Cocky Biker(72)
My wife and I are in the backyard with Thai pads. I’m holding ‘em at different degrees of angles so she can practice her kicks.
Her eye is a nasty shade of black and blue, and she’s covered in sweat, wearing shorts and a tank top, her breasts held down with a sports bra and her hair back in a ponytail.
“Fuck!” she grunts as I hold ‘em higher.
She kicks hard and then doubles over, grabbing onto her knees.
“I can’t,” she pants. “I have to stop a second.”
“No! I’m not going to see your face all bruised up like that again.”
“He surprised me,” she says, side-eyeballing me while she catches her breath.
“Sunshine, listen up. I can’t stand you gettin’ hurt. You come out with us only if you stay safe.”
“It’s never really safe out there, with what we do. You know that.”
Melodi calls out from the house, “Hungry yet?”
“Fuck no,” Sunshine pants, shaking her head, eyes on the grass. “I don’t feel good.”
“Come on. Don’t pussy out on me,” I snap at her. To Melodi I call out, “Be there when we’re through. Not a second earlier, so stop fuckin’ askin’!”
Mel shouts, “Slave driver!” then goes inside, the old screen door clanking loudly behind her.
“Again!” I hit the Thai pads together. “Get up.”
“I feel sick, Jett,” Luna whispers.
“No no no. Come on. Get up.”
“No…I really…” She steps away and turns her back on me, then vomits right there on the ground, mumbling, “Shit. Ugh.”
I drop the pads and go to lay my hand on her back, my tone changing to worry. “What’s goin’ on? You okay?”
“No, I feel really sick, babe.”
“MELODI!”
Within seconds, she’s running down the steps, eyes on the puke. “Jesus, Jett! What’d you do to the poor woman?”
“I feel sick, Mel,” Luna moans.
“No shit, darlin.’ People don’t lose their breakfast when they’re at the top of their game.” Guiding my girl upstairs, she throws me a scathing look. “This is your fault!”
I follow with my tail between my legs. Inside, Scythe and Honey Badger are watchin’ NASCAR on T.V. They look over and see the women. “What happened?”
“Jett’s an asshole, that’s what happened,” Melodi calls over. “Taylor, go get Luna some ginger-ale, honey.
“Okay, Mommy!” His spindly, growing legs take off for the kitchen.
“Where do you think you’re goin’?” Melodi asks me as I follow them up the stairs. “Oh no. You stay down there. No woman needs her man to see her like this.”
“She was a lot worse when she was in a fuckin’ coma, Mel. I handled it pretty good then!”
“Just let me clean her up, Jett!”
“It’s okay, Jett,” Sunshine whispers, looking pale. “Just give me a second.”
Clomping back downstairs I run into Scratch. “Luna’s sick.”
His salt and pepper eyebrows cock up. “She pregnant?”
I blink at him, then run back upstairs and bang on the bathroom door.
“JETT COCKER!” Melodi yells.
“LUNA! ARE YOU PREGNANT?!!”
There’s silence on the other side. Melodi swings the door open and runs to her room.
Luna is sitting on the side of the bathtub, eyes big with fear of hoping it might be true. “Oh my God…” she whispers.
Melodi races back in, waving a pregnancy test.
I hear a door open behind me and Carmen and Tonk appear, half-dressed. “Did we just hear Luna might be pregnant?” Carmen asks, tucking in her shirt.
We just got back from a mission. Everyone is in the house and suddenly the second floor is full of Ciphers and their families.
We wait as Melodi stays by Luna while she takes that fuckin’ test on the other side of the door.
Everyone is silent.
Honey Badger walks over and stands by me. I glance to him and he nods that he knows how much I want this.
One of Hannah’s kids starts to say something and gets hushed.
I watch the doorknob turn.
Holy Fuck.
This is big.
What’s she gonna say?
Melodi opens the door and her face is solemn. My heart sinks as Luna stands and walks to me, crying openly.
Never seen her cry in front of anyone but me before.
“Jett…I’m pregnant.” Weeping, she falls into my arms and I start to cry, too, but mine is through laughter.
The whole place goes up in cheers.
Luna looks up at me, so overwhelmed she’s almost devastated. “She was wrong. The gypsy was wrong.”
“She sure fuckin’ was, baby. She sure fuckin’ was.” We kiss and everyone just loses it. Shouting and whooping loudly. Banging on walls. Kids stamping their feet, even though little Celia doesn’t know why she’s doing it.