“Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make,” he shouted.
Marshall pulled out a small white box from his coat pocket and genuflected in front of Ellen.
“Ellen Dominetti Abrams, in front of this very hostile crowd, will you take the biggest risk of your life and marry me?”
Marshall handed the box to Ellen.
Ellen flipped up the cover. A diamond engagement ring sparkled on a velvet cushion. She looked at Marshall with round, stunned eyes. Her hands trembled as she removed the ring and then handed it to Marshall.
“You put it on me,” Ellen said softly, as she held her hand out.
“Does this mean yes?” Marshall asked.
Ellen nodded. “Of course it’s yes. When have I ever been able to say no to you?”
Marshall slipped the ring on Ellen’s finger. She smiled as she admired the diamond.
Marshall stood up and shouted in an exuberant voice, “She said yes! Don’t shoot me, Mr. Dominetti! I promise from now on I’ll keep her out of harm’s way. ”
Ellen’s parents frowned.
“You’d better,” John Dominetti warned, shaking a finger at Marshall.
JD ran up the steps and over to Marshall and Ellen. He sat down beside his mother and took Ellen’s hand. He stared at the ring.
“Isn’t it beautiful, JD?” Ellen asked, moving her hand so the diamond would catch the light.
“Yeah,” JD replied and then stood up. He looked up at Marshall. “Are you my new daddy now?”
Marshall smiled. “Well, your mom and I have to get married first. Then I’ll be your new daddy.”
“What are you now?”
“I’m her fiancé.”
“Fiancé?” JD looked puzzled. He bit the snow off his mitten and then looked back up at Marshall.
“Are you going to teach me how to be a lovin’ male role model?” he asked.
Marshall glanced at Ellen.
Ellen wrapped her arms across her chest and tried unsuccessfully to stifle her laughter.
Marshall chuckled, too, as he squatted to eye level with JD.
“I’m going to give it my best shot, kiddo,” he said and then hugged JD into his chest. JD immediately pulled away and then ran off the porch to watch Dylan light the smoke balls JD had made Marshall buy when they’d gone to the fireworks store earlier.
Spider and Dee Dee approached.
“Congratulations, Rambo. Ellen,” Spider said looking at each respectively. “We’re going to take off for the Ritz now. I promised the brothers we’d join them right after midnight. The party there ought to be in full swing. ”
“Is Mad Dog going, too?” Marshall asked.
“Hell if I know. He disappeared with Samantha. I think they went in the house.” Spider shook his head. “That lucky bastard never seems to have trouble finding a woman to chase.”
Ellen and Dee Dee smiled as they exchanged knowing glances.
“Before we go, I gotta see the ring,” Dee Dee said excitedly.
Ellen held out her hand.
“Wow! Do you see this big-assed diamond, Spider?”
Spider nodded.
Dee Dee raised her eyebrows, “Well?”
Spider shrugged his shoulders. “Well, what?”
“Want to try it on?” Ellen asked Dee.
Dee nodded as she glanced at Spider.
Spider’s eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath.
“I’m going to start the truck. Don’t be long, woman,” Spider said and then turned to Marshall. Leaning in close, Spider hissed into Marshall’s ear, “We need to talk. Come with me.”
Bewildered by Spider’s tone, Marshall followed him off the porch and across the street to Spider’s parked truck.
Spider turned to face him.
“What the hell were you thinkin’, Rambo? ‘A lovin’ male role model’? You’re a biker, not some metrosexual jackass like Ellen’s brother-in-law up there. You don’t get down on one knee and propose in front of these people!” Spider said in disgust. “You’re an officer in the Sons of Thunder, man. Show some respect for those colors you wear on your back.”
Spider jerked open the truck door, climbed in, and then started the engine. He looked at Marshall.
“And now—thanks to you—I’m gonna have to listen to Dee talk about that fucking ring you bought Ellen. The next time I call church, it’s the boot line for you, Rambo. And I’m personally gonna make sure you don’t sit down for a week.”
Spider slammed the truck door closed.
Marshall stood dumbfounded. He hadn’t thought about what Spider or Mad Dog’s reaction would be to his proposal and he honestly didn’t give a damn. He’d felt like a little kid on his birthday the entire day. When the fireworks had gone off, it seemed the right moment to give Ellen the ring. Marshall tapped on the glass.
Spider lowered the window. “Yeah, what is it?” he asked.
Marshall cocked his head and grinned. “You do what you gotta do, old man, but keep in mind why you and the brothers made me the Enforcer of the Sons of Thunder in the first place. And another thing, maybe you ought to get Dee Dee a big fat diamond. She deserves it for having put up with you for all these years,” Marshall said and then turned and walked away. At the end of the driveway, he met Dee Dee and stopped.
Dee Dee smiled.
“Don’t worry, Rambo. My old man will get over it,” she said as if she knew what Spider had just lectured him about. “He can’t handle big shows of affection. Makes him nervous. It makes me uncomfortable, too, but not tonight.” She smiled reassuringly. “Remember what I whispered into your ear the night of the rally? How I told you Ellen wasn’t one of us?”
Marshall nodded.
“I think that about you a lot, too,” Dee Dee said, looking hard into Marshall’s eyes. “But it doesn’t matter that you’re not like all the other brothers. I like you, Rambo. I always have. And I sincerely hope Ellen will love you like I love Spider, even though you’re never going to fit perfectly into her world either.”
Marshall sighed. “I hope so, too.”
Dee Dee nodded. “Happy New Year, Rambo.”
Marshall read the affection in her fierce dark eyes. If he hadn’t already gotten Spider so worked up, Marshall would have hugged her. “Happy New Year, Dee,” he said.
Dee Dee walked away.
Marshall watched her cross the street and then get into the truck. As Spider pulled away, Marshall waved. When the truck disappeared from sight, Marshall turned back to the house. When he got to the top porch step, he paused and looked over at Ellen. JD sat next to her with his head resting on her arm. He looked sleepy. The excitement of the night must have finally caught up with him.
Even though Ellen’s face was partially hidden by the white, fluffy fur trimming the hood of her parka, Marshall could see her radiant smile as she held out her hand to show her little nieces the ring.
With JD next to her and surrounded by her family, she looks as happy and content as I feel, he thought. Ellen looked up and saw him. Their eyes connected in an easy embrace. She blew a kiss and then turned her attention back to the girls.
Marshall smiled. He knew all things would be possible with Ellen by his side. She’s worth the humiliation of the boot line, he thought, and a hell of a lot more!
The End
About the author
While earning her bachelor’s degree at Northern Michigan University, Sally Beauchamp was a note taker for a nontraditional college student like herself. When Doug Beauchamp asked her to type his story about a biker rally he attended as a member of a biker club, it so intrigued Sally it led to their courtship and eventually their marriage. Soon after they had a son. At age three, their son Ross was diagnosed with autism. Ten years later, determined to start her writing career, Sally merged these two powerful influences into her manuscript…The Word of a Liar.
Sally Beauchamp was born and raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A true Yooper, she resides there with her family. Sally is a veteran high
school English teacher and is a member of the Northwood’s Writers Group. She also writes for the biker newspaper, Free Riders Press out of Wautoma, WI.
You can find Sally on Facebook or Twitter. You can contact her via e-mail: [email protected]. She would love to hear what you have to say about the story.
The Word of a Liar Page 37