Page 13 of Creed

I glanced at him as he drove. “What do you think they’re hiding?”

He glanced at me. “What makes you think they’re hiding anything?”

“Well, they all have this military type of look, they ride motorcycles and won’t let anyone into their gated community. It honestly sounds like a compound and they’re probably hiding some top secret government stuff.”

Patrick laughed. “You’ve read too many Hollywood scripts. Your imagination is running a little wild. Do you think they’re hiding aliens or something?”

“Not aliens, but something top secret. I’ve been on enough USO tours to recognize men in the military.” It was something with the way they walked and the entire feeling I got from them.

“Duh, they’re all Veterans. I think Creed was in the Green Berets or something.” He said.

“Is that like the Navy Seals?” I asked.

“Tougher, and I wouldn’t be shocked if it was Delta Force. They’re all some serious badasses and Creed has visited dad at work after a few meth fires. Anyway, as far as anyone is concerned they build bikes and that’s all we tell people. Nobody really knows what happens on that lake.”

“I look forward to learning more about them.” I felt that sinister side of me take over my mind again. I definitely pictured some very dirty things I could have been doing with Creed. Damn, I really needed to get laid. It had been a few years for me, and I was far beyond just being horny.

“Leave them alone. They’re…well there’s women that live with them. We see them in town from time to time and I don’t think they’re exactly girlfriends if you know what I mean.”

“Then what are they?” I asked.

“The guys at the firehouse think they are like groupies. They’re on site for sex and that’s it. They probably pay them or something. None are from these parts and they’re all hot as hell. Everyone knows it’s hands off when it comes to Creed’s girls.”

My heart plummeted. Creed’s girls? He sounded like a pimp or something.

“That’s unfortunate.” I said in a sigh.

He chuckled. “Why’s that?”

“I could never be with a man that paid for sex. Its kind of a red flag for women.”

“I don’t know that for sure, it’s just a rumor and you know how people talk in this town. As far as I’m concerned, if it hasn’t hit St. Paul’s bulletin yet, it’s just talk.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I’m not sure Father would allow the church ladies to publish that in the newsletter.”

He let out a quick laugh and I looked at him. “It wasn’t that funny.”

“No, I just remembered something. Did you notice the church got that new electronic sign?” He asked.

“Yeah, I actually did.”

“Well, a few months back the church was hosting a seminar type of thing. It was the ill effects of porn on society and why Catholics should avoid it. Unfortunately, when they advertised it on the sign it wasn’t very descriptive. It said “Join us Saturday for popcorn and porn.”

I giggled. “How did they not see a problem with that?”

His eyes creased at the edges with his laughter. “Grandpa showed up with a bottle of Jameson and a deck of cards. Himand a few of his buddies threatened a protest if they didn’t get the porn started already. People showed up from all over the county and it was the largest turnout yet.”

“Good Lord, Grandpa. Please tell me Great Grandpa wasn’t with him.” I was amused with the way my brother was laughing.

“Of course, and he attempted to hit Mr. Chase over the head with his cane. Uncle Darren had to bring a few deputies with him to drag all the old men out. Mom was devastated and it took a month for her to show her face at Mass again. Grandma put Grandpa on house arrest for a month and she did zero baking for them the entire time. They are still pissed.” He was still laughing as he told the story.

“Let me get this straight. Grandpa thoroughly believed a church, whose religion doesn’t even allow marriage for their clergy, would play porn movies and serve popcorn? He has lost his ever loving mind.” It was a perfect example of how my grandfather’s behaved. Who takes their ninety five year old dad to watch porn? Only my grandpa.

When Patrick parked the truck at the VFW, there were no bikes yet, but the parking lot was packed. As soon as I stepped out of the truck with my bag to change into a summer dress, I smelled it. “Indiana festival fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. Other than a donation, it’s the only reason I wanted to come today.” It smelled amazing. There was nothing like biting into the salt and peppery crust of Indiana festival fried chicken. It was literally one of my favorite things about growing up in Cold Springs.

“Tis the season of fried chicken and festivals.” Patrick locked his doors and the truck beeped. We walked up to the entrance and had to show our ID’s so we could drink alcoholthen move on to the raffle and dinner tickets. Instead of paying the ten dollars per plate and twenty for five raffle tickets, I wrote a very sizable check then only accepted the five raffle tickets like everyone else. A purple wristband was placed on my wrist to tell the bartender I was old enough to drink and I bought a dinner plate.

While Patrick ordered our drinks from the bar, I visited the ladies room to change into my summer dress and walked out to the raffle area. After I wrote our names on our raffle tickets, I stuck all of mine in the box to win a gorgeous quilt. Patrick told me to stick all of his in the box to win a new gun.

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