Page 42 of Papa's Beloved
I feel a hand on your shoulder and look to see my best friend.
“I’d like to say Church won’t take long. I know you want to be with Nay and take care of her, but we have a lot of shit to hash out.”
“Thanks brother. I know and understand. Yeah, I’d rather be with my woman, but this is important. And it’s for her since Linden is involved with the Dawgs.”
“Those fuckers won’t know what hit’em when we’re done with their sorry asses.”
I smile. I’m more than ready to send them all to the crossroads. Papa, Legba can sort those bitches out later. I give my usual seat to Chief and sit on his other side, with Trinity to my left and Hollywood across from us.
Gambit waits until everyone is seated to bang the skull on the table. Our table is an immense work of art with our colors emblazoned across it and enough room to seat thirty people. With the addition of three more people, we only have one empty seat. Damn, our club is growing by leaps and bounds.
“Church is called to order fuckers.”
Everyone quiets down. Phones are placed in the box by the door or turned on mute and placed face down during Church.The last thing you want is for Gambit to see you on the phone during a meeting. No doubt someone will fuck up eventually and the little imp inside me that loves trouble can’t wait to see it happen.
“We have a lot to unpack today. Let’s start with Hollywood. Pops.”
Chief clears his throat. “Hollywood comes to me from a good friend out West. We were rookies together at the academy before he moved to the West Coast. Hollywood is one of his most trusted men, but needs a change of scenery. I’ll let him fill you in on the details.”
Hollywood nods in acknowledgement. “It’s a long story. I’ll make it as short as I can. It turns out my ex is a traitorous piece of shit. I have a girl seven and a boy six. For them, I want to start over as far away from their incubator as I can get.”
I know there is more to the story and know that Hollywood will share more details in time. Sounds like the man has been through the wringer if it’s bad enough he’s moving his family.
“Do we need to watch our backs?” I ask Chief.
“Not as of right now. We’ll keep you updated if the situation changes.”
Gambit nods. “I have the dolls cleaning Papa’s old place and getting it ready. If you let my ol’ lady know what the kids need, she’ll have it in place. She’s our requisitions champion. Outfitted this place in less than thirty days. Had to put a ring on it.”
His shit-eating grin says it all. He’s head over heels in love with his wife.
“Best damned decision you ever made, son. I have the best daughter-in-law in the world. The boys hired her to outfit the club. Everything you see is all her,” Chief says, with pride.
“Not to mention she took on the Lafayette children like two days after she found out you were expecting your first,” Smoke adds.
Gambit’s smile widens. “Damn, I’ve got the best woman in the fucking world. The older children are all adopted. They had a piece of shit for a father and an adulterer mother. The father killed the mother before the twins were two. Bastian raised them.
Which brings me to our first vote of the day. My boy turns eighteen in six months. He’s been begging me to prospect for eighteen months. I’d like to let him start.”
“Isn’t he a little young?” Hollywood asks.
“In age, yes, but he ran boats with his dad in the swamp. The kid’s seen things that would make many grown men cry,” I say. Then continued. “He not only raised his four siblings, he became their mother and father. Their sole provider. Claud couldn’t be bothered with things like clothing, food, or schooling. He did provide a rat-infested shanty for them.”
Hollywood nods. “Kid’s got my vote, if it counts.”
Gambit looks abashed. “My bad. All those in favor of Hollywood coming over as a fully patched member.”
Hands go up all around the table. Gambit chuckles.
“Now you can vote. Blue will get you a new cut. In the meantime we have extras and can get you a velcro name tag by tomorrow’s end. Let’s take a vote on Bast then I’ll introduce everyone. I guess I’m more out of sorts than I thought.”
I hadn’t even thought about it with all the day's events, but Nay was our first doll and the first woman the two of us shared. We bogarted her often, almost exclusively for much of the time she’s been with us. He’s never been IN love with her, but he loves her.
I remember Nay telling me about the long conversation she and Stormy had about her relationship with Gambit. Gambit had a mission to complete the day after he met her. Man didn’t even have time to take her on a date. I stayed home to keepdown the fort and keep an eye out for her. He was smitten immediately.
Nay and I have more of a slow burn. We both had issues to deal with before our hearts were open enough to let love in. Stormy adopted us the very day she met us. During that week, she changed the entire dynamic of the club and became friends with two of the dolls. Nay and Kelsi.
“All those in favor of Bast becoming a prospect.”