As I woke up, I realized I was between two very buxom women. Both had my head jammed between their bounteous breasts. Sue's were much larger than Beth's, but the big difference was how soft Beth's were compared to Sue's. Sue's had softened since she was pregnant, but not anywhere near Beth's.
I wasn't going to start anything because one: I needed to pee really bad, and two: Beth was Sue's mom and Ben's lover.
I slid down until I was freed from the enclave of four bigger than normal boobs. Actually, the scene would make a great cartoon. A guy like me, trapped between the mammoth boobs of the mother/daughter monsters.
Once out of bed, I pulled the covers over them so they could sleep.
I put on a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt, and made coffee. It was nearing seven when I came out onto the patio. Surprise, there was no one there. I turned on the air and fans, and checked that the big pot was done perking. The Andy's showed up first. Both Sandy and Mandy gave me a great good morning kiss, that a few months ago, would have meant some heavy activity between the sheets. But now, they were loving kisses that told me the girls were happy, but still liked to tease.
The next crewmember to show was Deanne, who was staying over with Hank and Debbie. She curled up in my lap, which is no small feat, considering she is somewhere around six foot six or seven. As more and more of the neighbors and friends showed up, the place became alive with our mutual excitement of life.
Deanne said, "I have to find a place out here. Just waking up here and being a part of all of you makes me a happier person. I want to be an everyday part of you guys."
Sue and her mom came out of the house in their robes. Deanne was going to get up, but Sue held her down and gave her a kiss. "I guess you need to move into one of our bedrooms then, Deanne. You can wake up every morning to all of us, and even sit on Steve's lap in the morning when you need to."
"I'll get my stuff and move if you're serious," Deanne said.
"Of course, I'm serious," Sue said. "Come stay with us until you find the right place for yourself."
In my head, I heard a smiling Mercy say, "Oh Steve, now you have a beautiful Nubian princess to take care of."
When I shook my head to clear the vision there, Deanne asked, "You okay?"
I smiled and nodded, holding her tall thin frame in my lap.
The day began with Sue's mom announcing she wanted her daughter to fly her somewhere. She wanted to have a little time with her alone, just the two of them.
Sue asked if she would mind if she flew the small plane, as it was a lot of fun, especially if they were just going to fly around Florida. The two of them were off to the Aero Park shortly afterwards. I knew they would fly over us and wag the wings to show off a little.
Deanne wanted Debbie and Hank to help her buy a car. They tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted, saying she wanted to be like the rest of us and have her own transportation.
Phil said he would help her, if Judy would enjoy staying out with us today. Ruth convinced Judy they would have a good time today if she stayed, so Phil and Deanne took off to look for a car.
Charlie said that we might want to have lunch with Hap today, as he had been insistent when asking for me. I said I would clean up my bikes and be ready to go when he was. Martin wanted to help while I changed oil and cleaned up both bikes. I was stuck with a sidecar for a while unless we found out we couldn't bring Deanne with us. A lot, but not all, bikers are a little racist. Perhaps a lady might be different. Maybe others would think she was our nanny in waiting, and wouldn't question us.
A little before noon, Charlie and Hank pushed their bikes over to the front of my house, saying they were ready. I closed up my shop and pushed the shovelhead out to the front.
We fired up and headed down Florida toward the clubhouse. We were welcomed through the gate and parked in the VIP area. The social yard was busy with the St. Pete club visiting. The St. Pete folks were disappointed Sue wasn't with me. I told them we might come by later.
Hap took me off to the side, giving me a long neck. "Steve, you may not have heard, but Bear was sniped Thursday. Somebody took a shot at him and knocked him off his bike. He's alive and doing okay, but he's busted up pretty good. Bear asked me to tell you. He said you would take care of it. You're not obligated, but let me know what I can do."
"Where did this happen?" I asked.
"Up in New Port Richey, where their clubhouse is. He was coming out of the lane road when he was hit. The cops didn't even look around. They just let the ambulance take him away and left. Do you think you can do anything?"
"I don't know, Hap. I need whoever was with him, and nearest to him, to take me up there to look around."
"I'll get 'em for you, Steve. I have everyone down here until he's back on his feet. Bear has a lot of guys that can be a little aggressive if they don't have a leader."
I told Charlie that we needed to take a ride up to New Port Richey. He just nodded and said we would need to stop at a gas station on the way. Hank said he would peel off and go down to Jim's as he wanted to see a guy there.
Four of Bear's men, Charlie, and I took off. Hap sent one of his men along so we could send him back for help if we needed it.
When we came to the lane road to the clubhouse, two of Bear's men stepped out into the road, holding up their hands. As soon as they recognized who we were, they let us pass. I stopped at the gate and asked the four men to show me exactly where Bear was hit.
We were almost back to the road when they stopped and showed me where Bear had fallen. I asked if anyone had been looking at him when he was hit. One of the men said he saw Bear hit.
"Put your bike right where you saw him hit." He did, and then I asked, "Did Bear just fall off his bike, or did you see him jerk from being hit?"
The guy put his kickstand down and said, "He jerked to the side right here. He fell off the bike sideways, right here. See, there's still some of his blood on the ground where he landed. Those big rocks are what broke him up."
I went to where he was pointing, and looked back across the bike in a line to see where the round could have come from. About three hundred yards away, there was an old barn type of building that was in line to where Bear was hit. I told everyone to stay there then walked around on the road to the barn. When I came to the lane to the barn where someone would have driven if they were to go to the barn, I saw a motorcycle tire tread track heading to the barn.
There was also a set that headed back out, so I wasn't apprehensive that the sniper was still around. Without stepping in the track, I went to the barn to find that a rear door was hanging off its hinges, half open. The tread marks led inside.
This was an old barn with a hayloft. I could see the boot prints that led to the ladder going up stairs. The ladder steps looked solid, so I climbed upstairs. It was easy to see what was what. There was a burlap bag laying on the old straw at the end of the barn, facing where Bear had been shot. I walked over to the area, looking for anything that could give me a clue.
The burlap bag was laying lengthwise, toward where Bear had been. When you looked at where someone had laid, there was a smudge of yellow near where a man's chest would have been. I got down and looked back toward where the others were. Easy shot at three hundred yards. A guy would have to be high or drunk to miss at that distance. He didn't miss, he just didn't make a good hit. I poked around in the straw a little and turned to leave.
As I turned my head, something shiny caught my eye. I poked around in the straw where I had seen the shiny object and found a shell casing. It was 5.56 brass. That's M-16 or AR-15 stuff. I carefully picked it up with a piece of straw then put it my shirt pocket.
I went back downstairs and walked over to the men who were waiting. I told them that we should ride over to the barn, but to keep to the side so they could look at the tracks.
They inspected the tracks, saying it looked like a cheap Jap tread. It definitely wasn't Dunlap, Goodyear, or the German brand they saw a lot of. When I took them upstairs, they gasped seeing the easy path toward where their leader had been shot.
Just before we were leaving, one of Bear's men made a comment. "It looks like there's a cut on the tire here. See where it spreads out, then about a revolution later it's closed, probably because the tire hopped on a bump. The cut is on the outside right side. It should be easy to spot.
I told them of the shell casing, but said I was saving it for the FDLE, so they could check it for prints. We rode back to the clubhouse where I reported to Hap what we had found. I told him to have his men watch for a cheap tire with a cut on the right side. He said he'd pass it along.
On the way back, Charlie and I peeled off to go home, letting Bear's men go back to Hap's place.
Once home, I told Charlie that I was going to visit Bear in the Hospital. He asked if I wanted him to come along, but I said I thought a private visit would be best right now.
Bear had been transferred to University Community Hospital in northeast Tampa, out by the University of South Florida. They had an orthopedic group that put him back together, and where he was still recovering.
When I went to the desk to find out what room he was in, I almost asked for Bear, but remembered his name from so many years ago. I dropped the Lieutenant part, and just asked for Barton Meyer. When they told me he had restricted visitation, I told them to ask him if he would see Steve Sharp.
I didn't make a fuss, so the receptionist called up to his floor nurse right away. A few minutes later, the receptionist was having a phone conversation with someone, but looking directly at me. When she hung up, she motioned for me to come to the desk. "Mr. Meyer wants to see you right away. The floor nurse said you are on his allowed list of visitors. Do you have a picture ID, like a driver's license?"
My driver's license still had me with a beard, so I pulled out my driver's license and my FAA license that she compared and said, "I like you better without the beard. You should get a new license so it's easier to identify you."
When I went up to Bear's room, there was a uniformed Tampa policeman sitting outside the door to his room. I went through the ID thing with him and was let in.
Bear was trussed up, with a lower leg suspended in a cast all the way to his hip. His left arm was immobilized and wrapped to his body, that was also bandaged.
A nice looking girl sat in a chair next to Bear. She had on a Harley tank top, under a long sleeve man's plaid shirt with folded up sleeves. Her jeans were faded but clean, with some lace up boots showing. Her long, dirty blonde hair was in a ponytail. You almost smiled at the representation of a true biker's old lady. Her face had some worry lines on it, but they just highlighted a face that had seen a lot of sun and wind riding behind a leather vest.
"Jesus, Bear, I thought you were just shot, I didn't know a freight train got you too?"
Bear smiled at me, obviously full of some pain drugs, "I was riding too fast for the conditions out there, in a hurry to get a beer."
He moved around a bit trying to get comfortable then said, "The fucking rag heads were never able to put me down, but some yahoo damn nearly did the trick, didn't he."
"You couldn't have been going too fast on that dirt and loose gravel."
"You know me, Steve, I love to take it to the edge, I usually do fifty to sixty before I lock up the brakes to make the turn onto the hard road. I know that road so well, I like to slide right up on the blacktop."
"Damn, Bear, you must be death on your equipment."
"That's why I have the best wrenches in the franchise. They keep me going."
"Steve, this is Suzy. She's my Lieutenant's lady. She thinks I need a caretaker, so she and some others keep me company. Suzy, sit over by the window so I can talk to this whiff for a minute."
I nodded to Suzy, and she gave me a half smile as she moved to another chair.
I sat next to Bear's bed when he asked, "So tell me, bro, what do you know, have you had a chance to find out anything?"
"Not much, but I did go out to where you were hit and found where the shooter had been. I found a 5.56 shell casing."
"M-16, huh?"
"That or an AR," I said. "One of your men spotted an unusual thing about a bike tire tread print. First, it was a cheap Jap or Chinese tire and second, probably the back tire has a deep cut on the right outside of the tread."
"There is one more thing, the shooter may have been wearing a vest or T-shirt that had just been painted or printed. There was a bright yellow smudge on a burlap bag laying up there. I need to go back and get it so I can get it tested."
"Who're you going to get it tested by?"
"I have a friend that is a Major with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's department. He can have the FDLE do it for him. For some reason, I don't think I should go through the Pasco County people. They don't seem to be very interested, from what your men say."
"If you think they will help, but I want to find out who it was and take care of the problem ourselves. You know we don't farm out our work."
"Well, since you seem to be under some kind of watch, this may have too high a profile for your own men to do. They would probably get caught, and then have to suffer for what we can get the cops to do."
Bear grunted a couple of times wiggling around, "You're probably right, but I still don't like the idea of us not taking care of the problem."
"Let me ask you some questions. You know I'm an independent and don't really want to know about club business, but you need to talk to me a little. First, there was the guy that tried to take you and Hap out a little while ago. Then the other night, there was the attack that almost happened. What's made you guys a target? It must be something big, because the news people don't even guess at what's going on."
"Shit, they probably have the room bugged, but I'll tell you what I think. The cops haven't even asked me who I thought might be responsible."
Bear lowered his voice then motioned me to scoot the chair closer. "My club broke away from another national club about a year ago. The reason we left was that I found out some of my people were dealing for the national guys. Since we were a splinter club, people like that always like to use groups like ours to take the fall for anything that happens."
"I didn't want that to happen, and I don't approve of dealing. I don't allow the bad stuff around. All my guys know this and know that the penalty for coke and smack hurts, lots. You're only going to walk the line once for that kind of discipline. The next time, you don't get up. We booted a dozen or so of our guys who were immediately inducted by the other patch. I don't even think they had to prospect."
"Anyway, since we were in Florida, that group has wanted to take over in this area for the drug business. Apparently some big time dealers have been busted lately, and they wanted to use Hap's group and my group to run for them. Hap and I see eye to eye on the drug thing, as well as the St. Pete guys. The cops watch us too hard to even be carrying around smoke. I don't care if my guys want to get high, but I'd rather they drink instead. Hell, a hangover often enough will usually convince a guy that there are better things in life."
"I'm getting off track. Since we have been keeping away from them, they have tried to convince some of our own people to try to take over our clubs. Their goal lately has been to get rid of the leadership, and then take over the clubs by force if necessary. We're having some trouble getting carry permits, for obvious reasons, and the cops want to take our pieces to have them checked out when they stop us, even with a permit. So we are flying naked. We're even trying to find out if it's legal to have a saddle gun on a bike if you have a permit."
"Hap and I are sure the FDLE is watching us closely, because they know there is some kind of takeover trying to happen. We also figure they know the other patch does not play nice and deals on a major scale. That's why Hap threw the gates open the other night. He wanted them to use their dogs all over the place to show them we didn't have any weight on the grounds. I think they were surprised. We had a guy with a couple of tabs of Ecstasy, but he just got a ticket and has to appear. The cops let a couple small baggies of pot slide. There wasn't any coke around, so the place was cleaner than most churches."
"You know they think I'm a target if they have a real uniform out there. You also know that the FDLE is onto this, as Tampa doesn't have anything to do with Pasco County. That's what I know, bro. Go find something. Take it to your buddy with the Sheriff's department. Let's get this behind us so none of my guys get dead from this thing. Hap's worried about his people and the St. Pete club is drawn in so tight, they hardly let guys go to work. Times are not good."
I had listened to all of this, not necessarily surprised, but wondered why Hap had not let me know he was in trouble.
"I'll get going and let you be peaceful. Get well, and let me know where you are. Have Suzy or someone call me if you can't. I'm on this thing as much as I can be. I'll see if I can come up with something."
"Shit, you've already done more than the cops have, so far. There might be someone working on the case, but not close like you. Thanks, bro, Semper Fi."
"Hoorah!" I exclaimed in response.
I got up to leave saying, "Thanks for watching out for Bear, Suzy. You need to get this guy to settle down with a lady, soften him up."
"Damn, I can't even throw something at you, you asshole, get out of here," Bear exclaimed.
The cop smiled at me as I left, making me think he heard most of what had been said in the room. Bear knew the cop was out there, so he obviously didn't care if the cop heard, or whether the room was bugged.
The whole visit had not taken more than twenty minutes.
After leaving the hospital, I drove back up to Bear's club house area and stopped in the lane and waved for his men to come out. I told them that I was going over to the barn again, but wanted to let them know. They just nodded and went back to become invisible at their gate.
I parked my truck at the entrance of the barn road and walked to the barn, then climbed the stairs to the loft. The burlap sack, with the smudge of yellow on it, was still where it had been left. I carefully rolled it up so the smudge wouldn't be disturbed and carried it downstairs. I looked around carefully for cigarette butts that may be fresh or just squashed out recently. I found two, both Marlboro, so I flipped them into a zip-lock bag I had brought from home. I couldn't see anything else, so I went back to my truck with the rolled up burlap bag and headed back to Tampa.
I drove straight down to the Citrus Park Hillsborough County Sheriff's department substation to see if I could run into my friend. I told the deputy at the counter that I wanted to see the Major. He took my name and made a telephone call. As he spoke into the phone, his eyes got big, then he smiled and nodded his head, and hung up.
"Mr. Sharp, it is an honor and pleasure to meet you. Thank you for being there for us when we've needed help. The Major will see you right away." I was led through the office to a glassed in office where I could see my friend the Major waiting for me.
He rose and shook my hand as I entered the office. "Well, Steve, welcome to the station. It is a pleasure to have you stop in, but for some reason, I don't think this is a pleasure call, especially after having visited with your friend in the hospital."
"Keeping tabs on me, huh?" I asked.
"Not really, Steve, but the presence of a major bike club president in the hospital, with a Tampa police guard, is noteworthy. I understand you served in Desert Storm with Mr. Meyer, as a fellow patrol leader. None of that is important though, what can I do for you."
I explained to the Major that I had discovered where the attack had come from, and what I had found out. I carefully leaned over his desk and let the 5.56 brass fall out of my pocket. I told the Major I had not touched it since I found it. I then gave him the cigarette butts I had found, and rolled out the burlap sack, to show him the smudge of yellow.
"What do you want me to do with this? It isn't in my jurisdiction. This belongs to Pasco County."
"For some reason, Major, I don't trust Pasco County with this. They were not interested in investigating when the incident happened, and I believe it is related to the big incident at the clubhouse the other night. This evidence is for the FDLE. They can use it. If they need me to verify where I found it, I will, but right now I'd like to find out if the brass has a print on it and what that smudge is. Is it paint or ink? That might be important. The butts are for DNA. The FDLE has been typing DNA for a while and there may be a match. The last thing I need is for you to teach me how to take a cast of a tire print. I think I can do it and not cause a stir. If an evidence truck goes up there, it's going to freak out the neighbors and there could be problems."
"That's a tall order, Steve. I'll get this stuff to the FDLE to analyze, but the tire thing needs to be done by a pro. I have an idea, hang on."
The Major used his phone and called someone and asked if they had any civilian clothes with them. He was nodding and said, "Put them on and come to my office with a plaster cast kit."
"Mind taking someone up there to do the job," the Major asked me?
"No, but a cleaned up guy, even without a uniform, will draw attention. Not many folks up there have crew cuts."
"I think I have that covered, here she is now."
A lady about thirty with long black hair came in the room, carrying a clear plastic bag with several items, including two bottles of water. She was wearing jeans, boots and a Harley T-shirt. "What can I do for you, Major?"
"Deputy Williams, this is Steve Sharp. He is the one who helped Deputy Benson when he was shot on duty a few months ago. You may also remember he was the one that helped capture the rogue deputy involved in all that drug stuff. He needs you to go with him up to Pasco County, not as a deputy to this department, but as a private citizen to cast a tire print that he says could help solve a serious problem. Would you do that for him?"
The lady smiled at the Major and me and said, "Sure will. The department owes this guy whatever he needs. Mr. Sharp, let's get this done."
I shook hands with the Major, telling him his plan was a good one. I led Deputy Williams out to my truck, telling her it wasn't that far to drive. Thirty-five minutes later, I parked my truck at the lane and led the deputy to where the print with the cut was very clear, and she went to work. First she took out a plastic bag with a large quantity of white stuff in it, then opened one of the bottles of water and poured it in. She zipped up the bag and handed it to me saying to squeeze it continuously, mixing the compound with the water.
She next took out what looked like a solid three inch wide plastic strip and made a large circle out of it. She placed the circle around the area we going to cast, then held her hand up for the bag. She poured the mixed contents into the fenced area then said, "Show me what else you found here."
I led her into the barn, showing her the tire prints in there as well. I pointed to the spots where I had picked up a couple of cigarette butts, then we went up the steps to the loft. I showed her where the burlap bag had laid and where I had found the shell casing. She asked me how I had handled the casing and the butts.
She slid a slim camera out of her back pocket and took multiple pictures of the loft, including the depression of where the burlap bag had been and where I had found the shell casing.
When I told her how I had used straw on the brass, and had just flicked the butts into the baggy, she seemed pleased. She looked all around very closely then we went back downstairs. She had a small, but very bright, high intensity flashlight that she shined all around. She took several pictures downstairs as well, then stopped at a barn post. At the barn post next to where the bike had been parked and dripped oil on the ground, there was a small nail sticking out that had a piece of cloth on it. Deputy Williams pulled a baggy out of her jeans, and with a tweezers put the piece of cloth into the baggy.
Back outside, the deputy took a picture of the area around the tire print then unfolded a piece of skinny cardboard and slid it under the area where she had poured the plaster. She took another piece of the same cardboard and put in over the top of it. She then picked it all up and went for the truck. There she nodded toward the door. I opened the truck door and she slid the casting onto the floor.
"Let's get out of here. There are a couple of guys down the road watching us very closely."
I said, "They know my truck, and you are just here with me, so we're okay. They may be curious, but we're not too far out for them. I'm supposed to be helping their president find out who ambushed him."
"I see, now I know why the strange adventure. You know of course that Pasco is going to have kittens when they find out I was up here," Deputy Williams said.
I assured her, "They didn't investigate, they didn't even seem interested, so this is my private investigation, and you are on loan to me as a favor. I think we're good."
We drove back to the Citrus Park substation where she went in, carrying the casting, with me following. No one said stop, so I followed her back to her lab, where she flipped the pieces of cardboard over and set them on a counter. She took off the now top piece of cardboard, then using a small vacuum, cleaned the loose dirt from the casting. When it was perfectly clean, she brought a spray paint can out and shook it for a minute, then sprayed the casting with a clear substance she explained was a glue to strengthen the casting.
She sealed the casting to the piece of cardboard with what looked like caulking, but she said it was Elmer's wood glue. "What do you want to do with this?"
"Let's give it to the Major so he can give it to the FDLE," I said.
She told me to carry it gently up to the Major's office. She led the way and entered without knocking. Deputy Williams said, "You should hire this guy. He did a great job and only missed one clue." She pulled out the plastic bag with the piece of cloth in it. "I took pictures of the scene and could probably give the FDLE guys a good description of where the victim was hit."
"Good job, Williams. I knew you were the one to send. Sharp here has a way of getting involved in everything. I probably should have him take some classes if he decides to stick around. We might as well make him a little more professional."
"Um, Major, Mr. Sharp has asked me to come out to his place to have the evening meal with his wife, his friends, and him. Do you think it would alright to do that?"
"So, another of my deputies is going to get fed out at your place before I get out there?"
"Your fault, Major," I said. "Seems I invited a lowly Sergeant out to the house for a friendly beer a long time ago, why don't you get your wife and come too."
"I think Mickey will enjoy herself more than I would. Just make sure she gets home safe. With all the bikers you hang out with, I'm liable to lose a deputy to one of them. You have my blessing, Mickey, have a good time."
The next thing she said stunned me. Think of it, I'm in the office of the commanding Major of the Hillsborough Country Sheriff's Department substation with one of his deputies, and she smiles at me then him and simply says, "Thanks, Dad."
Oops!
As my face reddened, he said, "Do you think I would have sent just anyone out with you, Steve? I could trust my daughter, not many others. She rode in with me this morning, so you're responsible to get her home. She's not on duty tomorrow, so get her home in time for work in a couple of days."
The deputy took my hand and pulled me from the office, as I shook my head, hearing the Major laugh. There's always more than what meets the eye.
I drove us to the park where she, all of a sudden, became a completely changed person. She had become a motor-mouth telling me how she had been with the department for over ten years, and that she had to be perfect working out of the substation her dad commanded. She said she knew enough about me from him, that it was like seeing a live person that you had been studying for a long time.
I pulled up to the house and parked, then led Mickey to the patio. The place was pretty full. Sue and her Mom were talking to Shawna, Glenda, and the Andy's at the table, while Tiny, Phil, Hank, Drew, Tom, Al, and Charlie were watching a ballgame on the big TV.
Sue saw us and jumped up to come to us. I introduced Mickey to Sue, saying that Mickey was helping me find the guy who had taken a shot at Bear. Sue didn't know the story yet, so I didn't want to explain it out in the open. I told Sue that Mickey was the Major's daughter.
Sue threw her arms around Mickey and hugged her, saying she was so happy to meet her. She instantly dragged her off toward the house door and disappeared. You know, the wife's interrogation of a lady her husband has been with for a couple of unsupervised hours. But then, I had seen the glimmer of mutual interest in both Sue's and Mickey's eyes.
Charlie asked how my visit with Bear was, and I told him he was doing pretty good, but wasn't allowed a lot of visitors.
Sue and Mickey came out of the house just then, so I asked Mickey if she wanted something to drink. "Do you have an extra beer?"
Tiny had heard the question and was instantly drawing a frosty mug of beer for her. She thanked him, and asked if we were too late for supper. Sue said no there were wings, pizza, and chicken tenders on the way.
Shawna and Hanna got up and brought out some vegetable snacks with dips. The hungry guys attacked the two big platters, dramatically diminishing the quantities very fast. Mickey seemed to be at home with the guys and grabbed a hand full of veggies quickly. She smiled at me and said, "I'm the youngest and only girl among six kids. If you're not fast, you don't get any."
Sue was standing next to me with her arm around my waist. She pulled my head down to whisper in my ear, "She's a keeper."
I chuckled, thinking that Sue wanted to keep every little girl that comes along.
Deanne came bouncing out of the house and up to me. She planted a good one right on my lips saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you for making me one of your harem. Oh, and Phil helped me get a car today. Wait till you see it."
I shook my head, knowing Mickey would never believe anything out of my mouth again. I pinched Sue's butt and nodded toward Mickey. Sue didn't help when she said, "Well, maybe Mickey would love to be in your harem too."
Oh shit, from bad to worse. Oh well, just go with the flow. Worst that could happen is the Major will be raiding the place before the night's over.
Mickey didn't help either, "You never know, Sue, this place does seem like a great place to live. If this is how a harem girl lives, I think I'd like it."
I let Sue entertain Mickey while I went to talk to the group of women. Beth was half drunk, telling everyone who would listen how her daughter had flown her all over the area. She had even seen the big house down on Bay Shore from the air. This was going to go down as a day to remember, that's for sure.
This whole place was out of hand tonight. Shawna was sitting with Bob, having a hand and finger waving conversation about something. Ruth and Debbie were involved too, so it was a flurry of hands, with only an occasional word out of anyone's mouth. I was going to need to learn to sign.
One of the new big heavy wooden rockers was free, so I sat it in. A beer appeared in my hand as Sue kissed my forehead, saying that the food would be here soon. I took a big drink, then closed my eyes letting the day slide by. Someone crawled into my lap. This was such a commonplace thing that I just hugged whoever it was to me, and the female put her head on my shoulder. The hair smelled different, not like any of the girls that usually sat in my lap. I opened my eyes to see a black-haired head on my chest with her arms around me and her denim clad legs up under her on my lap.
"So what do I owe this closeness to, Mickey?"
Without moving her head she gave me a hug with her arms around my body, "You just seemed to be totally worn out and afraid of what I might think. I just wanted to show you that I think of you as special, just like Dad does. Sue told me to come over here and make you feel better. I'm here, do you feel better?"
"How could I not feel better, Mickey? You surprised me, is all. We drove up to New Port Richey and back with very little conversation, and then as soon as we left the office to come here, you opened up like a bride on her wedding night."
She said, "That's quite an analogy, but you have to remember, I was on duty earlier. I was doing as I was directed to do. As soon as we left, I was off shift, off duty, free, white, and twenty-one. Oh, I didn't mean to be racist about that."
"I know, it's just an expression. But like I said, you sure did change stripes in a hurry," I said, still wondering about the turnaround.
Mickey sat up a little on my lap so she could look into my eyes. "See those two girls over there, Sandy and Mandy? I'm like they are, or like they were. I like girls, ah, mostly. It's not that I'm afraid of guys, but I don't like all that he-man shit they give off. Most guys are pure cowboys looking for a night at Miss Lilly's to get their rocks off. I look around here and I'm amazed. There are several guys here that could be the high testosterone types, but they're all calm and collected. None of them are trying to impress each other or any of the girls. This is different."
"You're pretty observant. Old Martin would probably come closest to that, or the mute guy over there, Bob." I pointed to each of them. Drew isn't trying to impress anyone, but is crazy about Mandy, and Bob and Sandy appear to be permanent. Tiny is as gentle as can be, with a sexy wife that makes his life fun. Phil and Judy are totally wrapped in each other. Let's see, Charlie is an inveterate biker, under the spell of the one redhead over there, Shawna, while Jim is totally committed to the other redhead, Hannah. Then there is crazy Hank, who is absolutely nuts about Shawna's look-alike cousin, Debbie. I don't think any of these guys are going to try to impress you. Now Sue, or Ruth, or Mandy, or Sandy, or Shawna, or Hannah, or Debbie, could try to talk you into their bed to share you with their husbands or boy friends, but none of the guys would do that."
"That's what I mean, you didn't bring me out here to get into my pants, but this place makes me want to play with all of you. Sue is about as exciting a woman as I've ever seen. You can look at Ruth and see predator in her eyes. Actually the only lady here that I don't see that look is the older lady there, ah, Glenda. Even the lady that's Sue's mom, she has the look in her eye. It may be the booze though. I love it here."
A delivery guy showed with a stack of pizzas, boxes of wings, and chicken tenders. It looked like a ton of food, but most had not seen what this bunch could eat.
Mickey, Sue, Deanne, and Beth sat together, stuffing pizza. Mickey began on some wings, but had to go get more beer. Beth had switched to Coke, so of the four, only Mickey was drinking.
Mandy and Sandy recognized Mickey and drew her into their conversation. It seemed that Bob was upset that Sandy and Mandy wanted to live in the same house together. He wanted Sandy and him to have their own place and Drew and Mandy their own. Bob didn't want to live in the park, but Drew was happy here. Sandy was telling Bob he was a prude and that the people who lived out here were all good people. He was being obstinate and Sandy was not giving in.
Bob was upset and Sandy was upset which meant that Mandy was upset which made Sue and Shawna upset. Bob couldn't or wouldn't give a reason why he didn't want to share a place with Drew and Mandy.
Ruth took a beer and piece of pizza to Bob and sat with him. They had a hand waving conversation for a couple of minutes, until I could just hear Ruth telling Bob by her motions, to shut up, cool off, and eat.
About eight, Sue said she was going to take her Mom home and asked if Mickey would like to ride along so she and Mickey could get better acquainted? The three took off heading to either Carolwood or Bay Shore.
Bob and Sandy seemed to have resolved a little of their differences and headed home. Drew was content in one of the big chairs with Mandy next to him. Charlie and Shawna were happy too. Deanne was sitting next to Hank and Debbie until they said they needed to get to bed early. Deanne got up and wandered around lost. She came up to me and looked at me then to my lap. I smiled at her and patted my lap.
The long Deanne curled up as much as possible in my lap and put her head on my shoulder. She said, "I like it out here, but I'm going to miss my family. My mom and dad will worry about me and I'll worry about my brother and sisters. I used to be the babysitter all the time, but they're old enough now they don't need babysitters anymore. They don't even like the idea that I watch over them so closely. Shaneen, the next oldest is going to HCC this year and Megan is graduating from high school. Markus is a junior and will probably get an academic scholarship next year. His grade point is out of sight. They don't need me anymore, and it's time I spread my wings a little. I have my own car now, I don't have a lot of physical possessions, but I have a good job, money in the bank, and I'm taking night classes out at USF. It's time I left home. Living here, I'll feel safe and I'll be with friends. Did you know I went to the doctor and got on the pill? I've been on it more than two months now, so I won't be getting pregnant. Sue keeps saying I'll meet my special guy but so far, I haven't. I'm just impatient, that's all."
I let her talk her homesickness away. She was realizing that her decision to move out of her childhood home was a very big one. I wondered what her folks had said to her about it. As close as she seemed to her family, they were probably supportive, but also missed their oldest as much as she missed them.
I said, "You know you will be expected to go home and stay a night or two a week there so they will know you're all right. Why don't you stay there the nights you have classes? Now that you have a car, you'll be able to work around where you want to stay."
Deanne sat up and looked at me, "That's a great idea. I think I'll call Mom right now and ask her if I can do that. I need to tell Dad that I used some of my money to buy a car too."
She was off my lap and in the house in a flash. Glenda reached over and patted my hand. "You did good, Steve. She is homesick and wants to be independent, but she is close to her family as well. I think you gave her a way to do both."
"Thanks, Glenda, I hope so."
More of the folks left for home, including Drew and Mandy. Phil and Judy had left long ago, and now Glenda and Martin said it was time to say goodnight. I got a little hug and kiss on the forehead from Glenda, which was always a nice thing.
My cell phone rang. It was my sister. "Hey, Steve, is the offer still good to come down to visit? Kevin has ten days vacation coming up before school starts and I thought we could come to see you then spend some time at the beaches, Busch Gardens, and maybe over at Disney with the kids."
"Susan, how old are your kids now. I always forget," I asked.
Dennis is fifteen, almost sixteen, and Tina is going to be fourteen while we're down there. They're young enough to enjoy the parks, and old enough that they shouldn't be too much of a problem. What do you think, Steve, can we still come down and stay with you? It would make the trip a lot easier for us and it would be great to see you."
"We have the room, Susan, and we would love to have you. Were you going to fly or drive down."
"Oh, Steve, we couldn't afford to fly the four of us, so we'll drive down. From up here in Cincinnati, we could probably drive straight through. It would be a long drive but we wouldn't have to spend money on a motel. It's only like six hundred miles in a straight line but it's like eight hundred and sixty by road. We could drive it in sixteen hours, as long as we don't stop too much."
"Tell you what, Sis," I said, thinking that I could be a good guy, "My wife and I bought a plane that is pretty fast. How about I fly up and get you all and we can get back here in a couple of hours. Would that be better?"
"You finished your license? I know you were going to, but I didn't know you continued it after you got hurt."
"I finished it up while I was in the service in the Aero club, but let it drop after I got hurt. Sue insisted I take the tests again, and now we both fly. So what do you think, do you want to fly down?"
"Is it safe, Steve? You know, you hear about those little planes crashing all the time," Susan asked.
"This is a pretty big plane, Susan, you'll like it. Besides, I'm very careful. I even have an instrument rating now. We'll fly during the day and high enough to be out of the general aviation areas and below the great big guys. We have a pressurized cabin, so we can fly pretty high if we want to. Besides, I'll bring my co-pilot along, Sue, my wife. That way you guys get two pilots, just like the airlines."
"I think we'll do it. I'll make sure with Kevin, but that would give us a couple of extra days down there. So, is a week from Friday good for you?"
"Sure, Susan, anytime is a good time for me and us. We'll make time. I didn't tell you but you're going to be an aunt. Sue is pregnant."
"Oh my. Steve, my little brother is married and going to be a dad. Are you going to be able to afford a baby especially considering you support a plane and live in a trailer park?"
"We're doing fine, Susan, you'll see. Our house is big even though it is a manufactured home in a trailer park."
"Okay, Steve, I'll call you again tomorrow or Tuesday and tell you what Kevin says."
"Susan, I want you to plan on having a great time and let me host you guys down here. Sue and I have plenty now and can afford to squire you around first class. We were going to come up and visit with you guys, but now you have beaten us to it. Just come down, you'll have a great time on me."