by Freya Barker
Ike
I can tell the moment she spots all of us sitting in the back row. Her eyes widen and the smallest smile hits her mouth as she turns back to the defense attorney.
“Never,” she says loud and clear. “Mr. Miller was never interested in my opinion, my wishes, or any preferences I might have. Sexual or otherwise. The man wasn’t even able to beat an orgasm out of me.”
At that, Frank shoots out of his chair, kicking it over. “You lying fucking bitch!” he yells, moving to climb over the table. The entire back row, which includes all her brothers, Kyle, Gunnar, and me are on our feet. Before we have a chance to move though, the court clerk, who’d been standing in front of the gate, launches himself at Frank and has him to the ground in seconds. I glance over at Viv, and instead of the shock I expected to see on her face, a smug little smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. I’ll be damned.
It takes the judge five more minutes to bring the courtroom to order. And another five to shoot down the objection the defense tries to enter. In the end, Viv is excused from the witness stand, escorted past us, and out the door by the big clerk, who returns promptly and stands legs spread and hands at his back in front of the door, blocking my way out. Thank fuck it doesn’t take both prosecution and defense long to rest their case. Before adjourning, the judge instructs the jury and tells the court that final arguments will be heard after lunch.
I watch with no small amount of satisfaction, as Frank Miller is taken by guards, handcuffed and shackled now, through the small door leading presumably to his holding cell. Good fucking riddance.
The moment the door is clear, I hurry out to find Viv, wringing her hands, on the other side.
“You fucking rock,” I tell her as she throws herself in my arms. “You nailed him, beautiful.” I reluctantly release her as one after the other wants their turn with my girl. Standing off to the side is Aaron, who apparently flew in this morning with Owen, Nolan, and Gunnar. Viv’s eyes are shiny with tears, but she also has a big smile on her face.
“You crazy guys. What are you all doing here?” She turns from one to the other.
Owen finally speaks up. “It was Aaron’s idea. Said it was about fucking time we showed our sister we had her back. Wasn’t that hard to convince us.”
Viv immediately moves to Aaron and is about a foot from him, when he reaches out and pulls her the rest of the way, wrapping her in his arms.
“Fucked up, did it big and I know I can’t ever make it right, but I promise I’ll fucking well try.”
“Means a lot,” Viv tells him before turning around and looking at everyone, clearly having lost the battle with her tears. “All of you—it means the world.”
-
After a quick lunch, not too far from the courthouse, we are back, but this time Viv joins us in the back row. Frank is back behind the table, still in cuffs and shackles, and his lawyer is pontificating in front of an obviously uninterested jury.
The prosecution had been smart to keep their prior closing argument to a single line. “Unless you are deaf, blind, or no longer breathing, what you’ve heard in testimony, what you’ve seen in evidence, and what you’ve been able to witness today in this courtroom, there is only one possible verdict. Guilty.”
From the nods of the members of the jury, it’s safe to say he impressed. Not so his opponent. By the time he insisted the jury enter a not guilty verdict, most of them were staring at the ceiling or picking their nails.
It was not a surprise when not even an hour after the jury was dismissed, we were back in the courtroom to hear the verdict. Guilty. Applause went up as that piece of shit was led out of the courtroom, knowing he would have to return in a week to receive his sentence.
We are not going to be around for that.
On our way down the steps, Viv suddenly bursts out laughing. I pull her close and smile down at her. “What’s so funny?”
“I feel like Snow White with her seven dwarfs,” she snorts, as she looks at her entourage of seven men of rather large stature, before her eyes come to rest on me. “Well, actually, you probably can’t be my dwarf and my prince at the same time. I may have to rethink that.”
In the meantime, the guys have passed by us and are waiting and chatting on the sidewalk below. That gives me a chance to pull her body into mine, bend my mouth to hers, and kiss her until I can feel her melt in my arms.
“You know,” I mumble, my lips still on hers. “For you I’ll be frog, dwarf, prince, it doesn’t matter. As long as I can end up as your husband, you won’t hear a single complaint out of me.”
“Love you, Isaac,” she smiles, bright eyed, up at me.
“To the moon and back, babe.”
“Guys!” Kyle yells out. “Let’s go! My hors d’oeuvres are getting soggy.”
-
It’s that evening, with a goodly number of celebratory drinks in the system, that I come up with my brilliant plan.
“Guys,” I address the group the moment Viv disappears to the washroom. “How would you like to change your flights around, and add one overnight stop?”
Once I have formulated my idea, Kyle, as expected, is all over it. So are the others, although Gunnar makes a good point. “What about Syd? And Lydia and Pam? I know they’ll be upset if they miss it.”
“Dammit. Didn’t think of that. Okay, what if we FaceTime them? They could see her surprise firsthand.”
“Bud,” Gunnar calmly draws my attention. “I’m sure that half bottle of Courvoisier you soldiered through, by yourself, is reason your brain cells are working at half power, but have you considered how much of a surprise it’ll be when we all end up flying to Vegas tomorrow? I mean, she does have to get on the plane. Your surprise will be null and void, the moment we board.”
“What surprise?”
Fuck. Shit.
I don’t have to turn around to know Viv is standing right behind me. She’s at least as buzzed as I am, although her drink of choice had been chocolate martinis that Kyle has been more than happy to ply her with. Still, not nearly drunk enough not to remember the conversation she walked in on. To make it worse, her brothers burst out laughing. Even Gunnar chuckles, although that’s a rare occurrence.
“Ike?” She moves around to stand in front of me, hands on her hips, clearly conveying she expects an answer.
Only one thing left to do. “Stay here,” I tell her as I get up and turn her around, pushing her down in my vacated spot. “And you,” this I direct at the guys. “Not a word.” Before they have a chance to respond, I run up the stairs, to the spare bedroom, digging through the small side pocket in my shaving kit, where I’d hidden the ring I bought her last time I was in Norfolk. I tuck it into my pocket and race back down the stairs, ignoring the mild swaying of the steps under my feet. I come to a stop in front of Viv, who is looking with suspicion around the room before her eyes lift to mine.
Never thought I’d do this. Fucking positively never figured I’d do this in front of an audience. I sink down on my knees, hitting the floor a little harder than intended, sending a sharp jab of pain through my knee. “Son of a bitch,” I bite off, which gets the gang behind me snickering again. “Shut up,” I throw over my shoulder before grabbing Viv’s hands. She looks a little like a deer caught in headlights. “Love you, Vivian Lestar. Thought I would die single and wandering the roads. Never expected anything else, until you. Never hoped for anything more, until now. Marry me?” I let go with one hand and start digging in my pocket for the ring, which I triumphantly fish out, when I notice she hasn’t said anything. Her eyes are big and welling with tears, but she’s not giving me any words. “Viv, honey?”
“I can’t believe you asked, I mean, we talked about a future, but I thought we’d keep it simple and uncomplicated. No muss—no fuss.” A single tear rolls down her face.
“Baby, I—”
“No.” She cuts me off, putting her hand on my lips. “You don’t get it. You’re fussing, Ike. I never thought you would, but you’re fussing.
”
I’m so lost. I’m worried I bungled this because I don’t have a fucking clue what she’s talking about. Slightly panicked, I look to Kyle who’s sitting beside her, his eyes full of tears. With a big smile he gives me a thumbs up. That’s good, right? Should’ve done this sober.
“Beautiful, help me out here?” I’m trying to ignore the snickering behind me when Viv slides down on the floor with me and wraps her arms around my neck, tilting her head so she can look me in the eyes.
“I love it that you’re fussing. I thought I’d made it clear a while ago, but for the record: yes. Yes, I’d be thrilled to marry you.”
“Great,” Nolan says deadpan. “Now that we have that out of the way, Planet Hollywood sound okay to you?”
“Right,” I say when I see Viv’s confused face. “I was trying to surprise you. We’re eloping. We’re all flying to Vegas tomorrow.”
Viv leans in close to my ear, but still manages to say loud enough for the room to hear, “Honey, it’s hardly eloping if you’re dragging my entire family along.”
The chuckles last long after the outburst of laughter has subsided.
-
I wake up with Viv’s hair tickling my nose. Aside from a slight throbbing, my head feels surprisingly good. Of course it helped that we all switched to water and coffee, while we spent a couple of hours shifting and changing flights, booking rooms and most importantly a chapel. Kyle even managed to find Viv a dress that will be delivered at the hotel at midday tomorrow.
Still, in the bright light of day, and with a much clearer head, I have to ask again. “Beautiful,” I whisper against her hair. “Are you awake?” My hand snakes around her waist and slips down between her legs where I loosely cup her.
“Mmmmmm.”
“I really need you to look at me.” With slow strokes, I rub my finger along her crease. Almost immediately she becomes wet as she hums again, spreading her legs slightly. “Turn around, baby.” Slowly and with her beautiful eyes sleep swollen, she rolls over on her back, keeping my hand trapped between her legs. “Got a question for you,” I tell her, enjoying the slight arch of her back off the mattress, as I slide my finger inside her heat.
“What?” she hisses when my thumb finds her clit, but her eyes never waver from mine.
“Will you marry me? Today? No regrets, no complications, just you and me. Oh, and four plus two brothers.” She smiles at that, tilting her hips when I slip in a second finger.
“Yeesss,” she moans, and I stifle the sound with my mouth on hers. Slowly pumping my fingers in and out, I let go of her mouth and trail open-mouthed kisses until I reach one of her deep-red, perky nipples and suck it against the roof of my mouth. A slight change of pressure of my thumb against her clit, and she explodes with my name on her lips.
EPILOGUE
~Three months later~
Viv
“Honey, can you swing by Standard Baking on your way home and pick up some pastries?”
“Anything specific or a selection?” I can hear the smile in Ike’s voice.
“Selection, but make sure there is at least a few pain au chocolat in there.”
“Mmmm, you know I love it when you speak French to me.”
“The only French I know. Better yet, the only French I need to know,” I smile at his teasing sexy banter.
“Gotta go, my love. Have to finish this design if I want to be home in time for dinner.”
After we say our goodbyes and hang up, I let my eyes drift to the dining table, which is set for ten.
This is the first time Dorian will be back in Portland since my father’s funeral, and Nolan is driving up from Boston. Aaron will be here, as will Owen, Lydia and the kids. The tenth person will be my mother and that scares me a little.
Although I haven’t seen her, I’ve spoken to her on the phone a few times. The first time was a week after the trial and Ike and my impromptu wedding in Vegas. She caught me by surprise and my stomach was immediately in knots when I heard her voice. She simply congratulated me on my wedding and told me she was happy I’d been able to put a bad guy in jail and managed to drag a good one in front of the altar, all in two days. I chuckled at that, as did she. The silence that followed was a tad uncomfortable, until she asked me timidly if she could call again sometime. I told her that was fine and two weeks later she called again, and again two weeks after that.
I asked Pam if that was normal, and she, very sagely, responded that we all make our own normal. I guess she’s right.
The moment I heard Dorian was coming, I contacted my other brothers and organized this get-together. As an afterthought, I decided to call my mother as well. She seemed happy and a bit surprised that it was me calling her this time, but readily agreed to dinner at my house. Ike’s house. Actually, our house.
We’ve hung on to the apartment, for now, and will occasionally rent it out short term. The rest of the time it’s there for whomever needs it. Although I have to admit, I’ve thought about offering it to Ruby, she’s looking for an affordable place so she can finally move out of Florence House. Not sure what we’ll do.
I grab the asparagus from their little footbath in the fridge and start cleaning them over the sink. My eyes drift out the window as I think about the changes in my life this last half year. It’s enough to make your head spin. Before, my life had been The Skipper and Florence House, with very little else in between, except perhaps sleep. Existing, is what Ike called it and he was right. I haven’t felt it as clearly as I do now, the difference between existing and living. In my kitchen, preparing food for ten dinner guests, after having already worked the lunch shift, and my husband on his way home with fresh-baked goods from Standard.
May not seem like much to some, but to me it is full, rich, and meaningful. More so because I never thought I could have this. Now look at me. I still struggle with things, especially when it comes to my family. Some resentments still pop up, from time to time, but I talk through it with Ike, or I hit Pam up for a visit. Either way, I don’t keep it buried anymore. I guess what happened to me will always be a part of me, but the difference now is that I don’t let it dictate my life, my choices. My past no longer defines me, but it shapes me. It’s made me aware of a strength I never realized I possessed. It’s given me an endless appreciation and love for all the amazing people in my life. Not the least of whom is my husband. My rock.
“Anybody home?”
I quickly toss the last asparagus in the bowl and grab a towel to dry my hands as I walk out of the kitchen. Dorian is standing on the mat pulling a beanie off his head, making his hair stand on end.
“It’s fucking cold here, Viv,” he says as he opens his arms for a hug. I willingly walk into them and smile.
“End of October, little brother. Summer’s over,” I tell him.
“Not in San Fran it isn’t.”
“Not in California anymore, Dorothy.” I love my brothers. All of them, but Dorian and I have that connection. One that had disappeared for a while, because neither of us worked on it, but now we do, and it’s growing back. That makes me so happy.
“I thought Nolan was picking you up from the airport on his way up? Where is he?”
“Decided in your driveway that he should’ve made a stop at the bakery, pick up some sweets. So he’s doing that now.”
I smile, thinking that we won’t have a shortage of desserts.
“Who else is coming?” Dorian says on his way to the kitchen, where I’m sure he’ll be sampling every pot and pan on the stove.
“Owen and Lydia and their gang, Aaron, ... and Mom.” It’s kind of expected but still funny to see his eyes bulge and his mouth fall open as he swings around.
“No shit,” he states, when he finally gets his mouth to move.
“No shit,” I echo in the affirmative.
By the time Nolan walks in with a very full Standard grocery bag, Dorian is up to date on the Mom thing and is sitting at the island, sucking back a beer he appropriated from the fridge.
<
br /> “Got another one of those?” Nolan asks, as he dumps his bounty on the counter and dives into the fridge, coming up with his own bottle before giving me a chance to answer. “Never mind. Got it,” he says helpfully, and all I can do is roll my eyes. My brothers.
A ruckus from the front hall is a sure sign Lydia and her men have arrived. I step out of the kitchen, just in time to see the boys pull open the drawer underneath the TV and grab the controllers. Ike’s introduction to children, in particular Gunnar and Owen’s boys, has resulted in the purchase of the latest PlayStation and enough games to supply an arcade. I don’t mind. I love seeing him mess around with the boys. “No shoes on the couch,” I call out to them.
“Hey, Aunt Viv,” Benjamin, the older of the two, twists his head around so he can see me over the back of the couch.
“That’s it? That’s all I get from you?” I ham it up a little, putting a smile on Ben’s face. Then I turn to Jacob. “And what about you? No hugs, no kiss hello?” Ben is already by my side, hugging me awkwardly—it’s the age—before jumping back on the couch.
“Auntie Viv, where’s Ike?” Jacob is looking up at me, his little arms around my hips.
“Uncle Ike.” My brother, who apparently already made his way into my fridge by the sound of it, corrects his youngest.
“But Dad ...”
“Jakey, listen to your father,” Lydia’s warm voice sounds behind me as her arms slip around my waist. “Hey, you.”
I cover her hands on my stomach with my own. “Hey back.” I lean my head back on her shoulder. Another blessing I have to remember to be thankful for. I’d always gotten along with Lydia, but since this summer, our relationship has changed. She no longer just is my brother’s wife, but has become like a sister.
“By the way,” she says as she lets me go. “Owen insisted we stop at Standard.”
I can’t hold back the chuckle as I follow her into the kitchen.