Clan of Redemption (3 page)

“Man, I didn’t mean it
like that. Wrong word choice, I just meant that you get a letter
from your mom after she’s already dead. And that reminds me, since
it is your birthday today I have something for you, but I’m going
to wait until we get to the bar,” Sully said.

“I know you didn’t mean any
harm, it’s just a very hard for me with the recent events.” I
turned and smile at her.

“I know that you don’t want
to talk about Logan, but did you hear that his funeral is
tomorrow?” Sully said with caution.

“No, I didn’t hear, but
then again I’ve been not taking any calls for the last few days. Do
you know where and what time?” I asked.

“It’s at 11am at that
church on the corner by the High School,” Sully said

“Great, I hate funerals.
The last funeral I was at was my Mom’s. Are you going, because I
really could use a friend? Listening to people stand up and talk
about Logan is going to do a number on my heart.”

“I really hate to bail on
you, but I don’t do funerals. People shouldn’t have funerals, they
should have parties when they die. Oh and lots and lots of
alcohol.” Sully smiled.

“I understand, I’m not
really looking forward to it myself, but I have to go at least to
say goodbye.” I was ready not to talk about it anymore; I was
starting to feel dizzy from reality.

We drove for several miles
in silence, I’m sure that’s because neither Sully nor I really
wanted to talk about Logan. He was a large part of both of our
lives and to talk about it made it more real.

It didn’t take long to get
to Jasper’s, since we live in a small town called Lake Stevens in
Washington State. Jasper’s bar is on the outskirts, which is why
Sully likes this particular bar because we’re not as likely to see
anyone that might now us, that’s the drawback of living in a
smaller town. I’m glad that I don’t live in the big city. There’s
too much noise and not enough nature for me, but I do like to visit
Seattle on occasion and do some shopping, it’s only about an hour
drive. I still don't understand the allure of the fish throwing at
Pike Place market.

We were just a few blocks
from Jasper’s and it looked like it was going to be busy. The one
nice thing about Jasper’s was it wasn’t just for one type of
person. You’d see bikers, rockers, preppies, and sometimes an
occasional diva. From the looks of the parked bikes down the street
I don’t think there’s much but bikers are in the bar tonight. With
this crowd, I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on Sully; bikers
tend to get her riled up easier.

We parked on the street a
few blocks from the bar. I love this part of town it has that old
style feel, with short street lamps that lined the business, to the
hanging flower baskets.

“Sully, since there’s just
the two of us, I’m not going to drink tonight. Someone has to stay
sober to drive home.” I turned in my seat to look at
her.

“That’s groovy for me, but
you won’t have as much fun,” she said determined.

“Can I have your keys
please; once you’ve been drinking I won’t be able to get them from
you.” I held out my hand. She sighed and gave them to me with a
frown on her face.

“You be careful with my
truck, she’s and oldie but a goodie,” she said.

“I will be careful; you
know I’m a better driver than you anyway,” I said as I slipped out
of the truck.

“Right, granny driving,
how is that better.” Sully slammed her truck door. You can do that
with the older trucks and it just feels right.

As we walked up to the bar
door I saw the burley bouncer sitting on a stool admiring his
biceps. Great, a brainless moron, this shouldn’t be that
hard.

“Hello ladies, can I see
some ID?” The bouncer asked. Must be new, I’ve never seen him
before.

“Sure, Bob, here yeah go.”
Sully had read his nametag on his shirt while handing him her ID,
while I finished in my back pocket for mine.

“You don’t look twenty
one, Maria Lopez,” Bob said as he was reading off her name on
Sully’s fake ID. Bob gave Sully that look.

“So Lopez is your last
name? Huh,” Bob said with doubt.

“Yeah, I’m adopted.” Sully
started flirting with him. She can be very sexy when she wants to.
She grabbed his hand and passed him a 100-dollar bill.

“Well this is definitely
you, go on in,” he said.

Before I could fish out my
fake ID, Sully grabbed me by the arm and pulled me in as I stumbled
to right my gait. We went to the right, and found a seat at the
bar. The bar wasn’t very big, but it always has a great vibe. It’s
long and narrow with the bar lining one wall, the pool tables and
dance floor towards the back.

“Did you just give that
guy a hundred dollar bill?” I looked at Sully with wide
eyes.

“How else do you think we
were going to get in? Our ID’s are really bad, and the regular
bouncer isn’t on tonight so I had to improvise,” she shrugged and
turned to the bar tender. Sully ordered an Alabama slammer, don’t
ask me what’s in that. I ordered a coffee, since I was going to be
driving home.

“Do you have appetizers
here?” I asked the bar tender who looked like she belonged in a bar
like this. Skin tight jeans, rips sprinkled down the legs, with a
skimpy tank that showed off her tata's nicely. Her hair was almost
as big as an 80's rocker and her eyes were super smoky. She had it
going on. I bet her tips were great.

“Sure do, chicken strips,
mozzarella sticks, and nacho’s if you’re real hungry.” She wiped
the counter in front of me and handed me my coffee.

“Umm how about some
mozzarella sticks and chicken strips.” I ordered my food, Sully had
her drink and we were ready for trouble. I could feel it creepy
towards us. I did a whole body shiver.

“So I have something for
you but you can’t get all emotional on me, because I hate that.”
Sully reached into her leather jacket, which I wasn’t sure how she
even could fit anything into any pockets. Sully is a very petite
girl, about 5’3” and doesn’t weight more than my big toe, but I
would never challenge her to a fight, she is the toughest little
thing I have ever met.

“Ok, I won’t get
emotional,” I promised with my fingers crossed.

She pulled out a small
white box and handed it to me.

“What’s this, you shouldn’t
have done this, my birthday shouldn’t be that big of a deal.” I
hugged her before I even opened up the box.

As I opened the box I felt
a little faint, I started to slide off the chair and Sully grabbed
me.

“Jayden, are you ok?"
Sully asked with regard.

“Yeah I’m ok, I feel
really dizzy. I bet it’s from not eating very much. I’ll be better
when the food gets here.” I let Sully help me back onto the
barstool.

“Hey, can we rush that
food.” Sully yelled out at the bartender.

I finished opening the box
and inside was a necklace. It was as beautiful as the ring that I
had received today.

“Sully, wow, this is
so….unique, why would do you this for me.” I fought the tears
welling up.

“Hey you promised that you
wouldn’t get all emotional on me.” She grimaced.

“Ok, I’m sorry, it’s just
so beautiful.” As I absorbed what I was really looking at, Sully
yanked on my hand.

The pendant on the
necklace matched the design on the ring exactly.

“Where did you get this,
Sully?” I asked her before she could respond with astonishment in
her eyes.

“Well after my folks died
they left me my trust fund and a safety deposit box. I haven’t been
able to get up the guts to open it until a few days ago. There were
several things inside the box and one of them one this necklace.”
She took a drink of her slammer.

“Oh, Sully, I can’t take a
necklace that was left to you by your folks, you need this to
remember them.” I started to hand it back to her.

“No Jayden, it’s for you,
I know this is going to sound strange, but the note that was left
said that I would meet someone special in my life and to gift it to
them. I don’t know what that means, but I want to do what they ask
of me and you are it. I know that I don’t show it, but you have
always cared for me, for who I am and that alone is special enough.
Here let me put it on for you.”

Sully put the necklace on
for me, and I passed out on the floor.

I must not have been out
long, because Sully was picking me up off the floor
again.

“Jayden do you have a
fever, you feel really warm?” Sully asked.

“I don’t think so, but as
soon as you put the necklace on I felt warmer. I know that sounds
dumb.” I shook my head as to shake the feelings off.

“This isn’t possible is
it, that you give me a necklace that matches what my Mom got me,
then didn’t know each other did they?” I asked the bartender for a
glass of water while my thoughts were processing. Thank god the
bartender didn't see me fall. That probably would have made for a
short outing. I took my hand back to stare at the ring a little
longer. Those are the same stones, the same design but how could
that be, Sully just moved here a few years ago and I know my mom’s
never lived in New York. I really wanted to read that letter and
find out what it said, maybe her letter would help clear up my
questions.

“Well I’m sure they’re not
connected, our families just have similar tastes.” Sully grabbed
her drink to toast with me. She seemed to want to blow it off, and
I couldn't seem to get over how similar they were.

“Happy Birthday Jayden. I
hope that tonight will be something that you remember forever, and
thanks for not being such a prude and coming with me.”

“You’re welcome I think,
but I owe you for getting me out of the house, who knows how long I
would have laid there.” I sipped on my coffee, even though it
wasn’t a latte. Cream and sugar just aren't the same.

My food came and I ate as
Sully ordered another drink. I don’t mind that Sully drinks because
I’m not one to judge her. Even though money is not an object to
her, she hasn’t had an easy life. Both of her parents died right
after she was born and she lived with her Aunt in New York until a
few years ago, when her Aunt passed away. Now she lives with her
distant cousin here in Lake Stevens. Moving here was not easy for
her, she was use to the fast-paced life of the City and her style
wasn’t anything but ordinary there, but when she moved here, it was
a culture shock for her as well as the people at our school.
Everyone thought she was a freak and would tease her as she passed
in the halls. I remember seeing her the first few days of our
sophomore year. I wanted to walk up to her and make her feel
welcome, but I could tell by the look on her face, that wouldn’t
have been a smart thing to do. I was glad when I saw her try out
for the swim team that gave me the opportunity to make her feel
welcome. The event that bonded our friendship was during our first
swim practice. The swim team was very welcoming, and no one thought
that Sully could swim, so a few of the more popular girls dared
Sully to do a trip flip off the highest diving board. The coach
would have stopped it from happening, but she was called away from
the pool at the last minute. Sully seemed confident enough during
her walk out on the board, but at the last minute, I could see in
her eyes that she wasn’t so sure. Her dive was excellent, better
than anyone on our team, which shocked them all, but made me smile.
I had overheard the coach talking in the office to one of the
secretaries about Sully and how she had won state with her dives.
Once she was in the water all the girls’ mouths dropped open and I
clapped and yelled with excitement, until I realized that Sully
hadn’t come back up yet and it had been a few minutes. I looked
around and all the girls just stood there starring at the water, so
I quickly dived in and found her sinking to the bottom of the pool.
She had dived so great, but had hit her head on the bottom of the
pool, which is a risk with diving. I got her to the pools edge and
few people helped her out. I screamed for them to go get help while
I did CPR on her. She wasn’t breathing and her face was turning
blue. I am so thankful that we all had to take a CPR class to join
the swim team, because that day it came in handy. Sully finally
came around and spent a few days in the hospital for observation,
and the day that she was released I showed up at the hospital to
make sure she was ok. The coach had told her that I saved her life
and she thanked me in her own way which wasn’t much more than a nod
and from that day on Sully and I had been friends.

Eating that food made me
feel so much better, my dizziness started to subside.

While I had been consuming
my food like a ravenous pig, a guy had sat down next to Sully and
started a conversation with her; I could tell from Sully’s body
language that she was ok with this one. Most of the time, she tells
them to beat it, and if they don’t listen she’s been known to throw
a few prize punches. She promised that she would be on her best
behavior so I wasn’t worried.

We started playing pool
with the random guy that seemed glued to Sully. This could go one
of two ways, one-Sully lets the big bad biker win the game, or two-
Sully plays dumb and then wipes the floor with them. If the last
happens, I won't even get a chance and hitting one of the balls.
That's alright, it's always fun to see Sully in action.