Maz

by Jessie Cooke

  “Hey, Ransom!” Sledge came in the door then, thankfully diverting Ransom’s attention. He was holding something in his hand. Ransom set the puppy down and she ran over and attacked Sledge’s pants leg. Sledge smiled and bent down to pet her head. She had been running around the clubhouse for almost a week, and she was winning over even the toughest bikers with her big, brown eyes.

  “What’s up, Sledge?”

  “Look what I found on the telephone pole at the corner.”

  Ransom took the paper out of his hand and Maz watched the kid’s face visibly fall. “No. No fucking way. She’s been here for a week…”

  Bruf had stood up, and he took the flier out of Ransom’s hand and looked at it. “You can’t just keep someone’s dog, brother.”

  “She’s my dog,” he said, reaching down to scoop her up. “She was out on one of the busiest streets in Fresno, all alone. If they loved her as much as I do, they wouldn’t have let that happen.”

  “Dogs get out, man,” Sledge said. “She probably dug her way out or ran out when the door was open. They obviously care or they wouldn’t have put these fliers up. Look at what it says on the bottom there…the lady who owns her has diabetes. You’re keeping a dog from a sick lady.”

  Maz became even more interested in the conversation when he heard diabetes. Not many people knew, but he was a Type 1 diabetic, diagnosed when he was only five years old. His maman had spent hours upon hours learning everything she could about childhood diabetes and teaching him how to live a full and productive life with the disease. He took good care of himself…most of the time…and rarely had problems with it. But he did know older Type 1s who had problems taking care of themselves due to a lost foot or leg, or constant pain. Sometimes pet therapy was one of the best treatments.

  “You gotta give her back, Ransom.”

  “No.” Ransom went from a twenty-something-year-old biker to an obstinate child in that second. Maz was surprised he hadn’t stomped his foot.

  “Brother…” Bruf said. “You know it’s the right thing to do.”

  “Maybe it’s not her,” he said. “How will I know for sure? Anyone can just say she’s theirs.”

  “Says her name is Roxy,” Bruf said. “Set her down again.” Ransom was clutching her in his arms and looking at the three of them like he might fight them if they tried to take her. It wouldn’t be much of a fight, but Maz respected the kid for his loyalty. “Ransom,” Bruf said, suddenly switching from brother mode to SA mode. Ransom knew better than to fuck with him when he used that tone of voice…just about everyone did. The kid set the dog down on the cement floor and Bruf said, “Come here, Roxy.” The dog didn’t even look at him. She turned and ran over to Maz, biting at the cuff of his jeans again.

  “Get off there, you little mutt.” He bent down and picked her up. She smiled at him…or made that face that dogs make, the one that looks like they’re smiling. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was going to miss her.

  “It’s not her name,” Ransom said. “It proves she’s not that dog. She’s a lot bigger than that dog too.”

  “She’s a bébé,” Maz said. “They grow fast. And as far as the name goes, maybe she hadn’t learned her name yet…she’s really young.”

  “I thought you liked her,” Ransom said, nearly ripping the pup from Maz’s arms. He tucked her under his arm and without looking at any of them, he marched out of the shop. Maz and Sledge both looked at Bruf.

  “Why are you looking at me? You two have a better relationship with him than I do.”

  “He’s not going to listen to us,” Sledge said. “Maybe you should talk to Wolf.”

  “Wolf’s got so much going on right now with the new property and the gym, he doesn’t need puppy-shit to deal with,” Bruf said. He looked down at the paper in his hand and then held it out to Sledge. “Call the number and ask them to come and look at the dog. If it’s theirs, he’ll just have to give her up.”

  “Why should I call?” Sledge said. Maz grabbed the paper.

  “I’ll call.”

  “Speak English,” Bruf said as he walked toward the office. Maz flipped him off over his shoulder. Stepping into the office and closing the door, he took out his phone. He typed in the number on the flier and as soon as he typed the last number…a name came up. The number was already in his contacts. Son of a bitch, it was Marissa.

  “Kid gonna cry?” An hour later Sledge and Maz were sitting at the bar in the clubhouse, watching Ransom on the floor of the great room, playing with the puppy. Over the past week, he’d bought her a pink collar with rhinestones on it and a whole box full of chew toys. He was trying to teach her to fetch, and it was a sight to watch.

  “He might,” Maz said. “I hope not.” Maz had finished the call to Marissa…only she hadn’t answered, her mother had. She’d started the conversation with an apology for answering the call and then said:

  “My daughter forgot her phone when she went to work today. I’m not being nosy. I’m just answering it because my dog is missing and…”

  “Ma’am,” Maz interrupted her. “I think I might have found your dog.”

  The woman squealed in his ear. It hurt his eardrum, but the sound was pure joy. Ransom was wrong…these people cared very much about their dog. “Where was she? Where is she? Is she okay?”

  He chuckled. “She’s fine. We found her wandering down Van Ness Avenue.”

  “Oh no! That’s almost five miles from us. I wonder how she got so far. The poor thing, she must have been so scared.”

  “She was okay and she’s been well taken care of…the thing is, ma’am, I was wondering if you might come here to our clubhouse and see if she’s yours. My friend – well, giving her up will be hard for him. He’s kind of fallen for her.”

  “Oh no! I feel so bad, the poor thing. But yes, I can come there. I can give him a reward even…well, not much, but I have a little in my savings…”

  “He doesn’t want a reward, ma’am…just warning you that he might get emotional.”

  That conversation had taken place hours ago and the woman still hadn’t shown up. The more time that went by, the more hope Ransom had in his blue eyes. Maz was thinking about calling her back when one of the prospects picked up the phone on the wall, listened for a second, and then said, “Greaseball says there’s two ladies at the gate, something about a dog.”

  Ransom automatically reached for the pup, picked her up and cradled her to his chest. Maz felt pain in his, and a tickle of excitement when the prospect said “two ladies.” Maybe Marissa was with her. “Let them in,” Sledge said. The prospect repeated that into the phone and hung up. The room was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop while they watched the progress of the little Honda Accord as it made its way up to the gravel road to the clubhouse. As soon as they parked, Maz headed for the door.

  “I’ll bring them in,” he said. He wasn’t sure if he believed in fate or not…but maybe that’s why this woman was suddenly in his orbit all the time. Maybe fate knew something they didn’t. The butterflies in his stomach got larger as he stepped outside and saw Marissa and an older woman stepping out of the car. Marissa was wearing jeans again…today’s had holes fashionably ripped in them…and a Metallica t-shirt. She looked as hot as she had the other night. As soon as she saw him, her eyes widened and then she looked suspicious.

  “I thought it was a big coincidence when Mom said it was a biker from the Skulls that called about the puppy…but now I see it was you…I don’t know what to think.”

  Maz looked at Marissa’s mother before answering her and said, “Mrs. Williams, I’m Maz, we talked on the phone.” The older woman was pretty, with long, curly brown hair and big brown eyes. She put her hand out and shook Maz’s, as she said:

  “I won’t ever be able to thank you enough for this.”

  “Well now, let’s see if she’s yours first.”

  “Your accent…I like it,” the woman said. Maz liked her smile. It was warm and something about it invited him in.
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  “Thank you, my mother was French.” She looked far away for a second and said:

  “I knew a woman from France a long time ago. I didn’t particularly like her…but I always loved her accent. Anyway,” she seemed to shake off the memory and said, “can I see the pup?” Maz looked at Marissa then and said, “She’s right inside. I’ll be right behind you.” As Mrs. Williams walked toward the door and Marissa started to follow her he said, “This really is a weird coincidence.”

  She at least looked like she wanted to believe him. As they walked up to the door she said, “You never called.”

  He cleared his throat, nervously. “I was going to…it’s just been kind of a crazy week. You busy this weekend?” She didn’t answer him. Instead, she pushed through the door her mother had just gone through. Every man in the place turned to look at her, and Maz found himself oddly bothered by that. It wasn’t like she was his to be protective of…but still…

  “It’s her, Marissa!” Rhonda Williams squealed when she saw her daughter. Maz looked at Ransom. He wasn’t crying, but he damned sure looked like he wanted to. Marissa was looking at him too.

  “You found her?” she asked him. Ransom nodded and Maz saw recognition light his eyes.

  “Hey, you’re the girl from Spirits the other night, the one with the mean girl.”

  Marissa smiled. “Yes, that was me. Thank you for taking such good care of Roxy.”

  Ransom looked sad again. “She’s a good dog.”

  “Yes, she is,” Rhonda said. She scooped the puppy up and stood up. “You can come visit her whenever you want. I’ll text our address to your friend Maz.” That seemed to make Ransom a little bit happier, but Maz could swear he still had tears in his eyes. He nodded and said:

  “Thank you.” Marissa was still looking at him, sadly. She finally tore her eyes away when she realized her mom was thanking Maz again and getting ready to leave. “Wait!” Ransom hollered before they got to the door. “Take her stuff…she likes it.” He gathered her things into a little basket and handed them to Marissa. The smile she gave Ransom made Maz’s stomach fill with butterflies again.

  “Thank you, Ransom, that’s very nice.” The ladies said goodbye and before they left, Maz never got a chance to ask Marissa about the weekend again. He wondered if she hadn’t answered him because she didn’t want to see him. She was so beautiful that he hoped if she got to know him, the fact that she was way the hell out of his league wouldn’t matter so much, or the snake. Feeling almost as dejected as Ransom after she left, he sat down on a stool at the bar next to his young friend and asked the prospect behind it to bring him a beer.

  An hour later, Maz and Ransom were shooting a game of pool. Wolf was getting ready to hold church that evening, so the club girls were cleaning up the great room and most everyone else had cleared out to get out of their way. Ash and his sister Charlie were playing a game of checkers at one of the tables and an old-timer they called Caveman was dozing in the corner. When the phone on the wall rang, one of the club girls, a girl named Brittany, who had braved the snake a time or two for a blowjob, answered it.

  “Hey, Maz, there’s a girl at the gate asking for you or Ransom, her name is Marissa.”

  Maz tried not to look as excited as he felt, but he couldn’t say the same for his little buddy. “Maybe they changed their mind and brought Annie back!”

  Maz sighed. The kid was probably setting himself up for another heartache. “Tell him to let her come back, Brittany.”

  A few minutes later, Marissa walked in. She looked as gorgeous as she had earlier, but that wasn’t what filled Maz’s chest with admiration this time. In her arms was a box, and over the side of the box was the head of a tiny puppy that looked just like Ransom’s Annie, only a lot smaller. “Hey,” she said with a smile. Then she looked at Ransom, who had an achingly hopeful look on his face and she said, “This guy was the runt of the litter. He has some medical problems so they’ve had a hard time giving him away, much less selling him. You don’t have to take him, but I just thought I’d see…”

  “I want him!” Ransom said, quickly. Maz smiled and wondered if the kid ever had a pet growing up. Marissa was still smiling as she set the box down and Ransom dropped to his knees to look at the pup.

  “He has breathing issues and it might be expensive to keep up with his medicine and all of that…”

  “I don’t care,” Ransom said, “I’ll do it. Hi, guy! What’s your name?”

  Marissa smiled up at Maz and then looked back down at Ransom. “He doesn’t have a name yet. You get to name him.”

  “Cool! We’ll think of a good one, guy. We’ll get you chipped and get you a collar.” He picked the puppy up and held it to his chest. “You’re gonna love it here,” he said, carrying the puppy over to where the club girls had gathered so they could ooh and ahh over him. Charlie went over to see him too. Maz looked back at Marissa and said:

  “That was…so nice. Thank you. You don’t know how happy you made that kid.”

  She looked over at Ransom’s smiling face and back at Maz. “I think I do. I have an envelope in the car with his medical stuff in it and his vet information. He’s already chipped. Ransom will just have to change his information. I’m glad he likes him. I hated that nobody wanted him. That had to hurt his feelings.”

  Maz understood hurt feelings about not being wanted. At almost thirty years old he still struggled with how his own mother could not want him. His maman had offered to look her up once, but he’d refused. If she didn’t want him, he didn’t want her either. “You’re sweet. But you never answered me earlier about this weekend.”

  “I’m sorry. I had Mom and the dog on my mind. But…I don’t really have any plans this weekend.”

  “Maybe now that you know where I live, and you’ve met some of my people and I’ve met some of yours…we could take that bike ride? I’ll buy lunch.”

  “Lunch, huh?”

  “Or dinner. We can do dinner if you’d rather…”

  “No, lunch is good.”

  “Well, I was thinking maybe we could ride up to Shaver and have a picnic.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh…well, I’ve never really been on a motorcycle…is it hard, to ride that far?”

  He smiled. “I’ll do all the hard work. Your bottom might be a little sore afterwards, but that should be it.”

  “Okay, Saturday it is then. I’ll text you my address and you can let me know what time.”

  Maz said goodbye to her and watched her drive away. He was filled with more joy than he had been in a long time…and he hadn’t even gotten to the part where he took off her pants yet. Maybe Ransom and that damned dog were good for something after all.

  6

  Rhonda was sitting on her daughter’s bed while Marissa sat at the vanity, fixing her hair. “Should I just braid it? It’ll get all messed up on the motorcycle anyway, right?”

  Rhonda smiled. “Probably. Be sure he gives you a helmet to wear.”

  “I’m sure he will. We’re going all the way up to Shaver.”

  “I like him.”

  Marissa smiled at her mother in the mirror. “You like his accent and the fact that he gave us Roxy back.” Marissa’s eyes flitted over to the puppy, curled up, asleep on her favorite pillow.

  “That too,” her mother said, “but that’s not it. There was something so warm…and kind of familiar…about him. He reminds me of someone…and that first time I talked to him on the phone, I felt like I’d already known him for years.”

  “Well, I’m glad you like him. I like him too…so far.”

  “So far? Please tell me you’re not already planning your escape.”

  “No, Mom…it’s just…” Marissa brushed her hair to the side, gathered it, and began to put it in a braid while she worked the words out in her head. She hadn’t talked to her mother about leaving yet. “Well, you know how we used to talk about me traveling when you got better? I’m just not looking to get into any kind of relationship and end up stuck her
e in Fresno forever because of it.”

  “Then don’t go into thinking about a relationship. Go into it thinking about just having fun. You’re twenty-four, you need to have fun.”

  Marissa laughed. “Twenty-four, huh? You remind me of that a lot.”

  “Because you don’t seem to know it. You act like you’re the fifty-five-year-old.” Marissa’s mom was always older than the other kids’ mothers when she was growing up. She didn’t mind because back then, Rhonda had a lot of energy and they did the same things other mothers and daughters did. The only worry she had about her mother’s age was that she might not be around as long as she’d like her to be, especially with her brittle diabetes.

  “Well, today I’ll be trying something new, how’s that? I’m a little nervous…about the motorcycle ride.”

  “You’ll love it!”

  Marissa cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at her mother. “You’ve been on a Harley before?” Rhonda got that look in her eyes, the one that reminded Marissa that her mother had a whole other life before she came along.

  “The man I was married to when I was young, he had one. We used to ride it all over the place. There’s nothing better than that feeling of the wind in your hair and that powerful rumble between your legs.” Her mother shivered, and Marissa had to look away. She wondered how long it had been for Rhonda sometimes…since she had a man. She’d always been single and very discreet. She dated when Marissa was younger, but she never brought any of them home. Marissa asked her about that once when she was a teenager and Rhonda said, “You were my miracle, Marissa. Until you’re eighteen, I intend to dedicate my life to you. I made you that promise the first time I laid eyes on you. When you’re older, I’ll still have time for a life and I won’t have to worry about anyone hurting you.”