know they visited me at the house. I didn’t panic as I thought I would. ”
“Yeah, they want you to accept they are around and not be frightened of them. Tank has been following you around like a lost puppy. He said your skating is abysmal and you need to up your game,” Cilla laughs when she sees the shock on my face.
“Was he following me around at the rink? Grady said I had a fuzzy around me,” I ask thinking that maybe that is what he was seeing.
“Yeah, he was, but he’ll leave you alone now you are okay with them.” Before Cilla can say more, she looks over my shoulder, and as I turn to see what’s going on Finger walks toward us.
“Hi, Finger,” I quickly say, but he reaches out and takes Ayla from me.
Walking away, I hear him mutter, “Not another fucking name before she says, Dada!” Cilla and I burst into fits of laughter, but Finger is not finding it amusing.
Sitting in the office with Coin, I look at the monitor and follow the information Coin is pointing out.
“Can you send me a guest login to the dumpster business account? I’ll work on it at home and make sure you are utilizing the business as best as you can.
Sometimes it is a case of you cannot improve what you are doing already, and if that is the case I will tell you that. ”
“Let me make that login now, and you can work on it in your own time. I’ll make sure you get paid...”
I interrupt Coin, “I don’t want paid, Coin. I’m doing it because I want to help. You have all been so welcoming to me, and I didn’t realize I needed it. I’m more than happy as Truck’s Old Lady to do what I can for the club.”
“We are happy to pay you, Rory,” Coin starts again.
“No, I’m doing it for you all without payment, or I won’t do it at all.” I make sure I’m firm enough in my statement that he knows I’m not going to bend.
“Okay, okay, thank you, Rory.”
After getting the login, I grab Grady who needs to be dropped at the diner when I go to work. Jill has a movie night planned with him, and I know it’s something they are both looking forward to doing.
Three hours later, I’m at the diner and serving meals to our regular early evening customers.
I enjoy working here and having the opportunity to get to know people.
I did like my financial manager position, but it didn’t give me many chances to get acquainted with anyone.
It was always about money, how to cope with money, and how to save money.
Now I talk about gardens, children, groceries, neighbors, and any other subject that is thrown my way. I just love it.
Rum walks into the diner and takes his usual seat. I give him a nod to let him know I’ll be taking his coffee and a jug of water to his table.
“Here you are, Rum. Have you had a good day?” I ask as I place his drinks on the table.
Rum takes his coffee and quickly sips, “I need this tonight. It’s been very busy, but we are running smoothly now. The starting hiccups I think are done with.”
“That’s good to hear. Truck is enjoying the job, but he leans on you to keep the place right. He said you can’t retire because he’d be lost without you,” I giggle, and when Rum rolls his eyes, it has me outright laughing.
“If you get a few minutes one morning would you pop over to the gas station and check if I have the gas station business all set up correctly? I think I have, and I don’t reckon I can make any savings on anything, but if you would set eyes on it for me, I would appreciate it.”
I squeeze Rum’s shoulder, “Of course, I’ll get over one morning this week, but from what Truck has told me you have everything as it should be. It’s a good thing you don’t have a lot of employees you have to do payroll for. I’ll look, but I don’t think I’ll find anything.”
“Thank you, Rory. Now, can I have the pulled pork with broccoli? Oh, with a side of mac and cheese, please.”
“You sure can, Rum. I won’t be long fetching that for you.”
Once I’ve given Rum his meal the diner bursts with customers wanting their evening meal. I don’t get a break, and the time to go home arrives before I know it. Fallon worked just as hard as I did, and we work well alongside each other. But you know, there is nothing better than time to go home.