GRIT (The Silver Nitrate Series Book 2) (5 page)

“I do.” He rocked against a pillow. “I love her, too… very much. She’s a good woman, but obviously, you already know that. Your home is beautiful, by the way.”

“Thank you, thank you very much. You’re full of shit, but thank you all the same!” She cackled, drawing them both into her mood.

“Nah, I’m serious!” But his smile wouldn’t leave.

“Look, I know my style isn’t for everyone. Silver is the true decorator in the family. She stopped caring about that sort of thing though after… nevermind.” The woman paused, looked away from them. He cast a glance at Silver, and the woman’s head was down, her expression stiff and unyielding.

Damn. So that’s why Silver’s place is so barren…empty… cold. It matched her mood after her ex died… I should’ve known.

“I saw how you were lookin’ around at everything. I appreciate you trying to impress me all the same.”

He nodded, busted cold. Wasn’t any point in trying to clean the shit up.

“So, Silver said you had to work earlier this morning?”

“Yes, sometimes I work overtime at my job, just went in for a few hours is all.” He leaned forward, tugged at his jeans and straightened his button-down shirt with a fast tug.

“You got a trade I hear; a good job, too? A welder?”

“Yes I do, Ms. Faye.”

“Oh no, baby,” She looked down at her knee as if it were talking 1980’s Square Biz to her, then back at him, a twinkle in her eyes. “I went back to my maiden name, Stanton, but you can just call me Angel.”

“Okay, Angel, sorry about that. But yes, I went to school for welding. I have a job, not afraid of hard work. I own my own house, you know. I take care of myself, and though your daughter needs no meal ticket, I can help her out, too.”

“That’s good,” She cleared her throat and sat a bit straighter. “I can’t stand a lazy man… almost nothing worse in this world.”

“Really, Mama?” Silver’s lips twisted in obvious disbelief. “What about Gregory, huh? I bet—”

“You know that’s different, Silver!” She waved her hand in her daughter’s direction as if to say ‘hush.’ “He’s trying to get on disability. Zenith, Silver comes down on her brother so badly. He has ADHD… it isn’t his fault.”

“He doesn’t have any damn ADHD, Mama. The only thing he has is user-itis, lazy-meningitis, and suckle-off-Mama’s-teats-ritis! I ain’t here for it, nope.”

Zenith quickly turned away, trying everything in his power to keep from laughing.

“Zenith, notice how he isn’t here? He knows I come and have brunch with Mama sometimes, so he makes sure to get his slothful butt out of bed and out the door before I arrive.”

“Ignore her. She’s had it in for him since the day she was born,” Angel said sheepishly. “You take care of your grandfather, too, I hear. I admire that, I really do.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. Yes, he has some health problems, and Alzheimer’s.”

“Yeah.” She nodded sympathetically then turned and crushed her cigarette in an ashtray. “Silver told me… I’m real sorry to hear that. I’ll pray for him, okay?”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Silver says you don’t have any kids… kinda strange this day and age for a thirty-year-old to not have any children. Not that I’m complaining; I just found it a little different is all.”

“Angel, I don’t have any children because I don’t want any right now, so I just tried to make sure that didn’t happen.”

“Oh, I see. Well, that’s good… no sense in having children before you’re ready. That’s real responsible of you.”

“I try to be.”

“So, I understand you’re one hell of a drummer.” She clasped her hands over her knee.

“I’ve been told.” He grinned.

“Oh, don’t try to be modest with me. I’ve known some musicians in my day, and the lead singer and drummers were some of the worst!” she quipped, slapping her knee. “But… everyone is not the same, and people can change, right?” She winked at him as if she were in on a little secret.

“I don’t know if everyone can change, but I know I did.” He reached over and grabbed Silver’s hand, gave it a gentle squeeze. “I changed because it was time, and my priorities shifted. One circumstance that changed in my life was meeting this woman right here, your lovely daughter.”

“Mmmm, isn’t that sweet?” Angel looked on with approval.

“We’ve been together for a while now, and she is one of the best things that ever happened to me. This is my heart right here, Angel… I’ll take good care of her heart, because we are one and the same.”

“Mmmm, you’re smooth, brotha. Yes you are. Before we sit down for this stupendous brunch I’ve prepared, I just have three questions for you.”

“I’m ready.” He clasped his hands over his lower belly, as if he were in the middle of Jeopardy.

“Oh Lord.” Silver propped a pillow behind her back and leaned to the side as if bored to death.

“Do you take drugs?”

“No.”

“Do you have a controlling nature?”

“Yes, but not towards your daughter.”

“Hmmm, that’s good, honest, and quick to clarify… Okay, last but not least, what do you love most about my daughter?”

“I can’t pick just one thing. There’s so much to love.” He looked over at Silver, his expression serious. He took her hand and mulled the question over. “I can say this, though. I’ve never had a connection like this before. Once you experience something like this, you never want to go back to the way things were. So, one of the things I love about your daughter, Angel, is that she’s her own person, in her own world, doing her own thing… and I was just lucky she invited me in it.”

“Sold!” The woman jumped to her feet, causing rounds of laughter. “I hope you brought your appetite. I cooked a lot.”

“Uh, Mama, this man will eat you out of house and home. He and Gregory should race and see who can do the most damage!”

“You leave Gregory alone, Silver. He applied for disability. He’s trying.”

“Disability?! So sleepin’ all day until noon is now classified as a disease?! Runnin’ up a cellphone bill by purchasing game apps. is a disability, too? What about throwing a party and putting all the food and drinks on your mama’s credit card, huh? Well hell, I better stay away from here then. This alleged disability could be catching, ol’ lazy ass son of a bitch! You bet not let me see you, Gregory! Stay out! Somebody say grace before I lose my religion!”

“L
isten to that
shit! Yeeeeaaah!” someone screamed out as Zenith disappeared into himself. Javier sung his damn head off while they all melded together in perfect, sweet harmony. He often got lost during Pure Grit’s rendition of “Tom Sawyer” by Rush—one of his favorite songs to perform. The crowd was amped up to the damn sky at one of the largest venues they’d ever played, the sea of people so vast, he couldn’t see where the hell it stopped.

Manhattan had opened her mouth and swallowed them whole, and dare he say it, this was their best performance in months. Despite Javier’s warnings and gripes about his jam-packed schedule, the perfectionist of a man tossed him an approving wink. He’d promised he’d have the songs down pat, and that he’d carry his weight—and he followed through. The frustrations of his day, his week, his damn life poured into his hands as he gripped his sticks and beat the shit out of the drums before him.

They had one more song to perform: AC DC’s ‘Back in Black’, which was a frequent closer to their set when they had a rowdy, mostly Caucasian crowd. He loved how Pure Grit could play almost any club, any type of music, and rock that shit. All the members were versatile and knew what the hell they were doing. He couldn’t ask for more. For the most part, they all got along—another rarity he was grateful for.

Stage smoke engulfed them as he went to town once more, his hair swinging in his face, mixing with the sweat and sticking to his cheek. He licked a salty trickle and smiled at himself. The vibration inside his body almost trumped an orgasm… He felt alive, free, without a care. As the next song came to an end, the crowd erupted in applause and demanded more. Javier did his usual smooth talking, promising to be back soon…and then, there were the women. They stood close to the stage, their hair and nails done, their lips glossy and wearing the skimpiest of clothing one could find.

But, he didn’t really see them. Tonight, Silver had stayed home, unable to make the gig due to work obligations and her being exhausted. He missed her. More times than not, she’d stop through if his gig was local. She’d sometimes have Clara with her, or a few work buddies. He’d buy them drinks, chit chat, try and feel her up a bit on the sly, then hop back on stage with her perfume lingering around him like a secret crush. He loved being in love… much to his damn surprise. It was a hell of a feeling to hold on tight to a woman who was a reflection of him, and him, one of her. His ego must’ve been huge and voracious, for he loved a woman just like himself… self love at its finest.

There was no doubt in his mind that he and Silver were cut from the same cloth, and he wanted a life with her—something long term, something withstanding. Paw and Denise liked her, too, and so did Javier. Mawmaw would have liked her, as well. How could they not? The woman was damn good to him; she wasn’t needy, but she made him feel needed. How she managed such a feat, he wasn’t certain, but he was grateful for the shit.

“Hey, Zenith, man,” Javier called out as the crowd began to thin. “You want something for the road?”

“It depends. Mike’s ass looks lit. I’ll have to take the keys. If not me, then who’s driving?” he asked sliding off his seat and starting the process of packing up.

“Mike’s going to leave his van here and stay over his cousin’s house tonight. We get to ride back with Black Iris.”

Black Iris was a Goth band from Syracuse, too; they played right before them that night. They were accomplished, known citywide, and had their own self appointed stage bus with a hired driver. So, they offered to take them back to their digs.

“Cool, I’ll get me a little something then.” Javier gave a chin check and marched over to the bar, while he stayed back with the other band members who cursed and complained, as they often did once the liquor warmed their brains.

“We better get fucking paid tonight. Last night, Trevor tried to stiff us,” Flip grumbled. “I about beat the shit out of him.”

“Yeah, he did try to pull a fast one. That wasn’t what we agreed to and that’s why I told Javier to get everything in writing from him. He trusted that son of a bitch too much because they knew each other from way back. He tried to skim off like $800, trying to say the head count didn’t pair up. That was a goddamn lie.” Zenith explained as he grabbed two heavy duty Velcro straps. “That place was filled to capacity. We always sell out at Vipers.”

“I know, man. And that’s chump change to him.” Flip chided. Zenith nodded in agreement. “Hey, you want something?” Zenith pointed over to the bar. “Javier said Black Iris is taking us home tonight, so we don’t have to drive… Bottles up! Last call for alcohol!”

Flip grinned. “Yeah, I’ll be over there.”

“Bet.” Zenith stepped off the stage and made his way to the bar. He was pleased to see the crowd had thinned as the 4:00 a.m. hour struck. The all too familiar scent of Mary Jane filled his nostrils as he drew closer and stood under the vibrant, neon blue lights. Suddenly, he felt arms snake around his waist. He looked over his shoulder, getting an eyeful of a doe-eyed dark-haired woman with lips like Kim Kardashian.