Lead Belly

by David Donaghe

stuff. I hate hospitals.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, the older version of you doesn’t like it too much either.”

  As we approached the delivery room, we could hear Janet screaming from down the hall.

  “God it hurts! What’d you do to me you son-of-a-bitch!” she screamed.

  “Do I really have to go in there?” Lead Belly asked.

  “Yep,” I said and let out a chuckle. When we reached the doorway of the delivery room, I leaned against the doorjam and held my hand out to the room. “Witness the miracle of life.”

  Lead Belly stepped up next to me, a pail look crossed his face and he said, “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

  I snickered. “Yeah, and the older version of yourself ain’t doing so good either.”

  The older version of Lead Belly had passed out and the doctor left him lying on the floor.

  “I pass out? I can’t believe it.”

  “Yeah, but you wake up in time for the main event.”

  We watched the delivery for the next twenty minutes while the nurses helped Janet through her contractions. When the baby’s head crowned and he was ready to enter the world, the older version of Lead Belly stirred and climbed to his feet. He took his place next to the doctor and a big grin crossed his face.

  “It hurts! It hurts!” Janet screamed.

  “You can do it, babe,” the older version of Lead Belly said.

  “One more good push should do it,” the gray-headed doctor said. Janet bore down, with the next contraction and the baby entered the world. A look of relief and pure joy crossed Janet’s face and the young couple radiated happiness. The doctor cleared the baby’s airway, cut the umbilical cord and slapped the baby on the ass.

  “Congratulations. You have a fine looking baby boy,” the doctor said. The doctor carried the baby to a table, cleaned it up, wrapped it in a baby blanket and handed it to the proud father.

  “It sure is something, isn’t it?” I said to Lead Belly.

  “What?” Lead Belly asked.

  “The love a good man and a woman share. The miracle of life,” I said. “Have you seen enough?”

  “Yeah, get me out of here before I hit the deck like my older twin.”

  I let go with a belly laugh, we headed back out into the hallway, and I said, “You come back here two more times, but I’ll not bother to show you that.” We passed through the glass doors of the main entrance and climbed back onto our scooters.

  “Where to now?” Lead Belly asked.

  “I think we’ll take one more little ride into the future,” I said and fired up the scooter. We pulled out of the parking lot, I goosed the throttle and we headed down the road.

  Reality shifted, we breathed in the scent of burning ozone and blasted down the highway, heading east. Ten miles outside of town, I turned right onto a long tree lined dirt driveway and pulled up to an old farmhouse. Lead Belly pulled up next to me.

  “Who lives here?” Lead Belly asked.

  “You do.”

  We climbed off the bikes and approached the house. An elderly couple sat on the porch swing on the front porch, under the awning, enjoying a glass of lemonade. A young boy of no more than fifteen years sat on a stump in the front yard working on an old motorcycle.

  “Don’t tell me. That old geezer is me?”

  “Yeah, and that’s Janet sitting next to you.”

  “Who’s the kid?”

  “That’s your grand son, John. Notice the Road Dogs prospect patch on his denim vest?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well son, do you think you can make that old thing run?” the old version of Lead Belly said.

  Janet patted the old version of Lead Belly on the leg. “Of course he will, old man. He takes after his grand pa when it comes to mechanics.”

  “I know I can make it run Grand Pa. This thing is so cool. It’s one of the old Evolution motors. Harley hasn’t made these things in over twenty years.”

  The old man on the front porch smiled. “I’ll tell you what, Son. If you can make that old thing run, then you can have it.”

  The young man beamed. “Thanks grand pa. Dad will be stoked.”

  The older version of Lead Belly smiled.

  “When you get home tell your pops to stop by. I’ve got a brand new bottle of Jack and some of them fancy cigars that he likes.”

  “I will Grand Pa. Are you gonna make the church meeting at the clubhouse this Friday night?”

  “I’ll be there son,” the older version of Lead Belly said.

  “And you better go to real church with me this Sunday,” Janet said.

  The older version of Lead Belly chuckled. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, old woman.”

  I glanced over at Lead Belly. She dies about two years later from cancer. You follow her six months after that. Have you seen enough?”

  “Yeah, let’s hit the highway,” Lead Belly said.

  We climbed back onto the bikes, headed down the driveway and headed West. Reality shifted; the scenery around us changed a bit and we rolled back into town and pulled up in front of Lead Belly’s trailer. Everything looked the same as when I first pulled up. We parked the bikes and climbed up onto the front porch. Lead Belly sat down in his chair and I reached down and picked up his 357.

  “Are we’re back in my place and time?” Lead Belly asked.

  I popped opened the revolving cylinder, picked up the box of bullets and filled all six chambers.

  “Yeah, we’re back to your here and now.”

  “What happens now?” Lead Belly asked.

  “Now you have a decision to make. I’m tired of messin’ around with you, you little pussy. If you want to kill yourself, then do it,” I said and handed him the 357. Lead Belly’s eyes widened, his jaw dropped and he stared at the gun in his hand. “What? Are you afraid? You won’t even feel it. Once that bullet splatters your brains across this front porch you’ll be done with this life.”

  “No,” Lead Belly said, and laid the gun down next to his chair. “I ain’t afraid. I want to live.”

  A smile spread across my face. “Good, then let’s ride.”

  “Where to now?”

  “Let’s head down to the clubhouse. The bros are worried about you, and you need to be around people right now.”

  “Right here and right now?”

  “No better time than the present.”

  “Will the bros at the clubhouse be able to see you?”

  “Yeah, because that’s the way I want it. I’m in the mood to do some partyin’ before I head home,” I said.

  Lead Belly climbed off the front porch, we climbed back on our scooters and motored across town, but this time Lead Belly rode his own bike. We took the highway West and pulled into the gravel parking lot of The High Noon Saloon a few minutes later. You could have heard a pin drop or a flee fart, when we strolled through the front door. The women dancing on the bar stopped, someone turned off the music, and all the bros lining the bar and sitting at the tables watched us cross the bar room to the bar. We bellied up to the bar, all eyes turned toward us. I took a brass coin from my pocket, which had my name engraved on one side and the Road Dogs emblem engraved on the other. I slammed the coin on the bar. “I’m calling the coin!” I said, and several of the bros looked at me.

  “Who’s this guy? His face looks familiar, but I don’t remember seeing him before,” a bro down the bar said.

  Tiny and Dirty Dan looked at me and both of their faces went pail. “I seen him before. His face is in the book.”

  Chico stepped up next to me and said, “I’ll vouch for him boys. Produce your coins.”

  When you call the coin, everyone had to produce their coin. The biker who can’t produce his coin has to buy a round of drinks. If everyone produces their coin, then the one who called the coin has to buy a round. All of the bros lining the bar produced their coins, so I bought the next round and ordered a Jack and Coke from the prospect-tending bar for myself. Lead Belly turned to Dirty Dan and grabbed him u
p in a bear hug and they did some back slapping.

  “I love you bro,” Lead Belly said. Then he noticed Janet sitting across the room at one of the tables and swaggered over. The next thing you know, the band started playing and they were out on the dance floor. I glanced over at them, looked over at Chico and grinned. We both glanced over at Lead Belly and Janet out on the dance floor and I heard him ask her out for dinner.

  “Your boy there is going to be okay now,” I said.

  Chico sighed. “I’m glad to hear it. He had me worried. Thanks for your help man.”

  “No problem. That’s why I wear the halo patch. To help bros that are in trouble. It gives me a chance to come back once in a while and ride my scooter,” I said.

  “How are things on the other side?” Chico asked.

  “Things are good. That’s why they call it Biker Heaven.”

  “How’s Sonny?”

  “Sonny’s good. He sends his love,” I replied.

  “I miss him, ya know,” Chico said and tears welled up in his eyes.

  I put my arm around his shoulder. “I know. Sonny misses you too. You’ll see him again, but it’s gonna be a while. The bros down here need you. You’re one of the best presidents that the Road Dogs have ever had, but when your time comes, it’s gonna be a hell of a party at Biker Heaven,” I said.

  I partied at the clubhouse with the bros for another three hours and then we said our good-byes. After doing some backslapping with Chico, Dirty Dan and Tiny, Lead Belly came over, grabbed me up in a big bear hug, and introduced me to Janet.

  “Are we good now?” I asked Lead Belly after we got done huggin’.

  Lead Belly smiled, standing there with his arm around Janet. “Yeah, we’re good.”

  The bros came outside,