Dio. The nickname Thunder gave me when he couldn’t say my entire name. At four, he was already far more intuitive and intelligent than most kids his age. Maybe it was the environment he grew up in or how Anita raised him, but Thunder processed life differently. He saw the magic in the little things, and he understood that living life in the light meant crossing paths with darkness.
Olivia, in her own way, reminded me of Thunder. Her sweetness. Her self-awareness at a young age.
Gina brushed the tears from Olivia’s cheeks, kissing her forehead. “You okay, baby?”
“Yes! I have my family back!”
She ran to the dollhouse, dropping to her knees to place the family members in different spots. Mom in the kitchen. Kids in their rooms. Dad on the front porch.
Rev chuckled. “Why is the dad on the porch?”
“To protect the house,” she replied, picking up the teen brother. “And he helps too.”
Such insight. She saw the truth even when others dismissed her words. I told Anita the day we met that I thought kids should be listened to more, that they were brilliant, and often saw things adults missed. Olivia’s perception of the world seemed as unique as Thunder’s.
“That one is extra.” Rev pointed to the teen doll. “There’re too many family members to be ours,” he pointed out, shoving a sugar cookie into his mouth from a nearby plate.
“No, it’s right,” Olivia argued.
He rolled his eyes.
“Really. It’s Mama, Dio, you, me, and Thunder.”
Gina’s eyes widened. “Baby, how do you know Thunder?”
“He visits me sometimes.” Her little chin lifted proudly. “Thunder knows things like Dio and me.” She shrugged. “He’s gonna be here for Christmas tomorrow.”
I kept blinking, processing what she had just said. “Thunder?”
Olivia set down her dolls, spinning in a circle with a laugh before she hugged me around the waist. “Yes. He’s so happy. His eyes sparkle in my dreams.”
My hand rose, clutching my chest. “Thunder.”
“I’m allowed to call you Dio too. Just us two. Not Rev.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “I love you, Dio. You’re better than any Santa because you don’t visit just once a year. We get to see you all the time.”
The lump that formed in my throat felt too tight to swallow. “You, your brother, my boy Thunder, and your mama. You’re everything to me.”
“I know.” She smiled, dropping her arms as she snatched a cookie from Rev’s hands.
In fairness, he’d swiped the last three from the plate.
“Thunder said you’d say that.”
Full circle. That was what this moment meant. I’d come almost all the way around from that fateful day when Ani walked into my tattoo shop holding the hand of the boy who would become my son. In every way. We didn’t share blood, but we shared something much stronger.
Thunder would always be a part of me. His solidified a place in my heart many years ago when I was a young man and a new member of the RBMC. He brought light, love, and joy into the life of a young biker who felt consumed by darkness.
I missed him so deeply that I rubbed my chest, trying to brush off the ache.
“Why don’t we watch a movie?” I asked.
Olivia jumped up and down. “The Grinch!”
Rev shook his head at his sister. “Again?”
“Yes!”
Caught up in her excitement, we gathered on the new sofa, snuggling on the furniture while Gina plated more cookies and I started the movie.