Page 74 of Whiskey Shivers

“Tossing a Thompson book into the swamp.”

La Croix lifted his chin, his otherworldly tattooed forehead smoothing out into the now familiar lines of his stoicism.

“That’s where his shit belongs,” La Croix grated.

I looked to Alina quizzically, asking without saying anything out loud and she winked back at me. It had become our signal over the last couple months ofthis is best talked about with a bottle of wine just between us girls.

I smiled, and she bit her bottom lip to try and contain hers and we filed back toward the chapel with the boys.

They all took their seat around the table and Hex and La Croix drew us down into their laps. This was only the second time we’d done this, but our presence and the presence of the boys playing with their phones meant that this was what Alina and I had dubbedChurch Lite,or theDiet Coke of Club Business.It was a glimpse, for us, of how the club operated as a whole but none of the serious talk the boys didn’t want or need us to know.

Our presence here pretty much guaranteed that this was about theFeed These Streetscampaign that was the brain trust of Alina, me, and Chainsaw, who had asked and been granted the temporary position of Road Captain for just this event – something Cypress had been all too happy to hand over to him.

The plan was to sell tickets at some of the biker bars around town, and other local spots. We had sponsors in the fisher folk and hunters with donated game and other things for the big feed at the end of the long ride through the city. Permits had been gotten and things were coming together for the first day of winter break so the kids from the local schools could participate.

I wasn’t back in a full teaching capacity, but I had suggested and had been granted coordinating volunteers from Lakeside High School to help in the effort and already this whole thing had grown monumentally and it was a beautiful thing.

The club’s big giant industrial kitchen would be open and the grills and boiler burners would be fired up. People from Cypress and La Croix’s parish and bayous would man the kitchens with supplemental support from the high school kids. Food would be prepared while the motorcycles decorated in holiday and Christmas themes would roll through the city streets on a predestined parade-like route.

At the end, everyone would get a hot meal, there would be music and dancing, a competition for people to vote on the best decorated motorcycle and even a few fair games and cheap little prizes to go with them.

The talk around the table was joyous and carefree, but I couldn’t help but have one nagging, niggling little doubt that just would not be ignored.

“What if…” The table fell silent, and I felt myself turn red with all the attention on me. “What if the Bayou Brethren turn up and try to cause trouble?” I asked. “I know we, uh, didn’t exactly have a good last meeting with them and there may be some,” I swallowed hard, “hard feelings?”

Hex smiled up at me from where I sat in his lap and winked at me, holding up his hand thumb and pinky out, to his ear and mouth like a phone handset. An indication to the rest of the guys to remember that their phones were present and to remain as diplomatic as I had just been with my question with their answers.

“Fuck ‘em,” Chainsaw said with a wink.

“There’ll be a police presence. It’s required for an event this size,” Hex said with a warning look across at Chainsaw who was silently laughing.

“Speaking of all the money going out, how’s it lookin’ for money comin’ in to make this whole thing a thing?” he asked and looked over to Bennie who had a laptop open in front of him likely with an Excel sheet open. Bennie lived and breathed his spreadsheets and ledgers. Numbers seemed to make him happy the way words touched my soul.

“We’re actually doing surprisingly well, close to breaking even on the food ticket sales and the ticket tier to participate in the run has already pushed us over into the black.”

“That ain’t including any of the sponsorships or accounting for any of the extra food tickets or what we do with the carnival games and shit the day of, right?” Axeman asked.

“No, there’s plenty of room to increase profits here,” Bennie declared.

I took in a deep breath and let it out slow.

“It sounds like we’re doing good and we’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” I said.

Saint raised his chin some and asked me, “And what about you? You ready to go back to work?”

I was supposed to return to the classroom three days before winter break, allowing me to get my feet wet, then have just a little more time off before fully taking the plunge after the return from winter break just after the new year.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” I declared with a bit of trepidation.

“You’ll do great,” Hex said with assurance.

I smiled. “We’ll see.”

* * *

Once home,it was full dark and just getting darker out there. I always found the days too short and the nights far too deep and long in the wintertime.

“Hey, come take a hot shower with me,” Hex breathed into my ear, cuddling up to my back, arms around my waist.

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