Hi Guys! Here is chapter nine! I am really sorry for the delay in posting, real life and work and whatnot had been insane lately, so that got in the way a bit. That being said, I am really happy with this chapter and I hope you enjoy it. You can finally get a little background on thew new office girl. :-) I will do my very best to post again in the next few days. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and PLEASE let me know what you think!
Warm light flowed into the kitchen, casting a homey glow over the occupants. The aroma of simmering sauce mixed with the strong garlic scent coming from the bread, filling the house with the most delectable fragrance. She could hear Lila and Tara chatting casually as they made a salad, along with the cacophony created by her grandson on the floor, occupying himself by banging on her pots and pans with a wooden spoon. Her finger, dipped easily in the sauce and then straight to her mouth, told her that it was perfectly seasoned and ready to eat. She smiled as she looked around at the kitchen, the porn star and the doctor bitch working happily side by side while a baby in a SAMCRO hat played on the floor. It was like a Norman Rockwell painting from hell. Gemma really wouldn't have it any other way.
"When is everybody supposed to be here?" she asked again, unwilling to admit that she was anxious but feeling it nonetheless.
"Soon," Lila answered. "The Prospect will be back with the kids any minute, and the garage closed an hour ago, so the rest of them should be here before long."
"How many are we expecting, again?" Gemma asked as she started to count out plates. Some people would use paper plates, but this was her family coming tonight, and paper plates were just not going to cut it. Besides, one of the Prospects would do the dishes, so what did she care?
"Let's see," Tara began to list. "You, me, Abel, Lila, Opie, the three kids. Chibs is in Ireland, so he is out. The Nomads are in Oakland tonight, so don't count them either. Kozik, Piney, Chuckie, Unser and three of the Prospects. That makes…15?"
"Oh, and don't forget Tess!" Lila piped up. "Tess will make sixteen of us."
"Oh Tess is coming?" Tara asked with a smile. "Good. That will give me more of a chance to talk to her. I have been so tired lately that I haven't made much of an effort."
"That's because you're knocked up," Gemma pointed out casually. "Tellers are exhausting."
Tara opened her mouth to retort, but just then the kitchen was invaded by three new children and one very large man. Piper ran excitedly up to his mother and wrapped his arms around her legs. Lila managed to stay upright, used to having children underfoot. Kenny and Ellie hovered by the door, nervous about being in a relatively unfamiliar house. They knew that this was Gemma's house and Gemma was a friend of their Dad's and all the other bikers would be around tonight, and that made them even more nervous.
"Hey guys," Lila smiled as she untangled herself from Piper. "How was school?"
"It was okay," Ellie replied, and Kenny nodded along. "My friends liked my hair."
"Of course they did," Gemma said, as she approached the children and hugged them. "It looks great. Did your Mom do that?"
She realized her mistake a second too late. Ellie looked at her as if she had lost her mind and shook her head. It was Kenny who answered. "Our mom is dead. Lila did her hair. And it does look really pretty."
All of the adults in the room stood and stared slack jawed at the children. Kenny had spoken in such a matter of fact way about his mother that they were all kind of stunned. Gemma's eyes were shut in a look of pure mortification. Tara was looking at the children with pity in their eyes. Lila, however, just sighed heavily.
"She knows that, Sweetie," Lila explained, ruffling Kenny's hair. "She just made a mistake. It happens sometimes."
Kenny nodded, indicating that he understood, and after a moment Ellie smiled up at Lila. "Can you do my hair like this again tomorrow?"
"Maybe even better than that," Lila agreed quickly, glad that the awkward moment seemed to be behind them. "Why don't you kids see if you can help Mr. Phil set the table, okay? We will be eating as soon as your dad and the rest get here."
"I've got the forks!" Ellie shouted, eager to be helpful. Kenny dashed after her to grab the knives off the counter, handing Piper the spoons.
"I'll race you!" he said to Piper as they hurried to leave the kitchen.
"Kenneth Jackson Winston!" Lila shouted instantly. "Don't you dare run with knives! Chibs isn't here to fix you if you manage to stab yourself!"
"I will make sure he is fine," Filthy Phil spoke up, grabbing the massive stack of plates off the counter and following the children into the dining room.
"I could fix him, you know," Tara said, slightly offended that she had been overlooked. "If he managed to stab himself with the cutlery. It is kind of my job, you know."
"Oh, I know," Lila told her. "Kenny just likes Chibs a lot. Apparently, he tells good stories and talks funny."
"Ah," Tara smiled. "I'll work on my accent. You seem to be doing pretty well at this whole instant Mommy thing."
"Well, I have had a hell of a lot of practice," Lila replied, not completely able to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "Op has been really busy, so he isn't around much."
She shrugged it off, but the other women could tell it was wearing on the woman. "Well," Gemma cut in. "At least he isn't in prison."
Tara let out a snort of laughter in response, which caused Lila to giggle. Before anybody could contain it, the three women were overcome with laughter, clutching their sides and gasping for breath. It was completely inane and ridiculous, but it felt good for each of them to laugh. Gemma had been lonely here in the house with just the pictures on the walls for company. Tara had been walling herself off, barely managing to even go through the motions. Lila was drowning under the weight of three children and responsibilities and a career. This laughter was cleansing for them, a way to keep the tears at bay for another day.
Of course, the moment was ruined when Wayne Unser appeared in the doorway. "What's so funny?"
The women's eyes consulted each other before they burst into hysterical laughter again. Unser stared at them for a moment before shaking his head. Women, he thought, as he turned and left the room again.
An hour and a half later, most of the grownups were still sitting around the table. Unser and Piney had gone to the living room to watch the game. Phil and Chuckie were supervising the older kids as they played outside, and the other Prospects were on kitchen duty. Tara was staring longingly at the red wine Lila sipped from her glass while her hand rested on Opie's knee, and he was eyeing Lila with what could only be described as obvious interest. Gemma's eyes, however, rested on Tess, who was cradling a sleeping baby Abel. Nobody seemed to notice that Kozik's eyes were trained on the same thing.
"You got any kids of your own, Honey?" Gemma spoke up, the question coming out of nowhere, throwing Tess off guard. "You look awful comfortable holding that sweet baby boy."
"Oh hell no," Tess instantly responded. She liked kids well enough, when they were sleeping anyway, but the thought of being a mother herself literally made her break out in a cold sweat. "Absolutely not. No kids for me."
"That's a shame," Kozik smirked. "You and I would have some really great looking babies."
Everybody around the table cracked up, while Tess shot Koz a look of horror and disgust. She was already upset enough at him because he had insisted that he give her a ride to Gemma's house, without ever mentioning that he would be riding his bike. It took several minutes of triage in the bathroom for her hair to be saved that evening. He would not be getting off that easily.
"Gross," she muttered under her breath, but not really.
"Whatever," Kozik shrugged easily. "You know you want to."
"I really, really don't think she does, Kozik," Tara disagreed, shooting a somewhat pitying look at the man in question.
"She's right," Tess grinned. "That's Tara."
"No problem," the doctor smiled.
It looked like the conversation might veer off of Tess, but Gemma was not one to be easily put off. Tess had been around for a couple of weeks and everybody liked her and she was fitting in real well. Gemma wanted to like her too, but she needed to know exactly who she had brought in. "So no babies left behind in Garden Grove. What DID you leave behind?"
Opie muttered "Subtle" under his breath, while Tess sighed and shifted her weight in the chair, reaching for the beer in front of her.
"House. Parents. Brother. Dog," she shrugged. "The usual."
"Wow," Kozik spoke up unexpectedly. "Way to answer while giving us no information at all," Tess glared at him. "We're all friends here, just trying to get to know one another."
Tess sighed, "There just isn't much to know. Really."
"Bullshit," Gemma judged immediately. "You left Garden Grove, what I can only assume is a clean, cushy life, to settle in little old Charming, on your own, miles away from what you know. Smart girls don't just run away from nothing."
Tess smiled bitterly. "Oh but they do," she insisted. "That's exactly what I am running from. Nothing."
They all kind of stared at her blankly, and she rolled her eyes before continuing. "My parents have been married for forever. They still live in the same house that they bought right after they got married. My dad had worked or the same company his whole life. Before I moved here, I was still sleeping in the same bedroom that used to be my nursery. Everything in that world was…perfect. Just so perfect and plain and boring as hell. I mean, the dog is even named Spot. I guess I just woke up one day and could clearly see myself turning into my parents, and it scared the hell out of me. I had to get out. So…I came here."
Gemma's heart twinged. Apparently, she had more in common with this girl than she had realized. The things that Tess was running from were things that Gemma could relate to. Hell, if she didn't know any better, Gemma would think that Tess grew up in the same damn house she did.
"I feel that, Darlin," Gemma said, smiling grimly at the girl. "Sounds like a fun life."
Everybody laughed, and Tess relaxed just a bit, but Kozik was quick to bring back the tension. "I call bullshit," he spoke up.
"What?" Gemma and Tess asked at the same time. Nearly everybody sat up and paid attention to whatever was brewing here.
"Sorry, but I don't buy it," Kozik shrugged. "What, you just woke up one day and came to this sudden realization that you didn't want to grow old in suburbia? So you leave your entire life behind to come live here of all places? That just doesn't happen. You're leaving something out."
Tess tensed up. Everybody was staring at her now, and they all knew that the asshole was right. Her story didn't add up because, of course, she was leaving something out. She picked up her drink and downed half of it before shift the stirring baby.
"Of course I left something out," she said. "Can't a girl have any secrets?"
"Not around here, Sweetite," Gemma replied, raising an eyebrow.
"There is a guy," Tess admitted with a sigh. As much as she didn't want to talk about this, it would be a definite weight lifted from her shoulders. "Tim is his name."
"And what? He is a dangerous drug king pin?" Opie guessed with a smirk. "You stole his stash and hid it and now he's after his money?"
"Oh no," Tess grinned, but the grin was hiding something; some deep feelings that she was desperate to hide. "Worse. He's an Ivy League graduate with blue eyes and a killer smile. And the only thing he wants from me is my hand in marriage."
"Your hand in marriage?" Kozik repeated, eyebrows raised. He should have known that there was a guy already involved with her.
"Uh huh. He asked my father and everything," Tess answered, shaking her head.
"And you said no?" Gemma guessed, kind of intrigued by the story. An Ivy League guy with a salary to match it was hard for any suburbia raised girl to turn down.
"Well," Tess shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't really say much of anything. I told him I had to think about it. Then I packed up and left."
Opie let out a low whistle. "Hope he's not the waiting around type."
"Me too," Tess said shortly. She was well aware that everybody at this table was looking at her, judging her in one way or another, and she couldn't stand it. "Look, it isn't as simple as it sounds! Six months ago, I was in a car wreck. Like, a 'totaled my car and it's a miracle I am alive' kind of car wreck. I was in the hospital for a while, had a surgery, and was pretty much flat on my back for a few months. I had to quit my job because I couldn't work. Hell, I couldn't even bathe myself. And Tim was great. He came to my parents' house every day to 'take care' of me. He would read to me and walk the dog and sit on the couch and watch TV with my parents. I think it got a little…too easy for him to take care of me. He started ordering for me in restaurants and weird shit like that. Then, he and my parents decided that I probably wasn't ready to go back to work because I needed more time to recuperate and just relax. I was sick of relaxing! Somewhere in those six months, it was like my life stopped being my own and nobody cared. I saw him and my mother looking at real estate ads and throwing around words like 'family home' and 'good school districts', so I confronted him. That's when he proposed. I just…I freaked out. I couldn't stay there. So…I didn't."
Her eyes literally begged them to understand, to know that she wasn't a terrible person, but a good person who had had enough. Gemma sighed.
"I'll say you did. Ordering for you in restaurants? What is he, some Regan era Republican? I mean, who does that?" she asked in disbelief. She saw a glimmer of hope in Tess's eyes. "No, you were right to leave. You would have been a Stepford Wife in no time."
Tara and Lila were nodding along, and Tess was thrilled that at least they seemed to get it. Kozik was looking down, not managing to make eye contact, and Tess couldn't have read him if she tried.
"Do they know where you are?" Tara asked, curious as to how she could completely leave everything behind, just like that.
"No," Tess shook her head. "I call my parents once a week, collect, just to let them know I am okay. But they don't know where I am."
"And you are liking it here in Charming?" Opie asked, immediately feeling protective of the new girl that they had brought into the fold. She was one of their people and she was their responsibility. "Everybody is treating you alright?"
"Oh yeah," Tess nodded emphatically. "Thing are good. I like it here. It's just…"
"Just what?" Gemma pounced on the hesitation.
"After being constantly surrounded and hovered over, it's kind of weird to not have any family around at all, you know?" she replied, embarrassed by how vulnerable she sounded.
As if on cue, Abel choose that moment to wake up and stare at the relative strange holding him. He reached out a chubby hand and gripped a strand of Tess's hair, flashing a quick grin before promptly throwing up all over her. Within a matter of seconds, Tara had retrieved the vomiting baby, Lila was passing napkins, and Opie and Kozik were looking away and hiding laughter.
"Well Honey, don't worry," Gemma said with a smirk. "I think it's safe to say you're family now."