MC: LaPonte (25 page)

My new friend, agent
whoever, shakes his head. "Fuckin Barney." We all laugh as Harris
gets in his car.

I thank everyone and tell
them I'm going back to the party for my new kids. VP walks to his
truck and drives me back. He starts laughing as we pull out. I'm
waiting him out. "They won't be coming back. Fuckin Barney just
gave us a free pass." I smile but don't say a word. I have a
feeling there's more to this than I know right now.

We get back and I'm
relieved to see the party is in full swing. Everyone is having fun.
The kids are trying to bite donuts hanging on a string from the
backs of the bikes. It's funny as hell. I walk up to Kate and wrap
my arms around her from behind. "Looks like fun." She laughs
lifting her face to me. I kiss her until we hear kissy noises from
Aaron and pull apart.

"That didn't take long."
She gives me that fuckin smile.

"Nope, Barney won't be
bothering us anymore. Some good did come of it." I hold my face and
laugh. Fuckin Barney.

Aaron starts climbing me
as if I'm a tree. I give him a hand dropping him on my shoulders.
"Daddy Darren's gonna win." He's bouncing up and down. We watch
Patches bringing him around for a last pass. Darren gets the last
bite on two donuts everyone cheers. Aaron is going wild on my
shoulders kicking his feet into my chest. I pull him off before he
breaks a rib. "He won, he won!" He jumps up and down. Kate is
laughing. The boys run to us jumping around.

Patches calms them telling
them Pres needs to see them. We turn and watch them as Patches
corrals them to the porch steps where Pres is standing. All the
other kids with cuts stand in front of them. "Brothers, today is a
special day for all of us. Our little Brothers have been accepted
into the Little Brotherhood." He signs and says aloud. Patches,
Little Ben and Jessie hold cuts. I smile so proud of my boys, they
are so fuckin cute. "Step forward LaPonte brothers." My guys step
up looking proud and serious. He turns them to face their Little
Brothers. Patches is behind Darren, Jessie is with Aaron and Little
Ben with Victor. Ben looks at me and points to in front of Darren.
I move over and wait. "Today you've been accepted into the Little
Brotherhood, you've proven yourselves to be good brothers
supporting each other, sharing your strong with those who need it.
Promising to honor and respect your girls, stay away from drugs and
never leave a Brother hanging." He waits for me to finish signing
to Darren. I hold my laugh in. "This is the only time you turn your
backs on your Brothers, turn so you can receive your cuts Little
Brothers." They turn, everyone laughs when Aaron jumps up and down.
He's so excited he can't contain himself. Jessie puts his hand on
his shoulder and he calms. Fuckin kids. "Brothers guide their cuts
to where they belong." They do. "You remember this day Little
Brothers. This is the day you become one with your little and big
Brothers. You help when your needed and ask for help when you need
it. Your Brothers won't let you down. Welcome to the Little
Brotherhood LaPonte boys." He says and signs. Everyone claps;
Jessie and Little Ben give them man hugs which cracks Kate up. The
boys are surrounded, getting back slaps from the rest of the kids
in the Little Brotherhood. Patches and Petey stand by them so
proud. This is their group of kids. They watch over them like
mother hens. I slap Patches back and give a chin lift to Petey and
Pres for making this a little more special by having everyone
witness it. I fuckin love the Brotherhood. They made a group
similar to Boy Scouts for the little brothers. I love that they
know they have people to count on. Brotherhood.

"Who needs a beer?" Tiny
yells. "I ain't handin out fuckin tampons so get your asses out of
there and come have a beer." I crack up.

"What is it with Tiny and
the tampons?" She asks so serious. I hold my face and laugh
hysterically shaking my head. I need a beer. I peck her cheek and
follow Tiny.

Chapter Twenty
Nine

One month...

Patches and Rich have the
boys in the waiting room. Kate is on the bed holding my newest son.
I wipe her tears. I’m so glad she chose the cesarean like Jess. I
can’t imagine her pushing out my nine pound boy. I kiss her head
then his again. I can’t seem to stop. She smiles at me. “I’m so
proud of you baby.”

She laughs. “I didn’t do
anything but lay there while the doctor and nurses did all the
work, I'm not complaining though. I don't even want to imagine
natural.”

“You carried my beautiful
boy forever, never complaining. I love you my perfect wife.” I tell
her thinking she is nothing short of amazing.

“I love you too but I'm
hardly perfect. Now that everyone is gone can you get the boys?
They must be going crazy out there.” She says, I roll my eyes at
her smiling. She's excited to tell them his name.

I kiss her again and walk
to the waiting room. “Our baby boy is here guys. Kate is asking for
you.” They cheer, grabbing Patches’ and Rich’s hands. Darren comes
to me. I turn showing them the way. Darren runs into the room right
to Kate and the baby, he kisses her cheek and the baby's head. I
wait letting Rich and Victor pass.

Arron pulls Patches
faster, at the door he stops, Arron looks up at him. “C’mon
Patches."

"I don't think I'm
supposed to go in there Aaron." Patches says looking down at
him.

"They found you before us.
Our brother is here, brothers have to stand together. That's what
Little Ben said. You have to stand with us." He looks at me. "Right
dad?"

"That's right Aaron.
Brothers stand together. Patches is one of us, get your ass in
there Patches. Kate will be pissed if you don't show, it's a
special day for our family." I'm smiling, my little man knows just
what to say. Patches ducks his head and let's Aaron lead him
in.

Rich looks at him, "took
you long enough Brother." He slaps Patches on the back. Fuckin
kids. I give him a chin lift.

Kate is beaming. "All my
boys. Rich you better be happy with your five brothers. I'm not
having anymore. I've reached my limit." The boys laugh, Patches
wipes his eyes.

"I was hoping to get a
sister too but I guess six boys in the family is enough." He signs
while talking. I'm so fuckin proud of my boys keeping Darren
included. "Are you going to tell us his name now?" Kate looks at
me.

"Devan Richard LaPonte. We
wanted to honor all his brothers. Patches real name is Devon with
an 'o', we used an 'a'. It's the perfect name to tie every one of
you together. Devan covers; D for Darren, V for Victor, and A for
Aaron and Richard for you of course."

Patches hugs me holding me
tight. Rich kisses Kate. The boys jump around trying being quiet,
surprisingly. "Thank you Danny and Kate." Patches says, not even
trying to hide his tears. He kisses Kate's cheek.

"Told you Patches. You’re
a brother too." Aaron tells him. All the boys hug him, even
Rich.

"Fuckin kids." Kate says
with tears running down her face. The little boys hold their hand
out for their quarter. I crack up.

We all turn when the door
is pushed open. Jess, Steve, Little Ben, Ben, Tracy, Jessie, Tiny
and Nancy come in.

Jess takes Devan. "Oh my
gosh, he has your eyes. He's beautiful!" Jess says. Tiny tells her
it's his turn to hold the new little brother. "I just got him a
second ago." Jess says with a frown. I laugh.

"It's my fuckin turn, you
old ladies always take the baby's. This is a fuckin Brother thing.
Hand him over." Ben and Steve crack up. I'm watching the boys who
are amazed with Tiny's tantrum.

"Uncle Tiny you owe us
money. You should have to pay dddouble 'cause we're out." Victor
tells him.

Rich laughs, "You tell him
Brother."

"Fuckin kids, I got a ten
in my pocket. I'll get it when I'm not holding the fuckin Little
Brother." He says walking to the window mumbling in our now cramped
room.

Jessie is signing for
Darren, they crack up. Everyone kisses Kate and slaps my back.
Nancy gives Kate a bag and the boys move away while they talk. Ben
asks what the baby's name is.

Darren makes a noise,
everyone looks at him. He moves so everyone can watch him. 'D for
Darren, e, V for Victor, A for Aaron, n. Richard. He honors his
brothers with his name.' He signs. Everyone looks at Patches. He
stands proud.

"I know that feels good
Brothers." Ben says to Patches and Rich.

"Yeah Pres," they say
together emotion evident in their tone. The little guys are smiling
proud.

Jessie and Little Ben look
at each other. "You did it Uncle Danny. They’re starting to see."
Little Ben says.

I look at him but he
doesn't say anymore, he looks at Jessie. "You used your strong and
gave Te Kate the baby she wanted and to help fix the boys hearts to
make you a bigger family for her. You used it so all the Big
Brothers got to see your strong and help Darren be strong and be a
good big brother. Your strong helped Patches be in your family so
he's not alone no more and you showed him and Rich Te Kate loves
them like you do."

Little Ben starts talking
the second Jessie stops. "See you did it. You got some scars on the
outside but you used your strong to fix every bodies insides. Even
Uncle Tiny."

We all just look at them.
Holyfuckinshit. What do I say to that? "I have no fuckin clue what
to say."

"Fuckin kids." Steve,
Tiny, Ben, Rich, Kate and Nancy say.

"Holy shit!" Jess and
Patches say.

The little guys all hold
their hands out laughing. "We'll have enough to get ice cream by
afternoon if you keep talking to them." Jessie says as Darren
signs. The little guys all crack up thinking this is
hysterical.

All the adults say it
again, "fuckin kids.”

Patches takes the boys for
lunch. People are filing in and out of the room. I take Rich to the
cafeteria. I haven't had much time with him and I really want to
talk to him before he leaves tomorrow. We get drinks and sit. "I
wanted to talk to you before you left. I was pissed when I found
out why you Prospected early. Not with your decision, I think it
shows honor, loyalty and integrity to protect what’s ours. I was
pissed because the decision was made when you were so young. Made
me feel like I wasn't there for you at such an important time
making such an important decision."

He looks down. "I hoped
you never knew about that. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you. It
wasn't because I was trying to hide it. I know you found out about
mom's cheating. I never told you I knew. It was when you found out
it was your friend that I made the decision. It took me months of
thinking about it. I talked to Pres, Tiny and Steve wanting to make
sure I was thinking clear. You had so much shit with mom fighting
even though you were giving her everything, then finding out about
Jack with her. I didn't want this to be on your mind too. It wasn't
out of disrespect, I just didn't want to add more to your plate."
He finally looks at me.

"Rich I'm so fuckin proud
of you. Thank you for trying to shield me. It wasn't your job
though. I knew about your mom for years, I didn't know about Jack,
I was hit with the loss of that friendship but you are always my
priority. I don't want you to hold things back from me because you
think it's too much for me to handle. I'm your father, I'll deal.
If I need help with that, we'll deal with that too. I realize your
job is classified, I know you're a satellite. I'm not asking for
details. That job comes with some heavy fuckin baggage. I'm telling
you as your father and a member of security for the MC when I was
younger don't try shielding me or our family when you're going
through shit. We're here, we'll deal, together. If we can't figure
it out, we got a whole fuckin club of Brothers and some pretty
amazing women that can help. Yeah?"

He has tears in his eyes.
"Thanks dad. I always know you're here but if feels good for you to
know my job and give me a lifeline. There are times I could use it.
Steve is great, he gets my job but he's not you."

"Always here for you Rich.
No matter what. Always here." I hold his arm.

He clears his throat, "I'm
headed to Kuwait when I leave here. I'll be shipped off from there.
Christmas is going to suck in the fuckin sandbox. I got the boys
and Patches presents in my closet. Can you get them under the tree
for me?"

I smile, we need to move
on, "Yeah, Christmas is going to be a regular circus with all the
kids." I say smiling.

"I'll try to call; I wish
I could be here for their first Christmas. I'd love to see how
Patches reacts." He has a big fuckin smile.

"He's grown on you too
huh?"

He laughs, "first I
thought he was like Steve. Then I realized he didn't have anyone,
he was drifting. He made me think of you and Te Jess, how life must
have been for you. He's a Brother but was still floating around the
outside. You taught me to stick out my hand. I did and I'm so
fuckin glad I did. I see the difference in him. Like he's free to
start living now. I'm glad he's in our family, I feel like he was
meant to be my brother. It feels good."

"Yeah it does. He loves
the boys and you. He was so fuckin excited you were coming home he
had the cleaners there twice this week." I smile.