“Don’t start without me, bitches,” Toni announced as she emerged from the kitchen with a giant basket of French fries. “Here.” She tossed the basket on the table. “To soak up the booze.”
Beth was happily coloring pictures for her aunties while munching on a grilled cheese sandwich Ernesto whipped up before he took off for the day. After Shell’s freak out in the bathroom, Toni let her finish out her shift, but called Izzy because, as she said, “Izzy is a badass bitch who rocks in a crisis.”
Not a soul knew the identity of Beth’s father. Until a few hours ago. The birth certificate was blank. Hell, even her mother was clueless. Everyone assumed she fucked the first man who reminded her of Copper in some lonely and lovesick desperation. Had the truth not been far worse, she’d have been insulted by their assumptions.
But seeing as how what really happened had her in therapy for two years, she let them have their false impression.
“So, what’s going on?” Izzy asked as she popped a fry in her mouth. The twenty-ounce bottle of ginger ale she was never without these past few days rested on the table in front of her. “This have anything to do with Rusty getting out of prison early? Jig called me when he left here earlier. Everyone seems psyched about it, but I gotta say, my man is not his biggest fan.”
Both Toni and Izzy looked to Shell. Since she’d grown up around the club, all explanations of past goings on fell to her. But this wasn’t something she really had any insider information on. She shrugged. “Not sure if something actually happened between them or if they’ve just always rubbed each other the wrong way. It’s not like Jig is a font of information regarding his feelings on any subject.”
“Hmm.” Izzy played with the tail of her long braid. “I’ll have to grill him about it. I have my ways of getting pretty much anything out of him,” she said with a wink.
Toni laughed. “I’m sure you do, girl. But we’re getting off topic. We’re here to talk about Shell.”
Well, damn, for a hot second, she thought maybe they’d forget about her. No such luck.
The table fell silent. Having said the words once already that day, she wasn’t sure she could get them to pass her lips a second time. An invisible fist wrapped itself around Shell’s windpipe making her suck air in restricted gasps. Memories of a time best forgotten bombarded her. Of a decision she made during impossible circumstances. Dropping her head to her hands, she tried to control her breathing.
“Shit!” Izzy said. “Whatever it is, Shell, we’ll help you through it.”
A gentle hand landed on her back, rubbing soothing circles over her spine. Within a minute, her breaths came easier and her mind cleared.
“Want me to say the words for you?” Toni whispered near her ear.
With her face still hidden, Shell nodded.
“All right.” Toni’s hand never stopped moving. “This afternoon, Shell told me that Rusty is Beth’s father.” The words were spoken low enough Beth would never overhear.
The diner grew quiet except for the repetitive swooshing of Beth’s crayon over the paper. Then Izzy said, “Well, shit, give me that fucking bottle.”
“Izzy!” Toni shrieked. “You’re pregnant. You know you can’t drink that.”
“I’m not gonna drink it. I’m just gonna hold the bottle. You can’t tell me news like that and not expect me to lean on my buddy bourbon. Hello, sweet baby,” she said to the bottle. “One day we’ll be together again.”
Shell giggled into her hands. Beside her, Toni snickered as well. After a few seconds, Shell’s giggle grew into a full-out belly laugh. She threw back her head and just let the hilarity happen. Izzy’s comment hadn’t been that funny, but something had to crack the tension and laughter was so much better than the tears threatening to burst free. The other two joined in and they hooted together until Beth looked up from her project and said, “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, baby,” Shell answered wiping tears from her eyes. “You making us pretty pictures?”
But Beth was already back in the zone and didn’t answer.
“Shit,” Izzy said. She set down the booze. “I’m guessing this isn’t something Copper is aware of.”
“No. It’s not. Rusty either. Actually, you two are the only people I’ve ever told. And if either of you tell—”
“Hey,” Toni said motioning to Izzy for the bottle. “Girl code. It’s in the vault.”
“Thank you. I hate asking you to keep something from your men, but I just can’t have them all knowing. Not yet.”
“You don’t have to worry about it.” Izzy reached across the table and squeezed Shell’s hand. “Like Toni said, girl code.” Grabbing a fistful of fries, she asked, “Did you guys date?”
“No!” Her answer was immediate and so strong, both women jumped, then shared a concerned glance. “Uh, sorry, no we didn’t date. Have never dated.”