Jem…Chapter 133

*Angel………………..

I’m smiling as I watch Kimmie leave with max and he’s happy looking and she’s ecstatic looking and I’m happy for her max really does seem like a good guy and having sort of once been a guy I would like to think I sort of have an inside sort of track on this kind of thing.

Yeah…and maybe not when I catch a look at myself and I can’t help but to grin because soooo not a dood.

And definitely the real me.

We finish playing and then comes tear down and Dad and Mike and Uncle Mitch and the guys are doing a lot of that and Rayne and I and Brooklyn sit with Molly and Carmen at the camera table after we like move the swag table to it so we can talk to the fans and sell and sign stuff and so we can actually have that whole talking with the fans that want to stay and talk stuff with us.

That’s actually very cool because we’re selling a lot of things as we’re answering questions.

“Are you and Raven really a couple?” Several people want to know.

“Yes, we’re actually a couple and living together all four of us on stage are under one roof as well as our Make-up and hair designer here Carmen.”

Carmen looks up like whatthehell!? “What I am?”

Rayne’s like. “Well yeah you did all our make-up and hair and did all the touch ups out back. You’re better with this than the rest of us to be sure.”

I really dig that because the ‘to be sure’ was with her little native French accent on it and I’m not the only person thinking that’s cool.

One person asks. “Raven where are you from in Quebec?”

She smiles. “I’m not Quebecois I’m Franco-Manitobian.”

That gets looks of Huh even from me.

She laughs. “I’m Manitoba French but not Metis.”

There’s some “Oh’s….”

I look at her and smile. “I’ve got to learn more about your family and all.”

She dimples. “Mostly French immigrants during the prairie expansion and a lot of Belgian as well we’re a good mix of both and there’s a few related German relatives like quite far back. Manitoba and Winnipeg has a lot of Francophone roots in it.”

There’s some nods and smiles and one fan cries out. “No….we’re out of classes no more schooling....”

There’s some laughter and then we’re switching over to talking about how much they liked the show and that Tuesdays and Wednesday nights here are like a serious treat for them because they never got music like this so much in town before and that we have shows and that K& T have shows.

There’s a little boos at that and I wave it down.

But they like are talking a lot about how there’s some smaller places playing smaller bands and even some solo acts and stuff and I get some of those places and names from some of the people so that we can check them out a little and everything.

But it’s very cool when they talk about how different this is because last year the scene was slow and the year before that was too and that like three years ago it was like super rare for any kind of live acts to come to Harper’s Point and that they love having a night life and something to do that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

I joke. “Well with the rate you’re all buying our stuff it’s pretty expensive not like we’re complaining or anything I mean all of this stuff is really awesome for us that you’re all buying it.”

Several of the girls say. “We have money from friends to get them shirts so when they get to coming to finally see one of your shows they can wear some swag to it and all.”

“That’s really, really super cool actually.”

Mr. Walker actually comes over with a leftover platter of the goodies and looks at all of us and to the fans sitting close to us and standing with us and he makes sure that we’re all included when he says. “A few treats for the band and some of the stay-over fans on the house.”

I smile at him and Rayne, then I and then Brooklyn all stand and do the lean and kiss him on the cheek and he does a little cough and color but he recovers and retreats to be the general of the clean-up army and getting things ready for final counts.

Of course this goes over incredibly well with the fans sticking around and they’re like super happy that they are getting free food and that he’s doing this and I’m always thankful for the treats and so are the girls and this, this is going like the rest of this right onto camera and live feed for You-Tube because that’s what we’re doing and I say at the camera.

“Mr. Walker here at The Pine Tree Café isn’t just really a good man for giving a band full of girls a regular gig but he’s really good with the whole scene including the fans and the customers to. I’ve been here a few times when we’re not playing and the food is great and the service is great and it’s just a good place it’s nice to actually go someplace with a nice décor and atmosphere and not get looked down on because you’re young or a student.”

There’s some nods and there’s some agreements and I’m grinning as I eat another piece of the pickerel bite and definitely enjoying it and there’s nothing like this being like word of mouth and spread like online with the video blog.

It’s part of why I want to do this like this I want people to see our good times and see that Harper’s Point can be a place that they can go to and have a great time and everything without taking off to the bigger towns and cities.

I’ll actually admit that I kind of sort of would love to see a resurgence of bands doing their thing now sort of like how it used to be like back in the eighties here in Ontario when rock was really alive and touring bands were all over the place and there were like garage bands trying for it too.

It’s getting to the end count times and most of our stuff’s away and the fans see that and Rayne and I walk them to the doors and thank them for coming to the show and that we hope that they come tomorrow night too.

We get a few definitely’s and a few we’ll tries and that’s really cool that people really like coming out to our shows and that we’re apparently worth coming out to see.

Rayne and I are going to the table with Mr. Walker meeting him partway and he smiles at us. “You do know that you get a lot of repeat business from the way you are with the guest’s right?”

I nod. “I’m really hoping for that actually sir. If we can make them feel like it’s not just a really good time here but we really want them here it’s a good incentive to come.”

Rayne smiles at him. “You and the free food didn’t hurt the come-back factor either sir, that’s going to look good on our live feeds and it’ll generate great word of mouth too.”

He blushes some. “I didn’t realize that I was on camera or that we were live.”

I smile and he actually helps to seat up at the table we’re using to do the end of night counts. “Thank you.” I also thank Angela one of the bar girls when she brings us all cups and a carafe of fresh coffee too. “I might try and see if Molly can take some of that and make it part of the links for the different commercials that we have here. I think it would be great if we can showcase exactly the kindness and care that people will get here when they log into our site and then see all the good spin off for places in Harper’s Point.”

He looks at me. “I will go with you when you pitch to the board of commerce for some of these things that you want to do I’m actually behind you more and more with this. It’s working already Angel.”

I raise an eyebrow. “It is?”

“Yes and he gestures at a pile of slips. We get a good number of credit and debit slips from places that are out of town on Tuesday and Wednesday nights now and it’s enough that I’m noticing it as I’m doing the tallies.”

I can’t help but to smile. “I’d love to see the spin offs like how many folks are getting groceries and things at the late places and getting gas in town here too before going home.”

He nods and takes a drink of his coffee. “You need to get that GED young lady and soon so you can look at starting your business classes.”

I smile. “I’m actually already started with that and I’ve ordered it already and I’ve looked up things and times for all the testing places as well.”

He actually has this smile on his face and he’s looking at me like he’s proud of me. I smile and blush some and I can see Rayne smiling at me too and she looks proud as well.

“That’s very good actually you have an uncommonly good head on your shoulders young lady.”

Yes, blushing.

“Thank you sir I really do though love what I’m doing and I’ve always wanted to do this so it’s really in my best interests to treat this seriously for myself and for the girls too.”

Rayne does that amazing smile thing where I’m totally feeling loved and stuff and she leans over and she kisses me with one of those very, very yay almost bedroomy kind of kisses that goes on a little long for sitting right there with Mr. Walker and he doesn’t say anything but he is a little red in the face and he’s looking very pointedly at the piles of thinks for his counts and he’s smiling a little.

I exhale and have to take an actual breath to like catch my breath after a kiss like that and I take a drink of my coffee.

And look at him and I blush and I pass Rayne the sales things from our band swag table and I start to go through out tip box.

It’s actually pretty heavy this time which is nice as much as it’s surprising. There’s a lot of coins so a lot of the tips were somewhat small for when you look at it that way and then there’s a few that were actually really decent with some bills and the like with mostly fives and a few tens but there’s a few twenties there too.

It’s odd that the twenties actually outnumber the tens but fives are the most common but there is a lot of change that we got this time around and I’m counting it all up and rolling coins and those finished rolls I sell to Mr. walker because with his business any change I sell him is actually just a little less he’ll have to go to the bank for and then he’s pooling the tips from the credit card slip parts and the debit slip parts and then the girls are adding their tips to the part and Rayne has some from the swag table that is like thirty some over cost of things and then we’re adding it all up three times to get the same count and to be fair and then we’re dividing it between everyone and we still did really, really well with all of us walking away with forty seven dollars in tips.

We’ve had bigger score but that’s between all of us and the servers, the bartenders and the cooks and Mike and Molly and Carmen.

Carmen has Molly’s reaction. “But, but I’m not…I mean I just helped with stuff a little it’s not like we’ve been like doing this all of the time.”

She’s actually looking at the Café staff like she thinks that they think that they stole from them.

They actually wave her off and Patrick from like behind the bar says. “You worked for the band and the band gets like tips and stuff, everyone gets like paid besides and it’s still a good deal it’s still a good system when you look at like all the serious tips the band put into the pile.”

She’s still blushing but she just nods and she’s looking at it and she literally has this look in her eyes that I know and that’s that look of money that you earned, not a gift or a handout or anything else but her money without strings.

I divvy out the rest and put Kim’s in an envelope and then get our cheques from Mr. Walker and that’s a bonus too since it’s about seventy five dollars each with fifteen an hour for five hours and that takes us into about a hundred and twenty for the night in wages and tips.

That’s really decent for a small house band playing music and it’s actually kind of about right really when you take Rayne makes eleven dollars an hour at Wal-Mart and the effort and work we do pre-show and set up and everything else we really earn the higher money in shorter paid hours.

They swag/merchandise money I go through and Rayne and I count out the stuff to pay off Josie and the credit card that we’re using for with her and then there’s some left over so we’re putting that into the band funds accounts and I add in my seven off of the tips and so do the others so that’s another thirty five dollars to go into the band’s account for things and I let Rayne actually do the handling of that count and getting things ready for the account.

And once we’re squared away it’s getting up and the last of our stuff out and Rayne and Brooklyn and I help with the clean-up of the floors and the mop down of the stage while Dad and uncle Mitch and Mike and the guys bring the tables in and yes, Mr. Walker has staff that do this stuff but we’re here they moved stuff out of here for the gig and for the dancing and with all of us there’s like ten extra hands to do everything and we’re done really fast actually.

It’s all back to polished floors and the scent of lemon oil soap and it’s all just nice and clean and great looking for tomorrow and I’m smiling and standing by Mr. Walker.

“Do you do this with every place you place Angel?”

I nod. “I saw in an old interview a long time ago from that CBC show Good Rocking Tonight they had Gordon Lightfoot on there and one of the things he said as like advice to new people play was that Venue is crew.”

“Good motto, you weren’t born though when that show aired young lady.”

“You Tube Sir, there’s a whole lot of great interviews and shows that are long gone put up there.”

“I suppose I’m not online that much really except for work.”

“This is work sir.”

“Well you keep doing this and word of mouth will get out in the business community.”

“Good I’m actually thinking that on our site that we could have a page for like references from some of our employers and contractors and the like so all of the professional references will be right there.”

He’s nodding. “I your case with a band that’s a very good idea.”

I shrug. “Even if Starlight Butterfly doesn’t get to be super famous or anything I kind of would like for us to at least have a good reputation as artists. I would love for any one of us to get calls to get actual playing gig’s or even to be on someone’s short list of people to even play back up in a studio or something.”

He’s looking at me. I look back at him and say. “You ever heard of Kim Mitchel sir?”

He nods. “He played in town here even a few times back when his music was hot and still selling.”

“He’s not a big deal at all now but I’ve seen interviews where he’s so good to work with and he was so good to work for and such a decent musician that he gets regular calls for studio work and production assists. That’s what I want really not fame but actual like respect in the industry.”

He shakes my hand again. “Well you’re well into a good start young lady.”

I shake his hand back and then kiss his cheek as we’re ready to go and I meet up with Rayne who kisses me as she opens the van door.

“You too talk an awful lot y’know?”

“I like Mr. Walker a lot; I like the respect that he gives us. He’s kind of like a mentor in like business things he gets me thinking a lot.”

She smiles. “We’ll honestly I think he thinks the world of you.”

I shrug. “He doesn’t have any kids at home anymore I don’t think and he’s got so much to teach and everything and I don’t mind listening.”

Dad goes past and he slips in and sneaks a kiss on each of our cheeks. “That’s because when we actually meet a young person who actually thinks we have something we can teach them and that they’re willing to listen to we’re sort of half impressed and charmed by that alone.”

I blush. “Heeey…I learned a whole lot from working in your office I learned enough to actually book keep a little and to get things going so like to get us this far and I’m still not like helpless around tools and stuff.”

Dad grins. “I know and now I get to teach all the other cool stuff to the girls.”

Rayne smiles her big smile and she kisses him on the cheek. “You are cool stuff just being you Remy to this bunch of girls.”

He smiles and he grins and Mike’s following him and he does this whole wheezy old guy voice that’s like the father of the king from The Princess Bride. “She kissed me…” and he’s doing the laugh for it and Rayne looks confused.

“It’s a thing from The Princess Bride movie hon.”

“I don’t think I remember it.”

“We can watch it sometime.”

“Tonight?”

“Don’t you have work?”

“Sigh…yeah and it’s already getting late and by the time we get things done home…Merde.”

I hug her. “We’ll do it hon; we’re getting there right now with stuff for the band.”

She nods. “It’s cash and a job in hand and really when things went south it really saved us.”

I kiss her and slip up and into the van and we leave and do our stop off at the bank and put out money in the accounts for each other and for the band and Brooklyn and Rayne and I all deposit our cheques and then the band money gets put in and I shove another ten into our someday/special projects fund and keep like thirty of the tip cash for myself and add that to the cash in my purse already.

I’m actually even not used to having like steady spending money even if it’s like thirty here and fifty there.

It’s actually really nice and we go from there to The Superstore and the guys are settling in at the Tim’s in the mall parking lot and we go in for groceries and I actually have my list and Rayne’s with me and we’re so doing that post show still in our stuff shopping and we’re getting looks and some smiles and even a wave or three from people and that’s pretty cool.

We’re going through more stuff and at the same time I want to make sure that we’re good for things so it’s Frozen OJ and lots of that and I get Milk and that I get by the bag now because it’ll be easier for us and I get one of the plastic pitchers for that and I get some bags of rice and there’s yogurt to get and with all of us I get the big econo paks with all the different flavors and then there’s cheese strings sticks because they’ll be good for snaking and popcorn and zip lock bags and ground beef because it’s on sale and then there’s bacon to get since they’re sell it on sale too with three packages for twelve dollars and that’s saving some money too and I get yeast and flour and baking supplies since I’ve burned through a whole lot of those too and then there’s some dried pasta and soups to get and then there’s fruit and veggies.

I know I’m being like mom like and things but the girls are still sort of in that recovery from all of the cheap boxed pizza and take out stuff that they lived on so I get apples and their in season so they’re cheaper plus some pineapple and it’s actually cheaper if you buy them whole and cut them down yourself. I get lettuce, a mixed bag of bell peppers and several lots of celery and bags of baby carrots and bigger carrots, green beans and some of the broccoli slaw bags and bean sprouts plus a bag with stewing veggies in it and a bag of potatoes too and onions and garlic and some of those fresh herbs in those little plastic boxes, and I swing around and I get some bags of the frozen mixed veggies and fruit too.

Yeah that’s a lot of stuff but a lot of it’s just really good and healthy stuff for us and Rayne has list she’s making and she’s saying what she can actually get cheaper at Wal-Mart with her discount and some of it’s just cheaper anyways.

And we’re at the cash and there’s no like chocolate and candy and no like chips or any of that stuff just like real and actual food and Dad’s there too and he looks at me and the cart and he reaches into his wallet and he passes me a hundred dollars.

“What?”

“For the labor and the baking supplies and everything.”

“Dad you and the guys help us all the time we should ne even.”

He looks at the cart and the things in there. “Parents have grocery privilege angel we can pay for or drop things off for our kids.”

“Daaad…”

Rayne takes the hundred. “Merci Remy, this is very sweet of you and we appreciate it.”

I look at her and she looks at me and she says. “We’re taking this, it makes him happy.”

I nod and lean on her. “Okay, okay we’ll do this.”

She gives me that but of course we are girlfriend look and I smile and we kiss a little while waiting in line and Dad is grinning and there’s some people that are definitely watching her and I and it’s that sort of them being okay with seeing two girls kissing and a few that aren’t but the few that aren’t are fairly few since it’s pretty late and the bigots all seem to keep to nine to fiver hours.

But it was a really big order still and that’s actually good since we pay part of it in cash and some goes on the credit card and then we have the slip from the groceries and we use the discount that we get from that to help make our gas cheaper at the gas bar and we all gas up with the vehicles for the show and that goes on the card and we keep all the slips for that too.

Dad actually taught me that and at the same time I want to build up our credit as a good thing with our card but not having things go overboard at the same time.

We drive back and then we’re unloading and setting up and Carmen and Molly are staring at the groceries that we have in addition to everything else and The guys bring everything in and we reset everything in the living room for the band and then it’s the whole shower and get into our after show plain clothes.

It’s actually a whole lot of stuff to do once we’re there even and I give all of the slips to Molly who actually smiles. “Okay, now I feel better about getting paid and everything, you sure you’re okay with me doing the books and everything.”

I nod. “Definitely, we need to have things all down somewhere and you know all this spreadsheets and accounting software and everything and you’re a lot faster and I want to get us all set up with us as not just the band but the company and do all of the professional stuff.”

She nods. “And I’m still going to be working on the website too.”

I grin at her. “What a raise?”

“No…I mean I’m doing all sorts of work and everything, it’s just…”

“Just?”

“I think I might want to maybe…maybe take you up on your offer here.”

“You want to stay?”

She’s blushing and she nods.

“I though you didn’t want to?”

“Things changed…the assholes back at the house they’re not any better and everything’s all nice here and cool and stuff and now there’s Carmen and me and we were like talking tonight…”

I give her a hug. “Welcome to Starlight house Molly.”

She hugs me and she squeezes me really hard and she sort of buries her face in my shoulder. She’s short like just a little taller than Kimmie so she only comes to my shoulder really. I hug her back just as hard and then we let go and I look at her.

“Dad!”

He pops his head in. “Yes Angel?”

“You think that you could get you and Billy and Davey together and to go over to Molly’s place with her and Carmen to get all of her things?”

“Definitely.”

She looks at him and she’s blushing. “You don’t have to sir.”

“Uhm…well you’re one of the girls now and well that kind of makes it my job y’know.”

She’s looking at him and then at me and I smile at her and nod. “Really dad’s on board with whatever we need and then some.”

She’s biting her lip and Carmen comes in past dad but she does this slide by hug. “It’s cool Moll, Remy’s good people.”

Yeah that takes me right back to that whole bit when Dad actually helped her out and talked to her and things not so long ago and I’m all sorts of proud of him and I’m a little choked up to because of the way that she’s looking at dad.

Like he’s as important to her as he is like to the rest of us.

It takes someone really special to like get to be that guy, that dad to people when they’ve had the world throw a shit ton of stuff at them and had it beat them down.

Molly nods and she looks at me. “Is it okay if I go and take care of this…this like tonight?”

“Sure we have like lots of time to do the book keeping and other stuff.”

She’s smiling and getting her coat and she heads out and Carmen looks at me. “Seriously Angel thanks, I mean Molly and I we’re doing this whole thing like really fast I know and stuff but…I need her, I think I really need her around for like keeping me together after everything and I know, I know that she needs to get out of there and stuff too.”

I give her a hug too. “Yeah we all saw that when we went over there and I really didn’t like them as roommates it really kind of felt like they were taking advantage of her.”

She nods. “Molly’s been through stuff Ange and she’ll barely talk about it and when she’s offline she’s so shy and stuff she won’t say anything to like actually stand up for herself.”

I nod. “That’s why I asked Dad to take the truck and the boys to go with you two.”

She grins. “You’re a dangerous chic Angel Benton you have bikers on beck and call.”

I grin at her. “You think I’m bad the rest of them are all out west with my cousin Jenna along with my Uncle Johnny who’s like a retired armed forced sharpshooter.”

She shakes her head. “Still thanks, you and your dad it’s all above and beyond.”

I look at her as she’s going. “Carmen, you and Molly you’re my friends you’re our friends you’re worth it.”

She gives me this really touching look before she leaves to go and catch up with Molly and Dad.

And I go out and check on everyone else and Dad and Molly were talking with Rayne and Brooklyn who both are good with it and Mike offers to go with too and Brooklyn nods and gives him that grab him by the shirt and kiss him and then the light shove away for him to go too.

“They might need the help.”

Davey says as he’s slipping his leather jacket back on. “Extra witnesses never hurt.”

That gets a bit of a chuckle and he just stares at all of us like he was serious then he raises an eyebrow like in that sort of Spock way and he heads out and Billy’s walking with Molly. “So you’ll help me set up my like Skype thingy so I can talk to Kendal?”

And she’s actually smiling at him. “I can definitely help you set up your Skype thingy.”

They head out and Uncle Mitch is sticking around and he smiles at me. “Yeah I’m staying here I don’t really need to get involved in case things get sticky over there.”

“Good point and it’s nice to have you around here anyway we don’t actually know each other that well.”

“That’s true; do you need a hand with the groceries?”

“I would love some company and a hand with things.”

Uncle Mitch goes with me into the kitchen and I know he’s still staying close to look out for us and everything but I still want to know him better.

We get into the kitchen and one of the first things I’m doing is cleaning out the fridge with leftover things and little things of jam and some of the stuff that needs to go or just get used up and I set in on the counter and I get out a lot of the container’s we’re re-using from things that we have in the little larder closet and I even get out my bread bucket which is a big Rubbermaid tub and I look at Uncle Mitch. “You can take the flour that’s in there and put it into the big bread bowls I have over there please. And when you have that done you can dump in the new bags of flour.”

“Sure, you bake a lot.”

“I learned, I was only kind of good at it from like before making the odd thing at home but I’ve gotten a lot of practice at in now.”

“Did your mom bake a lot?”

“Sort of I remember more of it from when I was a kid before I was sick and I remember she used to take stuff into the nurses and doctors whenever she went home for a while.”

“It likely kept her busy while trying not to worry about you.”

I nod and start in on some of the veggies and things cutting some up for salad and then making like snacks with celery sticks and apple slices and pouring baby carrots into dishes and the like and making some still as bagged lunch snacks too. The only thing is with the apple slices I cut them into a bowl of water with lemon juice first to keep them from browning.

I use the tops of the celery and the leaves all into a salad bowl and then the bottoms I break apart and wash since they have dirt and I chop those up into a fine dice and put them in a container too. Those are great as a fine dice for putting in things that you cook, it also doesn’t waste them.

I look over at him. “So how exactly do you know dad and why do you owe him?”

Uncle Mitch looks at me and he smiles. “Well you don’t pull any punches do you?”

“Dad went to jail over it and has a record from it so yeah.”

“You know that much?”

I nod and start breaking down the bacon into lots and bags for the freezer. “I do, he sort of mentioned it and a few other people did.”

He’s finished emptying the flour bin and he grabs one of the bags and carefully opens it and pours so the flour doesn’t spray up or cloud the air.

“Your Dad and I grew up together and we wanted to get out from home really bad and I wasn’t like university smart so I wanted to become a police officer and join the RCMP. And everything was pretty normal for a bunch of teenaged guys from Prince Edward Island until the summer after my first year in school.”

I nod and I put the bacon in the freezer and start with the ground beef next doing the same thing and breaking it up into lots and he watches for a bit and then he continues.

“Summerside is a nice place except for some of the time when the tourists are in and even then it’s not too bad. But that summer I ended up meeting this girl and she was a tourist and she was really nice, and she was really beautiful and as it turned out she had an ex.”

“A real ex or a summer ex?”

“A real ex and he was not happy with her taking off on him. He had some serious issues and he actually tracked her down and came all the way to Summerside to see her and to get her back.”

“I take it she didn’t want to go.”

“Nope.”

“Yikes.”

He nods. “Amy was drinking and I was drinking and we were at a beach party when he showed up and he stalked over and grabbed her and I grabbed his arm and he was really pissed off, he asked me who the fuck I was and I said that I was her boyfriend and he’d better let go of her if her wanted to keep that arm.”

I screw my face up, that’s a very guy thing to do.

He looks at me. “I was drunk and so was he.”

I nod. “Not a good mix.”

“Nope…and he let Amy go and he swung on me and then he and I got into it and I gave him a really good beating. He took off in his car screaming how he’d get us and how it wasn’t over and by that time Amy was nursing the beat down I had gotten from the fight and he ripped out of there driving like an idiot and we thought that we’d seen the last of him.”

I screw my face up some more. “But you didn’t right?”

“Nope, he showed back up and all of a sudden people were screaming and he’s there with a twenty two and he took a shot at me. And he took a shot at Amy too and he was drunk enough that he missed us and I don’t know why I did it but I went at him and we fought and went down again and he used the rifle to hit me hard and he gave me a concussion and then he was going to shoot Amy and your Dad shows up and he actually drove into the guy with his dirt bike and they went down and they were fighting and Leo…that’s the asshole lost the rifle and when he did that he pulled a knife and I got the gun and I shot him.”

“Oh…oh shit.”

He nodded. “The cops were coming and Leo was bleeding out and I was drunk and even if it was self defense I was so drunk that if the cops knew I fired the gun I’d be out of school for sure with the charges and I’d definitely get some kind of charges out of the whole shitstorm that was coming so your dad took the gun from me and he wiped it off with his shirt and then he ran his hands all over it and stuff and had it when the police showed up.”

I look at him. “They charged dad?”

“Yeah, reckless endangerment and a bunch of other stuff and after the damage he did to Leo with his dirt bike no one questioned Remy’s version of things.”

“But didn’t you guys speak up for Dad?”

“He made us not say anything; he made me swear not to.”

“Why?”

“We were friends, we grew up together and Remy knew that this was my only chance to really get out.”

“Get out?”

He looks at me. “My dad was a Sonofabitch Angel he was a fisherman and he was a mean frigging drunk when he was on the water and he was an even meaner drunk when he was home and it was back when stuff like that was well…no one really talked about it much less did stuff about it and there were lots of people like that too growing up…no one said anything about anything back then and you just pretended that it wasn’t what was going on and stuff and you got out while you could.”

“And Dad’s family?”

“Decent actually and just down the way from our place and even did the same thing too for the most part. It’s just Remy…he told me that the asshole’d take most of this shit and Leo did after he was saved and stuff at the hospital and recovered he was arrested and he did like time for it and your dad… well even after the lawyers and stuff he was charge for two years in prison and did one over in New Brunswick and he got out and he just…well he wasn’t going to college with that home and too many people had that become this whole big story and he left and came out here…the rest is history and stuff.”

I look at him. “So you and Dad were always tight.”

“Yeah friends but honestly after that we became best friends and honestly after all these years I still owe Remy everything because I’d have never gotten out from home then and I have no idea what I’d have ended up like if I stayed.”

I wash my hands and I give him a hug. “That does sort of sound like dad but that was really, really scary intense.”

He looks at me after he gives me a big squeeze. “And this shit you’re doing with the whole effing Marshal family isn’t? You’re just as crazy as your dad is you know. That not backing down to him before all of this is that whatever the hell crazy Powers gene you have going on too y’know.”

I sigh. “Yeah I’m sorry to get you and Mike all mixed up in this.”

“You’re family Angel and this is serious stuff Adam’s not going to stop being this noxious little shit and he decided to play hardball and stuff with his grip on the locals and the police here so we’re only too glad to help. It’s not your fault that he decided to dig into our past and stuff and drag it all into this.”

I nod and look out the window into the night. “No it’s not and you’re right it’s proof that he’s that unhinged with him doing that and them him actually sending all those guys after Jason in Toronto, and everything else I learned since. He’s a monster Uncle Mitch and sometimes they need standing up to and for whatever reason he and I have been in each other’s way for as long as we’ve known each other….so it’s not like I have a choice in the matter.”

He smiles. “Well we’re here and I’m here and we have your back Angel through this and everything else.”

“Thanks Uncle Mitch.” I squeeze him hard back and this time it’s more than just he’s my Uncle for like some vague he’s a friend of my Dad’s thing there but it’s because there’s like real history and loyalty and honestly blood. He and Dad were deep and now I know and it does honestly make a difference too.

We part the hug and I start putting things away and he’s looking at some of the stuff we have here and he takes one of the bowls of flour. “You mind if I whip up some fry bread?”

“Fry bread like real fry bread?”

“Yeah I learned while I was up north when I first started out.”

“Wow like how far north?”

“Yukon, I really wanted to get out.”

“Sure I’d love some, and so would everyone else.”

“Okay and I’ll show you how to make it too.”

“Oh that’ll be dangerous.”

He nods. “It’s really good and really addictive too and as bad for you as fried doughnuts.”

I laugh. “Like the cinnamon rolls aren’t?”

“Good point.”

He gets started and I’m watch and we get a pot on the stove and I have the lard in the house and I know that that’s bad for you but I don’t care there’s just some recipes don’t work anywhere close to what they would be when you replace some things for the sake of being like too obsessed with what’s in the food.

This is why I have the salad I’m making and have the healthy snacks and the cheese and the yogurts and why I’m actually making tuna salad for the lunches tomorrow.

Make good food, make real food and just eat right. Honestly I’d rather eat fry bread then some of the stuff that goes into the stuff in the stores.

My best trick to good tuna salad is to drain it really good and put it all in a bowl with paper towel and cover it all and let it drain dry overnight as the liquids pull out you lose the tinny taste of the can.

Then my other trick is homemade mayo and that I make in the food processor once the tuna is draining off and that’s actually easy it’s a couple of egg yolks and a squeeze of lemon juice and I add a small tiny bit of apple cider vinegar like no more than half a teaspoon for like three egg yolks and then I pour in olive oil and some salt and pepper and I use a dollop of Dijon mustard and a little squeeze of yellow ball park and then blend it all together.

See it works because the acids cook the yolks chemically and whipping it with the oil puts air into it and it holds and then the mustard is the stabilizer and like in salad dressings so it doesn’t separate.

Mayo and it’s fresh and if you put that in a mason jar in the fridge it will stay good for a week.

And you can play with it a lot too.

The girls aren’t huge onion fans except for Rayne so I’ll put diced onion in hers but with good bread or rolls and some chopped fine celery for crunch and maybe some pickle for sweet and actually put on some lettuce and you have a really good sandwich.

And everything’s pretty much done, snacks and lunches and the rest if stowed in the freezer or the crisper and I actually made room from all of the leftover stuff I took out so we have the room for me to actually put all of the snack stuff front and center for people to grab and eat.

If it’s easy and looks ready to eat and is good people will go for it first.

And the leftover jams and stuff go on the table for the fry bread and so does the last bits of cheese we have and really that’s kind of it, most of the rest of the stuff we’ve eaten up or Mike has.

I grin at Uncle Mitch as the first batch is cooking and that smell hits the air and I go over and look at him and I get the first piece and it’s really, really good…light and fluffy and golden and crisp and fatty but it’s well drained so it’s not greasy just fatty in that good fat sort of way and he smiles. “Give it a little pinch of brown sugar and let it melt into it for a second.”

Oh… oh. Oh… that’s good, really good and I’m eating it and I’m making a pot of tea when Brooklyn and Rayne come in and I fed her the last bite of mine and her eyes light up.

“Oh, of Angel I haven’t had fry bread since I left home…”

I smile at her and reach over and wipe one of those happy tears away and lean on her. “Well we’re making more and Uncle Mitch said he’s going to show me how to do it up like he does.”

She looks at him and then she looks at me and she grabs me and she does that power lift thing to lift me up by my waist and put my butt on the counter and she steps into that space between my legs and she kisses me slowly and softly and she’s slipping her fingers into mine and we get into that whole lover’s space where she’s swaying a little but our faces are so close together and Rayne starts singing to me.

Your love is better than ice cream
Better than anything else that I've tried
And your love is better than ice cream
Everyone here knows how to fight

And it's a long way down
It's a long way down
It's a long way down to the place
Where we started from

Your love is better than chocolate
Better than anything else that I've tried
Oh love is better than chocolate
Everyone here knows how to cry

It's a long way down
It's a long way down
It's a long way down to the place
Where we started from...

It’s a totally different scene of love and of family and it’s Rayne and I and Uncle Mitch and this whole time and connection with him and us but it’s Brooklyn with him and he’s Mike’s dad and I’m seeing her with him too which is different too and it’s all…

It’s all good and it’s all family.