Chapter 20
My cheek was pressed against the leather of Happy's kutte as we rode down to Bakersfield. I was beyond nervous. Meeting Happy's mother was a big step for the both of us and I was worried about her liking me. I wasn't sure what to expect. Was she going to be serious and intimidating like Happy could be or a sweet little woman who baked and knitted all the time. Happy thought that second imagining of her was hilarious which made me lean further towards intimidating Mrs. Lowman.
Happy stopped the bike by the curb in front of a stucco home with bright flowers in window pots. The house looked warm and inviting from the outside and it was a little hard to imagine Happy as a child, playing in the front yard and riding a bicycle down the street. Looking up and down the street, I noticed that his mother's home was one of the most well kept. It wasn't until he already had his gloves and helmet on that I noticed I was still sitting on his motorcycle.
"Sorry." I muttered, hurrying off and almost falling onto the sidewalk. Happy caught my arm and steadied me. "This is a great start."
"You're still clumsy when you're nervous." Happy chuckled, reaching beneath my chin and unbuckling the helmet strap. I blushed and took the helmet with shaking hands. "Lexie, she's my mother not the Queen of England."
"That's the problem." I groaned, taking his outstretched hand and following him up the stepping stones to the front door. I took a couple of deep breaths, all while Happy shook his head in silent laughter. The door started opening and I felt my head getting light and woozy. Standing in front of me just seconds later was a older woman with a kind smile and tie-dye walking cane. She seemed like she may have been in her seventies at the most but had a light in her eyes of a woman half her age. She ushered us in with a big smile and sweet voice.
"Hijo, it's about time you bring a woman home to meet me. I was worried you were never going to stop with the floosies." She said, hugging his neck when he leaned down to kiss her cheek. I fought to hide my amused smile. "Well, are you going to introduce her? I taught you better manners than that, Happy."
"Ma, give me a minute." Happy said, shaking his head and putting both of our helmets and his gloves in the coat closet by the door. When he turned back, his mother was scowling impatiently. "Ma, this is Alexis. Alexis, this is my mother Mariah."
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Lowman. I've heard a lot about you." I said with a smile. She pushed the hand I'd offered her away and pulled me into a hug.
"Dear, please call me Mariah. I'm not that old." She fussed. I felt my cheeks go pink and she chuckled. "Come, come you two must be thirsty."
Happy seemed as relaxed as I had ever seen him. He guided me behind Mariah with a hand lightly placed at my lower back. The house was nothing like I had expected. It was exceptionally clean, which wasn't surprising but I never expected Happy's mother to be somewhat of a hippy. I guess his name may have been a clue but I just thought it may have been a family name. There were family photos on the walls along with pictures of Ghandi and peace signs. I recognized the smell on incense from the year I spent with a roommate when I first started college.
"Ma, I can get it. Sit down." Happy said as she shuffled towards the kitchen. She turned around and brandished her cane at him. "Alright. Alright. Just let me help at least."
"And leave Alexis sitting all alone in here? Non-sense. You two sit and I will get us some drinks. Just give me a minute. I may not move as fast as I used to but I'm still moving, Happy." I could see where Happy got his bossy nature. It was cute coming from her though. He didn't object any further until she was out of earshot.
"I don't know why she won't let me do stuff for her. Stubborn old woman." He muttered quietly. I shook my head and kissed his cheek softly. "She likes you."
"I've just barely met her, Happy." I said with a blush. He shook his head and leaned back, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"She's going to tell you about how your aura shows that you're a good person and other hippie shit." He said quickly as his mother walked back in with a tray of glasses. His eyes darkened and his brow furrowed quickly. "Damnit, Ma. You aren't supposed to be walking around without your cane."
"Don't you swear at me, Happy Lowman. You're not to old for a fly swatter across your backside." She snapped, setting the tray down on the coffee table as Happy jumped up and stormed into the kitchen. He reappeared a second later with her cane. She snatched it from him and gently hit the back of his thigh with it. "You don't want this stubborn old woman to beat you in front of Ms. Alexis."
Things settled down after Happy and Mariah sat down. He was still sour about being fussed at and her stubbornness but she seemed to move on from it quickly. She asked about my family and what I did for a living, telling Happy I was a keeper after learning I was a doctor. Just like Happy said, she also told me all about my aura, or energy. She said it was pure and she could tell I was a kind and caring person. Happy sighed.
"Ma, she's a doctor. Of course she's kind and caring." He grumbled. She pointed her cane at him threateningly and he rolled his eyes. "She is though. That and more."
"She's sitting right here. Really, I'm flawed like everyone else." I said, getting embarrassed by the compliments and attention. Happy smirked and leaned back again, resting his hand on my thigh. I took another drink of the homemade lemonade and hoped we were moving on from the topic of me.
"When am I getting grand babies?" I choked and started coughing. That was not the next topic I was expecting. Happy groaned and rubbed his hand in circles on my back. "What? I'm not getting any younger and you two go together so well. She is the yin to your yang, hijo."
"Ma, you ain't going anywhere anytime soon." Happy chastised. Mariah rolled her eyes and waved his comment away. From what I'd heard around the club and from Happy himself, that wasn't entirely true. Her cancer wasn't responding to treatment as well as the doctors had hoped. No one had given a prognosis yet but she was nearly terminal. I wished I could be more optimistic but I knew too much about medicine. Optimism was just something I tried to give the family. I rarely had any myself.
We stayed with Mariah until well into the night and she started to fall asleep in her recliner. With some fussing and bickering, she eventually let Happy help her to bed. I told her goodnight and promised to visit soon. She threatened to hold me to it and I was more than happy to give her my word. I loved Mariah already and looked forward to spending more time with her after all of the great stories about Happy's childhood, what California was like when she was growing up and all about auras and energies. She was one of the most interesting people I had ever met.
"You ready to go?" Happy said, stepping back into the living room. I gave him a small smile and a nod. I was sad to leave. Happy kissed the top of my head and led the way outside. I continued out to his Harley as he locked the front door. "Stay awake, okay? I don't want your ass falling off the back."
"I'm good." I said, securing my helmet. He nodded and turned his head to give me a kiss and avoid hitting his forehead on the helmet. I bit his bottom lip playfully before he pulled back. "Your Mom is great."
"Yeah. I've got two great women in my life." He said casually. I blushed deeply and turned to hide it but he wasn't having it. He turned me back around and lifted my chin so I had to look at him. He searched my eyes for a second. "I love you, Alexis."
I felt like the world came to a screeching halt. The man in front of me. The man that I had known for years and cared about for nearly as long had just told me he loved me. I never honestly expected to hear it from him, especially not first. He wasn't one to verbalize his feelings. He normally said more with actions than words. I never thought I would care if he said it or not, so long as I knew it. I was wrong. Hearing it was like seeing the light for the first time. He was still looking at me but not in a way that said he was waiting on a response. He was relaxed and his eyes were warm. He was just looking at me with no expectations. I blinked a couple times, coming out of my frozen state. I sprung up to my tiptoes and kissed him full on, paying no mind to my helmet that just barely missed hitting him on the bridge of the nose.
"I love you." I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to say those words to a man that wasn't Hank. It came easily with Happy. There was no trying or forcing it. It just came naturally. I noticed his lips twitch towards a smile before he kissed me again. I closed my eyes and savored the moment, knowing it was once in a lifetime. There would only be one first time.
"Come on, Lexie." Happy offered me his and as he sat on the leather seat of his bike. I carefully climbed on behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. We hit the road and flew back towards Charming, the cool night winds whipping at our cheeks. I hid my face behind Happy's back and fought to keep my eyes open. We rolled into the driveway well after midnight and went straight to bed. I fell asleep in his arms, both of us too tired to even consider sex.
"When were you going to tell me about this?" Happy asked as he walked inside the kitchen a few days later. I was folding laundry and didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I put down the scrub top I was holding and looked up at him. "Dinner?"
"Oh, with Jax and Tara? What does it matter? It's just dinner with family." I said, wondering what he was worked up about. He shook his head. "What?"
"She almost got you killed, Alexis." There it was, the grudge he'd been holding for far too long and the answer to his mysterious attitude. I put my hands on my hips, shaking my head at his ridiculousness.
"Happy. This is her house. She's my best friend and my brother's girlfriend. She didn't almost get me killed." I said calmly. I knew that yelling wasn't going to make the argument go any smoother. He set his jaw and shook his head. "This means a lot to me, Happy. I need the two of you to get along at least. You're both too important to me."
"She should have said something sooner. As soon as she knew he was here and why, she was putting both of you in the crosshairs by not telling Jax." Happy said, anger seeping through with every word. I frowned.
"I knew to, Happy. I could have said something sooner to." I said. He wasn't hearing it. He was refusing to put any blame on me. Eventually, after more arguing and make-up sex, he agreed to dinner. I slipped into a modern, black and white dress with blurry floral print and knee high black boots while Happy shaved his he walked out of the bathroom, I was sitting on the end of the bed with my legs outstretched and my ankles crossed.
"Not like you to be late, princess." Jax said, opening the door forty minutes later. I blushed and tried to shrug it off. Jax groaned and shook his head. "I don't want to know. Tara's in the kitchen. Hey brother."
"Hey." Happy said, welcoming Jax's hug. I hurried into the kitchen and hoped that the awkwardness would subside once dinner was served. Tara was holding Abel on her hip and trying to open the oven at the same time. My heels clicked on the tile floor as I rushed over and took Abel to help her out. He giggled a little and grabbed at my hair.
"Thanks. I probably would have burnt myself or dropped the food." Tara said, reaching in and pulling a pan of garlic toast out of the oven. Once the pan was safely on the counter, she turned to look at me. "Well, I'm under dressed."
"I just wanted to wear something different. You look great." I said, swinging my hip into hers. She rolled her eyes as I started bouncing Abel up and down on my other hip. "How's my favorite man doing?"
"He's about to go to bed. We had our bottle and was almost sleepy when Aunt Alexis came zooming in." Tara teased. I chuckled and blew a raspberry on Abel's cheek. He giggled and grabbed at my nose. "You're a natural with him."
"I had a month long rotation in Pediatrics when I thought I wanted to specialize in that. I'm too soft. I couldn't take the negative outcomes." I said, rocking Abel slowly in hopes that he would calm back down for Tara. It was like looking into smaller version of Jax's eyes. Abel was going to be a spitting image of him. His eyes started to close slowly.
"Don't drop my son." Jax said, kissing my cheek while he walked up to the refrigerator to get some beers. I scoffed and held him close. Jax laughed and passed a beer to Happy. "Tara, do you want me to put him down?"
"Please, Jax. This is almost done." Tara said, stirring pasta sauce. I quickly volunteered to help Jax, leaving Happy and Tara alone in the kitchen. Jax walked alongside me.
"Piney found another copy of Dad's manuscript in the bottom of some old trunk." Jax said, turning on the nursery light. "I'm trying to change things. It's just not easy with Clay and some of the others."
"By the others you mean Tig. What happened with you two anyways?" I asked. After Donna's funeral, I had noticed that Tig's face was also cut up. Obviously it was more than just a difference of opinions between Jax and Tig. He shook his head and became tight lipped. "Look, it didn't turn into this in a day and you can't fix it in a day."
"It would be a hell of a lot easier with Opie around." Jax said. Opie had hit the road as soon as Donna's wake was over, leaving his two kids in the care of his mother Mary. History repeated itself though and Mary had ditched the kids and went back to wherever it is she ran off to. Now Piney was toting the kids around like a respectable grandpa. "Is he treating you right?"
"What? Yeah, of course." I meant every word. We'd had a few disagreements but that wasn't anything new for us. We didn't stay mad though. We never tried to hurt one another physically or verbally. I couldn't see myself being any happier.
"Good." Jax said with a nod. We put Abel to bed and quietly returned to the kitchen where Tara and Happy we're talking about the Cutlass. She was defending its original engine while Happy tried to convince her that swapping it out was a great idea. There was no winning that fight for either one of them. Jax chuckled and positioned himself behind Tara, wrapping his arms around her tightly. I smiled as he kissed her neck.
"Jax, if you make the food burn." Tara half threatened. He shook his head and nuzzled his nose against her ear. I saw how happy she looked and felt complete. My family was happy. I was happy. I had a wonderful man in my life. I couldn't find anything to be negative about.
Three weeks went by and I almost didn't even recognize my life. Things were fairly calm in Charming for once. I started working at Saint Thomas and loved the change of pace. I could focus on patients more exclusively instead of just finishing up one to move on to the next. Lunches with Tara was icing on the cake.
"Jax is dragging me to the party tonight. Please tell me you're going." Tara said, sitting down at our usual lunch table in the cafeteria. I nodded, pushing my salad around unenthusiastically. "What's wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm just not in the mood for salad. I didn't sleep well last night. Happy didn't get in from Tacoma until late and I don't sleep great when he's on the road alone." I explained, finally putting my fork down in surrender. Tara nodded and offered me half of her sandwich. "Why don't you want to go to the party?"
"I'm not like you, Lexie. I stick out like a sore thumb and it's like a war zone with the other women." I rolled my eyes. Tara had become self conscious recently for reasons that were beyond me. She was worried that Jax was cheating on her, despite my constant reassurance. I couldn't really blame her too much. Jax didn't have a good track record.
"You're Jax's old lady, Tara Knowles. Any of those whores give you problems then all you have to do is remind them of that. I suggest actions over words but it's up to you." I said with a little laugh. Tara smiled and leaned back in her chair with a sigh.
"I just wish Jax was a little more like Happy. He doesn't leave anyone wondering if he's up for sides. I thought Julie was going to cry when he brushed her off." Tara said, referring to the last time we were all at the clubhouse playing pool. Julie had sauntered up to Happy while I was helping Mom with something. According to Tara, Happy gave her a look that could kill and threatened to cut any part of her that came near him. I had a feeling she was padding the story a little but the threat seemed genuine enough for him.
"Just trust him, Tara. I'll castrate him if he does anything stupid so you'll probably know right away." I promised with a bright smile. That did it. She relaxed and smiled brightly, getting back to her lunch.
"You're sure you don't want any?" I shook my head, turning her down again. We talked about Abel and work for the rest of the hour. After that, I scrubbed in for a hernia surgery that I could practically do in my sleep.
"Hey, I didn't think I'd see you until tonight." I said, a little startled to see Happy standing in my temporary office. I closed the door in case whatever he was here to tell me was not for eager ears. He slid his hands down from my sides to my hips as I walked up to him. "What's wrong?"
"Just wanted to see you." He rasped, kissing my neck just below my ear. I moaned and leaned into him, unable to suppress my reactions. "You stink."
"I just got out of a hernia surgery." I explained. Wrinkled his nose before I caught his lips with mine. "Jax told Tara you were having a big vote today."
"They did. I'm still Nomad, baby. I don't vote on official stuff." He said before interrupting to conversation with another, deeper kiss. I pulled back after a minute, nearly breathless. He had a cocky smirk on his face.
"I have a few follow-up's to do and then I'll be done." I said with a yawn. He nodded, letting his hands drop from my hips to his sides. "Do you want to pre-game for the party?"
"Pre-game?" Happy asked. I gave him a wicked smile and recognition flashed in his eyes. I shot him a wink before opening my office door. "I'll let you know when I leave."
"I'll be there as soon as I can. Got to help Opie with something." He didn't say exactly what that something was but I had a suspicion that it had to do with payback for Donna's death. There was still a lot of tension between Jax and Tig and it had also spread to include Clay as well. I couldn't help thinking that something wasn't right. That someone was hiding the truth about what had happened that night. I told myself I didn't want to know. I didn't want that weighing on me.
I finished up my rounds and charts before heading out to the parking lot. I noticed a familiar truck but then again, every truck in Charming was familiar. I kept walking without paying it any further attention. The truck's lights turned on just as I reached my car. I covered my eyes and squinted to see who was in the truck with the blinding lights. The truck revved up and I got inside my car quickly. It flew by me, narrowly missing the front of my car. My chest rose and fell quickly, unable to catch a deep breath.
