Chibs had returned to the garage after the conversation in Jax's dorm room but River had done enough watching in the morning and she finds herself hiding in the shade of the picnic tables actually reading the book she'd borrowed from Chibs' house. She's starting to get engaged in the plot when Gemma finds her.
"They finally let you out of bachelor pad prison huh?" Gemma settles herself at the table and lights a cigarette as she speaks and River closes her book digging the note pad out of the jacket.
Yes, how are you?
The older woman looks stressed and this guess is confirmed when she runs a hand through her hair before she replies. "Exhausted," she pauses to take a drag on her smoke, "one of my birds is sick. — How do you sign that? Bird?" River pulls a sympathetic face and then lifts her hand to her mouth using her index finger and thumb to mime a beak motion. Gemma mimes her movement and laughs. "Very nice."
You have birds?
Gemma smiles before she answers, "Yea, a cockatoo and a few love birds."
There's a long pause and River uses the time to light her own cigarette. She's used to silence, gaps in conversation don't make her uncomfortable. When you use your hands to talk and read lips there are lots of times when it's just impossible to speak. She can't carry on conversations while driving for example, or at least not well. She also refuses to read lips during meals as Chibs was forced to learn a few nights prior. It was a rule she'd implemented after one too many dates ended with her feeling sick to her stomach after watching her dates' half chewed food bounce around while they tried to chat.
She is very aware, though, that most hearing people hate gaps in conversation and if left to their own devices will reveal more than they mean to just to fill up the silence. Gemma is no exception.
"Has that man been feeding you well? You don't look as starved although you're still too thin." River smiles and puts her cigarette down to pick up the pen.
Yes, I feel like I do nothing but eat. At this rate I'll be back to my normal weight and then some soon.
She smiles as she pushes the note forward and Gemma snorts, rolling her eyes. "I bet you're missing your hair more though. That's going to take forever to grow back." She reaches out to finger a lock of the short hair and River feels her cheeks flush. Yes, she does miss her hair. Before they'd cut it off she'd had long dark curls down to the middle of her back. She doesn't like to think of herself as a vain woman but she's been avoiding the mirror like not seeing it will keep it from being real. Her hair had been a point of pride. She finally moves the pen to paper.
I haven't really looked at it. How bad?
"Oh honey." Gemma looks genuinely concerned and River feels her heart contract. "Listen, I'll take you to get it fixed this week. My treat." The offer is made so sincerely River pushes thoughts of how it doesn't matter when she's probably set to die in a week away.
Really? Thank you.
"Of course. You still good on clothes?" River nods and Gemma smiles back. "I heard you cleaned up at the Friday night poker game, gonna use the money for something nice?" She'd forgotten about the money from Friday night. She has no idea what happened to the chips.
Doesn't really make sense to try and hold on to 3k when I have nowhere to go.
Gemma presses her lips together and nods. "I heard you're going to Jax and Tara's for dinner tonight. Another thing that seems odd when you have nowhere to go." There it is, the real reason she's here. River can tell they've finally reached the crux of the conversation from the tilt of Gemma's head and the tension in her shoulders. This requires subtlety. She knows from Chibs that Gemma is Clay's wife and Jax's mom. She's also well aware that MC's treat their women different than the family, keeping them slightly more involved in the criminal side of things.
I just go where I'm taken
River settles on vague honesty and hopes the woman buys it. She likes Gemma, there'd been some kindness in the woman a few days before when she'd showed at the house with supplies. She can see the conflict that surrounds her. Gemma seems like she wants to help out of some maternal instinct but there's a wide divide between the roles of an Old Lady and a technical club prisoner even if River is special case.
"Don't we all baby." The response seems to have been just placating enough to get the older woman to drop the subject and River nods along holding a knowing look in place. The moment doesn't drag on as Gemma looks up watching something over her shoulder. River turns to see the men of the MC crossing the lot towards the clubhouse. Gemma says something to the group but River misses it and someone must make a joke because the men all laugh.
Chibs stops in front of the table and a few of the men take a seat. He looks to River though, "Ready to ride?" A slow tingle slides up her spine as he uses the signs for both ready and ride as he speaks. He'd been paying attention earlier. She nods her fist at him and turns to the group to wave just as Tig speaks.
"Chibs…learning…pussy." She doesn't catch the whole sentence but she knows it's a dig from the way the rest of them laugh. There's a gap and she turns back to Chibs just in time to see his mouth stop moving and another laugh goes up from the group. She rolls her eyes and pushes up from the table annoyed at being left out of whatever jokes were made. She's been here before and she knows it's not a battle worth fighting. Chibs seems to have diffused things well enough because he's smiling, relaxed, as he leads her to the bike, stows her book in the side bag, and she holds on tight as they peel out of the lot.
River was nervous as they pulled up to a nice ranch style home a few minutes from Chibs' house. Not only would tonight reveal her status with her family but she was about to endure a full dinner with a house full of unfamiliar hearing people. She's not sure which has her more tense.
It's not that she doesn't like hearing people, her entire family is hearing and many of them had never learned to sign. Her father is fluent in ASL and she has a few cousins who picked it up in bits and pieces, a couple more who are almost fluent. Her father's housekeeper, Angie, is also deaf and was hired when River was two as a nanny. Angie was the one who'd taught River how to curse in ASL when she was a teen. The problem doesn't come with the people but with a general lack of deaf knowledge.
Most people meet one or maybe two deaf people in their entire lives and they don't have to live in a world where thinking about hearing is a thing, it just happens. River knows she got lucky that Bobby was in the clubhouse that first night and recognized the ASL, she'd been too exhausted to even try another form of communication. She also knows she's lucky her guard duty got passed to Chibs who seems willing and interested in making conversation possible.
Still, she's tired from a day of very concentrated people watching at the garage and even the cat nap she'd taken before they'd headed out for dinner wasn't going to make the next few hours of trying to keep up with multiple new faces any easier. She knows Chibs thinks she's a witch for the way she can read a room but it's not a gift it's a practiced skill and it really zaps her energy. He stops on the porch and turns to her before pressing the door bell.
"Yeh… " His eyebrows are up in question but she couldn't catch the words in the fading evening light. She taps the fingertips of her bent right hand onto her left palm in the sign she'd taught him meant again or repeat. He'd asked her to help him make it easier and she was going to hold him to it. Instead of trying to speak he points to her then holds up the universal sign for OK and lifts his eyebrows again in question. She hadn't had the heart to tell him making a circle with your index finger and thumb with the other fingers raised isn't technically how you sign okay in ASL. She nods her fist a yes and he rings the doorbell.
The chaos is immediate. Jax answers the door and River can tell he's talking but the light is on inside and his face is in shadow for her. There's a pretty brunette standing behind him that must be Tara, she's got a baby on her hip and another kid is running circles around Jax's legs. River feels immediately overwhelmed but she follows Chibs into the house with a smile all the same.
It stays wild for the first few minutes in the house as everyone tries to get settled. She's guessing they've arrived right at bedtime based on the kid's attire and River doesn't even bother trying to follow the foyer conversation as everyone is talking while turning their heads to watch the oldest boy run around. She smiles politely when she can tell it's expected of her and stands awkwardly next to Chibs until Jax scoops up the older boy and all four occupants of the house drift down a hallway towards the back.
Chibs waves his hand to get her attention. "Do yeh want a drink? Tara said there's wine and beer." He uses the sign for drink as he talks and it's enough to make her want to try even if just for him. She nods her fist. He leads her into a small kitchen and she realizes he must spend time here because he knows where everything is. She leans against the counter and waits until he turns back to her holding up a beer in one hand and a bottle of red wine in the other. She points to the wine and there's a glass in her hand almost instantly.
Tara and Jax return to the kitchen without the kids a moment later and the brunette pours herself a glass of wine and smiles at River. It's relief that when she speaks she does so slowly.
"I'm Tara, I don't think we did clear we did introductions in the hall." She holds out her hand and River shakes it before signing her own introduction. She flicks her eyes to Chibs and sees her name falls from his lips. Good enough. "Jax said you needed to borrow my computer?" River nods and follows the woman into an attached breakfast nook where a slick laptop with a St. Thomas hospital sticker on the back is set up.
She waits patiently while Tara boots up the machine and logs in, pulling up a web browser. The moment of truth. River looks up from the lit screen to find Tara has taken a seat across the table and Jax and Chibs are hovering in the doorway to the kitchen. She wishes she could do this on her own. If the news is bad she's going to be a mess and she'd rather it not be seen by everyone. Chibs seems to catch her hesitation and he lifts his chin the silent question on his face. She gives him a small smile and shake of her head.
Now or never. She types her father's name into the web browser and the results load instantly. She glances up and they're all still staring at her expectantly. This is not going to be a quick process. The whole idea is that the real news she's looking for can get buried in plain view for anyone to see and only her and her father to understand. It had been her father's idea. Piero Santorini was a man who created plans on top of plans and River is aware that her safety in the Cosa Nostra had always been a weight in the back of his mind. This was their own little code.
She skims the articles on the first page of results and it's mostly old stories and bio pages. She clicks into the news results and finds a few promising articles. He's still alive for one and she feels surge go through her chest. She hadn't really considered the idea that he could be dead consciously but she knows jail is a dangerous place when you have enemies so the possibility had always hovered on the horizon. She takes a sip of her wine and glances up to find the room's other occupants have started talking. She catches a few words but having missed the beginning she can't pick up the thread so she goes back to the computer.
There are a few articles that are local to Chicago and describe his situation and the details of the case. It's actually a better situation than she'd hoped for. The only evidence being a set of dodgy records found by an ATF informant. That's good, thin ties like that can be easy to beat and easy to make disappear. What she needs though is a quote from his lawyer, Herb Lowry, or a jailhouse statement. She's on the fifth article skimming quickly when a hand waves on the edge of her vision.
"How long will this take?" Chibs is staring down at her and she scans the room realizing Tara has left and Jax is now in her seat. River shrugs. He raises his eyebrow and she knows he wants a real answer. Digging in her jacket she tugs out the notepad.
I have to find a statement from his lawyer. A few more minutes.
She passes the pad to Chibs who reads it and then hands it off to Jax. The younger man is staring intently at the window behind her and River realizes he'd set up the computer and the room so he can see her screen reflected in the night-darkened glass at her back. Smart. She would have done the same.
"Why do you need a statement from his lawyer?" Jax looks back to her when he speaks, holding out the pad and she takes it back.
We have a code. He'll tell me who to contact.
She hands the pad back and watches as he reads. He looks impressed as he passes the note on to Chibs. She assumes the conversation is done for now and turns back to the computer. The next few articles are useless most of them just summaries of her father's previous suspected crimes. A number of them mention her and she's on one such page when Jax's finger taps the top of the monitor, he's been watching her progress in the reflection. She looks up and he moves around to her side looking at the screen with her.
"Is that you?" He's pointing to the picture of her at the top of the page.
It's an old poker tournament promo shot from one of the televised specials she'd done. They'd wanted to really play up the hot Italian mob daughter angle and she's dressed to kill in a little black dress that barely hits mid thigh, heels, and a set of thick gold chain necklaces of varying lengths. Her curls are barely under control and they'd made her pose with a fanned out Ace high straight in one hand. She hasn't looked in a mirror in three months and the fact that he has to ask if it's makes her stomach sink but she nods her fist yes anyways.
She feels him let out a breath near her ear and she realizes he's whistled. Chibs has moved around behind the computer and she refuses to look up and meet his face, clicking the back button to get to more results instead. It's another 10 minutes before she finds what she needs. A video press conference, only a week old, from her father's last court appearance with a personal statement read by Herb. Her heart sinks when she realizes there's no transcription or closed caption. It doesn't help that the camera angle is too far out to allow lip reading. The one fault in their plan. She tucks the weak spot away to be addressed later and looks up at the men.
They're mid conversation but she's impatient and she makes a noise in the back of her throat to get their attention. Chibs' shoulders tense the minute she feels the sound leave he throat and when he turns to meet his eyes she catches just a glimpse of something that shouldn't be showing up in Jax's kitchen. She stores that information away for later use too.
"Yeh found it?" He nods to the computer as he talks and she signs yes. Her disappointment in the format is obvious on her face and she's not surprised when he speaks again, "What's wrong?" She taps at the screen and they both come around again.
"A video, jesus." Jax seems to be thinking hard. "Can you explain the code?" He mimes writing as he talks and she signs no, shaking her head for emphasis. "It'll take all night to write everything he says down." She grabs the pen.
Looking for a reference to what he wants to do when he gets out.
Chibs nods, "Aye, makes sense." He reaches around her to click play and she watches as the image starts to move. It's not a long video just a few minutes and they all watch it together. She knows the moment Herb says the magic words because both Jax and Chibs tense, one of them reaching forward to pause it. She looks up expectantly.
"Something about eating pasta with his nephew." Jax looks confused and River groans audibly. Snatching up the pen.
It has to be exact. Again.
Chibs moves against her with his hip and she stands letting him take the seat in front of the laptop. She leans over his shoulder watching as he drags the little time bar backwards and plays the clip again. He writes as the images move and then does it again showing his note to Jax for confirmation. It's nods all around and then the paper is put into her shaking hand.
Mr. Santorini would like to again deny the false allegations against him. He is confident that justice will prevail shortly and he will soon be at home enjoying a plate of his nephew Vincent's Ligurian Pasta Trenette on the terrace.
River feels like her heart is about to beat out of her chest and she sinks back against the window behind her heavily with relief. She looks up from the note and they're both watching her closely.
"This means something to yeh?" She can tell he knows the answer but he wants confirmation. She nods with both head and fist. "Good news?" Another nod.
"Explain." The last part is Jax and River sighs. Chibs vacates the chair so she can sit at the table again and she starts to write. It's a lot to get out and by the end of it her injured fingers are aching.
Justice will prevail shortly = the evidence will be taken care of in the next few days. Be home soon = getting out of jail, probably in 1-2 weeks. The mention of Vincent at the same time as Ligurian Pasta = safe to contact Vinny for more information. Ligurian Pasta Trenette is a greenbean and pesto dish. Green = good. Terrace = how to contact.
She passes the note off to Chibs and watches as he reads before he hands it to Jax.
"So you contact your cousin Vinny and what? He tells you what to do? How do you know you can trust him?" Jax has too many questions at once and now that she knows her father is safe and will be out soon River feels almost too heavy with exhaustion to move. She hadn't realized how much she'd been relying on adrenaline for energy. She knows she's not leaving without giving answers though so she picks up the pen again.
Vinny is one of my only real cousins. My dad's sister's son. I trust him with my life.
"And then what?" Jax is watching her closely and she know he means and then what for my club. This is all good news for her but if Vinny comes to TM and carries her away it leaves SAMCRO on the hook for the disappearance of a supposed Cartel prisoner. She would be safe but they could end up dead. She picks up the pen.
We call Vinny, he'll handle the cartel.
It's the truth. River loves her silly cousin to death. They'd been born a year apart and had practically grown up together. Vinny was one of the cousins who'd managed almost fluency in ASL and they're close. He's goofy and loving and generally a wonderful person. He's also a ruthless, cold blooded killer and business man, who runs his own crew in the DiForno family, not just because he's related to Piero Santorini.
She watches Jax's face and for a moment she thinks he's going to argue but Tara enters the room suddenly and his attention is pulled from River. Chibs waves a hand to get her attention and signs eat. River feels her shoulders relax, she's pretty sure Jax won't stir up trouble during a meal with his Old Lady.
It takes a few minutes to get the computer cleaned up off the table and River makes sure she gets possession of all the written notes, tucking them carefully into her jacket pocket to destroy later. She helps Tara set the table silently and then they all sit down to an excellent meal of roasted chicken and vegetables.
River tries to keep up with the conversation and she picks up enough to know Tara is a pediatric surgeon at St. Thomas, only one of the boys is biologically hers, and she's nervous about her recent engagement. The last two facts River guesses using body language and come context clues but she's pretty sure they're accurate. She's a little surprised that the bikers and doctor make small talk about everyday things, for some reason she expected them to talk about nothing but the club. It's an unfair assumption given her upbringing but she'd made it all the same.
By the end of the night she knows a lot about the boys daycare, their favorite ice cream place downtown and how business is going at the garage. She's ready to fall asleep walking by the time Chibs leads her out of the house and back on to the bike. At one point in the ride he actually stops the bike to tug on her hands seating her closer to him, she'd started to feel wobbly. By the time they make it inside she doesn't even think before she strips and curls up in the bed. She stays awake long enough for him to settle under the sheets and then shifts around until her head is cushioned on his warm chest. There's no complaints from him and she falls asleep to the feeling of his hand tangled in her hair.