GGS: Good Gaelic Souls A Biker Saga (G.G.S) (7 page)

Popping up from behind the counter, eager to see her response, he lifted the lid of a small white box. Removing the lid with one hand, he placed the open box on the counter before her and waited for her inspection. He didn't have to wait long before he heard her signature, "Fuck yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" and had the pleasure to see her eyes instantly brighten with joy. This was the response that he waited for every time, and he had became so good at finding little treasures to please her, that he was rarely dissapointed.

It was especially important for him to please her on this visit, as he was very aware of her recent loss. She didn't know it, but he too had been at the Clubhouse the night of the funeral, quietly paying his respects from across the street, holding his candle up with many other locals that felt the same way about this peculiar, but well thought of family of bikers. 

Laying on a blue velvet background, was one perfect white "Aye" delicately carved from a painted shell, with tiny hand painted black stars. The other was a perfect black "Nay"
with tiny white stars. Both dangled from sterling silver chains with one tiny pearl in the center, attached to a hypo-allergenic hook. Stax was so delighted, she giggled. Rex was pleased to know that in the midst of what she was dealing with, his efforts had brought this fleeting moment of happiness to her heart. He decided to enjoy the moment a little longer, so he held out, keeping his secret knowledge a few moments longer. It simply amazed him how quickly her eye color could change with her emotions and he knew the light would be extinquished the moment he told her the details about the earrings.

Stax removed the earrings from their resting place and placed them in her ears. Looking at herself in the large counter top mirror, she smiled and moved her head back and forth watching them sway with her movements. She turned back to Rex, and he was rewarded with a priceless look of gratitude from what now looked like a shining pair of hazel-green gemstones. "Such pure honesty in those eyes," he thought, feeling a twinge of guilt for not immediately telling her what he knew. As his inner thoughts flickered across his face, Stax gave him a questioning look. "I have to share the moment now," he reasoned, "And that's ok, I would rather share it with him than anyone I know."  He was torn, knowing that in the long run, she would appreciate the information, but for this upcoming moment, her giddy mood would be changed and those precious gemstones would turn dark and misty in his presence.

"Ms. Stax," he started, and then stopped to clear his throat while he gave thought to how he should say this without upsetting her too much. "Ms. Stax," he tried again, "It was your father who commisioned me to find these two pieces for you." Damn, there it went. Her smile was  gone, replaced by a slight quiver to those cupie-bow lips. Her brow was furrowed as she tried to comprehend what he was saying, so he quickly continued on. "He wanted to give them to you for your last birthday, but they have been on back-order for awhile now. When I called to let him know that they wouldn't be shipped anytime near your birthday, he just chuckled and said, "
Thats fine laddie, we can give them to her when they arrive, she's gonna like 'em no matter what day it is.
" When I expressed to him how sorry I was to disappoint him, he said to me, "
Sometimes laddie, life get's in the way. When we can we do, and when we can't we wait
."

Watching the emotions dance across her face, he added softly, "Please forgive me if I have chosen an inappropriate day to share this with you. I wouldn't do anything to purposely make you sad, I hope you know that." Stax took a deep breath, held it in and slowly exhaled. Her thoughts were jumbled, she felt both chilled and sweaty at the same time. "Here it is." She thought, "This is only the first of many moments that will blind-side me and catch me off guard. Moments when life will seem almost normal and carefree, only to be hit from left field with the reality that Da is here no more."  Her new reality was gonna be extremely hard to deal with and she knew in her heart that she had to start now and meet it head on or risk the danger of forever being lost in grief and anger.

Blinking back the tears that she could feel were on the brink of making their appearence, she willed herself to stop shaking. Her lips turned up in a lesser smile than before, but a smile none-the-less. She looked at Rex as he stood there behind the counter not knowing what to say or do. Stax walked down to the end of the counter, pushed through the swinging access door with her hips, and walked up to Rex. She reached out and gave him a big hug, whispering "Thank you for such a special gift. You and Da, do good work together. I love them and I will cherish them forever, just as I do our friendship." She kissed his flushed cheek, brushed away the tear that was running down his face and smiled her biggest smile just for him. Rex exhaled slowly and watched her walk back around the counter. He was speechless. She looked back at him and winked as she walked over to the purse rack, giving herself enough space to get her shit together.

Choosing a small wrist bag, covered in tiny conch shells woven into a wheat colored material, she moved on to find herself a new pair of sun glasses. She picked up a pair to try on, as the door chime announced another customer was in the building. Deciding on a oversized, white pair of sunglasses that she instinctively knew that Strangler would absolutely hate, she walked past the beautiful knick-knacks and various sea shells calling to her from their shelves. She wasn't in the mood to stop and admire their beauty today, instead, she went straight to the back room full of clothing racks. She chose a white 3/4 sleeve linen bathing suit cover top, and a wide brim traditional straw beach hat with a white satin ribbon, and headed back to the counter. A much relieved Rex rang up her choices and advised her that the earrings had been paid for when ordered. To his suprise and secret pleasure, he watched as Stax reached into her bathing suit top and paid for her purchases.

Removing the tags, she put the remainder of her money in the little wrist purse, placed her sunglasses on her face, slipped on the cover top, and placed the sun hat where it belonged. With her head held high, using in her best hollywood voice she said, "Sssank you Dahling, Sank you veddy much." Winking at Rex, she turned towards the door, and with an exagerated sway to her hips, walked back out into the fresh salty air, Rex's laughter ringing in her ears.

Stax headed down the street a few blocks futher towards the local drug store, where she picked up a few toiletries, the new issue of Easy Rider and two cartons of cigarettes. Menthol light for her and full flavor for the guys. Outside on the street again, she decided that she wasn't ready to go to the arcade that she loved to frequent, but she did want some salt-water taffy, so she went to her favorite candy shop, grabbed a half pound of taffy and a small piece of chocolate fudge and started the walk back. She would have picked up some chocolate for them all to enjoy tonight, but it would have melted long before she made it back. On the walk back to the motel, she enjoyed her treat and then she picked up her pace. Her sunburn was stinging in the sunlight and although she had the aloe on and all the correct clothing now, she had put it all on a day late. 

Dodging the intense sun, she slipped into the liquor store for a bottle and a new lighter for her lighter leash. A block later she hit the burger joint near the motel where she bought ten cheeseburgers. The next block was her motel, she had made it through the greater part of the day and not fallen apart. Proud of herself, she lay her purchases on the closest bed and picked up the ice bucket.  Visiting the ice machine and soda machine's, she headed back to the room. Making herself a drink, she downed it and immediately refilled the little plastic cup. Picking up a roach, she hit it three times and devoured a cheeseburger. She placed the rest of them in the microwave and pulled the curtains back to open the sliding glass doors for some fresh air. Sitting at the table, she sat there quietly watching the waves through the window and waited for the guys to return. When she realized that she was dozing off in the chair, she decided on a nap and lay across the bed, immediately falling into a restful sleep.

Chapter 5

"Reflections"

She awoke to the sound of thunder outside. "No, dumb ass," she silently corrected her sleepy self. "Not thunder, bikes!" Sitting up, she ran her fingers through her wind blown hair. "Someone shit in my mouth." she thought, and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she was coming out of the john, there was a quick knock and on the door and Strangler and Samson walked in, each of them kissing her on the cheek. As Samson headed for the whiskey bottle, Strangler took her face in his big hands and searched her eyes. "I'm good baby." she told him matter of factly, "I'm well rested and in a good mental place, don't worry, I'm gonna be fine." Strangler was visibly relieved. "A round for the room!" he said to Samson, as he flung a convienent store bag at him. Stax watched as Samson pulled out a stack of red plastic cups. "Fuck those little piss holders they give you here," He bellowed, "A big man needs a big ass drink, and so does a big mans Bitch!" He professed, as he bent down to give her another kiss, this one a bit more intimate than the last. Samson got the message loud and clear, "All is well brother, be normal." Breaking out in a smile, he too relaxed and went about making their drinks.

Stax remembered to take her clothes to the laundry room and then came back to join the guys on the patio. Sitting under the big umbrella table, they ate their burgers, enjoying the ocean view. They were out there for over an hour when it dawned on Stax that nobody had yet mentioned Slider's name. Everything else seemed normal, she had talked about her day and showed off her new earrings, explaining what Rex had told her. She felt that they purposely, were avoiding mentioning Slider's name, but she knew that it had to be done, so she decided to dive in and get passed it. "Da loved sitting near the water like this." she said, looking out towards the ocean. "He would rather be out on the water, fishing and you know it." Replied Strangler. "As a matter of fact, he would rather be deep-sea fishing, if he wasn't out riding." Samson interjected.  "Your both right," Stax admitted, pleased that they hadn't side-stepped the conversation, "He would be happier fishing, fresh or salt." An idea popped into her head and she pitched it to the guys. "From now on, each year on Da's birthday we should hold a fishing tournament in his name." she offered, "What do you guys think?" They both agreed wholeheartedly and Strangler sent a text out to Moby to place it on the calender and make it an annual event. They could hammer out the details in the next Cruinniú.

None of them believed in organized religion, so they did not call their club meetings "church" like some clubs do. It just seemed a bit too hypocritical to their way of thinking. Instead, they simply called it a "Cruinniú", the Irish word for meeting. It was a unique type of bikers club, in that they had desired to call themselves an 'HC', short for 'Heritage Club'. It was not quite typical RC or MC  (Rider's Club, Motorcycle Club) that the general public was accustomed to. The clubs name, Good Gaelic Souls, was a combination of their ancestrial ties and their life motto.

Although there were many similarities in club structure, there were just as many differences. Yes, they were bikers, it was their chosen way of life. But they were more than that, they were survivalist and entrepreneurs. They supplied what they needed with their own hands, and some went to college and mastered a skill before leaving the mainstream. Although one did have to prospect, a person couldn't just prove themselves worthy to earn a patch. You had to prove Gaelic heritage, have useful life skills, and possess a survivalist's frame of mind. Gender was not an issue, everyone was important, and women could wear a full patch. However by tradition, only male member's held an Officer's rank.

This was not a cult, nor was it a club of celebrated violence, with gun runnning and drug dealing. However, it could never be said that they didn't have a few minor 'dealings' through the years. There had been issues in the beginning with some of the more established clubs. Back in the day, the original four had visited with them and respectfully explained their position. Slider, in diplomatic fashion, assured them that the club was about heritage, self sufficiency and community outreach. The fact that the original four had such thick Gaelic accents, seemed to help add credence to their declarations with the established bikers, and the fact that they were all ex-military was also a plus.

It did however, get a wee bit touchy when he advised that the G.G.S would be a 3-patch club flying  the colors of the Irish flag; Orange, White and Green.  The top rocker would be the clubs name, the center patch would showcase the clubs logo, but it was the third patch that would relay the difference. The bottom rocker would proudly state each riders Gaelic ancestry, such as 'Irish' or 'Scottish'. This was an issue, as MC's won't recognize you as a 3-patch club if your bottom rocker doesn't state a territory. The other side of that coin is, that if it does state a territory, it's best not be theirs. Initially, even though they were not claiming to be an MC, they were not on board with this, and further negotiations were necessary to keep the peace.

Territory was not an issue for the G.G.S. and they made it clear that they were advising of their full intentions out of respect. They asked only that the established clubs try to appreciate their unique vision and honest declaration of intent, stressing that they were in no way a threat or encroachment. Because they were bikers, the original four felt that it was appropriate to introduce themselves to prevent being precieved as a threat. In conclusion, the original four made it clear that it was not permission that they were seeking, it was simple diplomatic clarity, meant to be done in a neighborly fashion.