I don’t know what to say to him. I never thought I needed to hear those words but now that he said them, I think I may have. In fact, I think I’ve been waiting a long time for them.
“Before the shit hit the fan, and I was going to turn myself in, you told me you were relying on me to teach you how to be a husband and a father. You remember that?”
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I give him a nod.
I still feel that way.
“What you don’t realize is you’ve had a hand in me becoming the husband and father that I am. If I didn’t have you at my right, I would’ve lost my mind and my family a long time ago. You don’t need me to teach you shit, Black. You got it, man, and you got it in spades.”
He pauses for a beat and pulls out a tin of toothpicks, replacing the mangled one he’s been chewing on with a new one.
“Schwartz and Bianci told me what happened while Reina was in the coma. They told me you were ready to turn yourself in to keep me on the streets. You believed in me when no one else did. You listened to my crazy notions and as far fetched as they may have seemed to you, you were ready to sacrifice yourself on the sword to keep me with my wife. You were going to give it all up so I could avenge her accident.”
“I would’ve, yes,” I confirm. “But then we found out Ritzer had already issued a warrant for my arrest. I retained Schwartz knowing he was my only chance at getting home to Lacey.”
“He wasn’t your only chance,” he volleys. “As soon as I got my head straightened out, I put together a plan to get you out and back to our girl, but you had already lost your faith in me.”
“I lost my faith in myself,” I correct, thumbing away a tear. “They showed me pictures of her, Jack, and at the time I didn’t know Reina was awake. I didn’t know you were back in the game. All I knew was that I was trapped in a cage and there were men in my house, watching my wife. They could’ve killed her, and I didn’t want to live with that guilt. I survived Christine, but I could never survive Lacey. She’s everything to me.”
“I know that,” he rasps.
“She doesn’t,” I point out, dropping my head into my hands. “I fucked up, Jack, and everyone here keeps telling me the only way to make it right is by getting well once and for all.” Spreading my fingers, I peer at him through the cracks. “But that feels like a cop out,” I explain, tearing my hands away from my face. “I should be there with her. I should be the one going out for pizza. The one taking pictures of her growing stomach.”
He spits the toothpick out of his mouth and leans his forearms against the table.
“When I was going away you promised me, you’d take care of my family. You were going to make sure Reina had what she needed and be a role model to my son while keeping my daughter safe and happy. You remember that?”
“Yes,” I rasp.
“She’s my daughter, Black, and it ain’t no sweat off my back to go out and buy her a pizza when she has a craving, and it’s my fucking honor to watch that grandbaby of mine grow inside her belly. Get right. Get well and do it knowing I’ve got our girl. I’ve got both our girls. They’ll be there waiting for you when you get out, I promise. Until then just know I’ve got them,” he says, reaching out to cup both my cheeks. “I. Got. Them.”
Tears stream down my face and I don’t even give a fuck if I look like a pussy.
“Thank you,” I choke, wrapping my hands around his wrists.
“I want to see you well, son.”
“I’m going to work my ass off,” I swear. “I promise you. I’m going to make you proud to call me your son-in-law.”
“I’m already proud of you,” he rasps, tearing his hands away from my face. I watch as he drags in a deep breath and glances around the room. “Where the fuck do they keep the tissues in this joint?”
Laughing, I wipe my eyes with the back of my hands.
Typical Jack.
Spotting a box of tissues, he rises to his feet and snatches the box. He dries his eyes and throws the box on the table between us.
“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll fucking kill you,” he sneers as he blows his nose.
“I’ll take it to my grave,” I vow. “You know, as touching as all this is…something is missing.”
“I ain’t got any more tears for you, Black.”
“C’mon, Jack, you gotta say it,” I goad, watching as he rolls his eyes.
“Fine, you fuck. You’re property of Parrish.”
I grin at him.
I am one hundred percent property of Parrish but it’s high time I earn my keep and the only way to do that is by making peace with myself.
Reina and Sunny return a few minutes later. The conversation becomes lighter as they fill me in on Riggs and the Teespring campaign he’s got going with Free Blackie shirts. They also fill me in on some club news, sharing that Needles traded the reaper on his back to become part of the Charon MC. Apparently, he has some ties in Texas and thought it was a better fit for him and his daughter. In exchange, Scout, the president of the club, sent Wolf one of his prospects. A guy that goes by the name of Bash and lent a hand with nailing the cartel.
All the talk about the Charon MC had me thinking about the B.A.C.A. runs we did with them and instantly Bishop popped up in my mind.
“Hey, Jack, do me a favor?”
“Sure,” he says. “What do you need?”
“My cellmate…his name was Bishop. I don’t know if that was his first name or his last. I didn’t get to know him all that well, but he was going through a rough time and being confined in close quarters had him confiding in me. He’s got a son that’s being abused…. sexually. The kid is five maybe six. He’s in a lot of trouble. The state’s got him and Bishop has no way of getting him help. I told him about our involvement with B.A.C.A. and that I was part of the Satan’s Knights. I thought maybe I’d have a chance to help him out. Can you give Wolf a heads up? In case he reaches out?”
“Yeah,” he says, clenching his fists. “I’ll do you one better; I’ll have Schwartz dig into this Bishop character and with any luck, we’ll find a little bit more about his son. I’ll put in a call to B.A.C.A. too. Maybe the Staten Island chapter will be willing to help us out.”
“I appreciate it,” I tell him.
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re going to have to finish up. You have group therapy,” Sunny says. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Parrish.”
“Oh, it was so nice to meet you too,” Reina says as we all rise from the table.
“Yes, sweetheart, and thank you for taking care of this bastard for us,” Jack adds, winking at me. Laughing, I shake my head and take the sonogram photo from the table. Staring at my daughter’s profile, I still can’t get over how perfect she is. Reina interrupts my thoughts by giving me a hug.
“Next time, I’ll bring a frame for it,” she promises.
I want to tell her to bring my girl with her the next time, but I refrain.
Patience.
All good things come to those who wait.
And the greatest things, well, they come to the people that put in the work.