Heartsong (Green Creek 3)

It was like we were waiting. For what, I didn’t know.

Ox put his hands on the table. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. His chest expanded, and he held his breath for a beat, then two, then three before letting it out slowly. He opened his eyes.

He said, “My mother. She liked to dance. In the kitchen. Once, we were doing the dishes, and there was a soap bubble in my ear. She popped it. And then we danced. That was a good day, for many reasons.”

Joe’s smile was blinding.

“Things have changed since then,” Ox continued. “We’re not who we once were. We’ve lived and lost. But I like to think that she’s still here. Somewhere. Somehow. And I know she’s proud of who I am and what I’ve made for myself. My daddy said I was going to get shit all my life. He didn’t know that I would have pack who would do anything for me, as I would do everything for them. And while we may not be who we once were, we’re still here.” He glanced at me before looking back out at the others. “We’re still together.” He raised his glass. The others did the same. After a moment, I did too, though I felt like a fraud. “To Maggie. To Thomas. To all those we’ve lost and all those we’ve found again.”

“And to Ox on his motherfucking birthday,” Tanner said cheerfully, and most everyone laughed as they raised their glasses even higher.

I didn’t.

Neither did Rico.

It was slow, this meal. Leisurely.

I never wanted it to end.

I wanted to go back to the basement and hide away.

I stayed quiet for most it, taking in all the sights and sounds and smells. There was blue still, clinging and cold. Green too. Relief, though it felt fragile.

It didn’t help (hurt?) that Carter got it in his head that he needed to get his brother drunk.

“Think about it,” Carter said to Kelly from across the table. “Who knows how long you’re going to be human? You gotta go for it, Kelly.”

Tanner sighed as he glared down at his bottle of beer. “You know, this whole wolf thing lets me jump ten feet in the air from a crouch, but I can’t even get a buzz. What kind of messed-up shit is that?”

Chris nodded. “You did like to drink beer more than you liked to jump.”

Mark looked amused. “You can shift into a wolf the size of a small horse, and you regret not being able to get drunk?”

“So much,” Tanner said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. The fact that I can shift into a killing machine is pretty damn cool, but fuck, what I wouldn’t give just to not be sober for, like, five seconds. Weed doesn’t even work on me anymore.” He blanched as he glanced at Gordo. “Not that I’ve ever been stoned before, boss. Because hugs, not drugs. Or whatever.”

Gordo snorted. “Bullshit. We got high for the first time when we were what, fourteen? Fifteen?”

“You did?” Mark asked, arching an eyebrow.

“You wouldn’t know. That was when you were an asshole and I never wanted to see you again.”

“You told me that last week,” Mark said.

Gordo rolled his eyes. “That’s because you left your wet towel on the floor. Again. You’re lucky I didn’t kick you out right then and there. You would have nowhere else to go, and I wouldn’t even feel bad about it.”

“I wouldn’t take you back,” Elizabeth agreed. “You don’t know the relief I felt when you and Gordo finally stopped being idiots. I turned your old room into a second studio. I don’t plan on changing it back. It’s probably for the best that you pick up your wet towels.”

Mark laughed at Gordo’s smug expression. “Duly noted.”

“I’m going to bring Kelly into the Lighthouse,” Carter told Bambi, “and you’re going to keep bringing drinks until Kelly throws up or goes to sleep, whichever comes first.”

Kelly pulled a face. “Let’s not do that.”

“I got you,” Bambi said easily. “He won’t be able to leave unless he has to be carried out. What’s your poison? You seem like the fruity drink kind of guy. Little umbrella. Sorority girl cocktails.”

Chris and Tanner and Carter looked delighted.

Kelly, not so much.