The rest of the afternoon was spent setting up for tonight's dinner party. Christy and Julia were actually getting along and to my surprise Christy was spending most of the afternoon looking after Shaun so that Megan, Julia, and I could make the salads and prep the BBQ - that was surprisingly in good condition - for the steaks.
Spring had definitely arrived. While it was damp and the grass from the snow drying up gave off a distinctive weird smell, I loved it. It was warm enough outside that you didn't need a coat, yet still chilly enough that you needed a sweater.
"Need help?" Julia called out to me from inside the house.
"Nah, I got it," I replied, shaking my head slightly to wake myself up. I let out a shaky breath and knelt down to get the bbq ready.
"You alright?" Christy asked, stepping out onto the deck, lighting a cigarette.
I nodded, "Yeah why?"
"Megan said she seen you in a heated argument with a blonde outside the grocery store..." Christy started in a choking like voice caused from speaking while inhaling smoke, "was that blonde Kori?"
I cringed at the sound of her name, suddenly becoming pissed off yet once again. Not at Christy, and really not even at Kori, more so at Billy. Did he send that bitch after me to remind me what would happen if I tried anything?
"Yup," I breathed, slightly grinning at the fact that I just managed to fire up the bbq on my first attempt, "She's somethin' else, ain't she?"
"She was like Joey's best friend, they were always together... even after shit with Billy and Charlie went south and they had to be secretive about their friendship," Christy explained.
"So they were fucking?" I asked, leaning back and staring at Christy wide eyed.
Christy giggled, "Nah, they were more like brother and sister."
"What's her deal with Billy?" I asked dully.
"I don't know... who knows... he wasn't really... a good person back when she knew him," Christy winced.
"He isn't a good person now," I mumbled.
"Hey, he's your husband. The fuck is going on?" Christy scolded.
I frowned, "You're right. That wasn't fair to say... I'm just bitchy and not exactly thrilled that a couple days before my 'wedding', I get threatened by some chick that he knows,"
"She was always nice to me... she doesn't seem all that bad," Christy winced again.
"She can fuck off and mind her own business," I hissed, slamming the bbq lid shut.
Christy rolled her eyes and smirked, "Don't worry mom, you're still queen bee here."
A smirk formed from the corners of my mouth as I stopped next to Christy and nodded slowly, pursing my lips, "Time I start acting like it? Huh?"
Julia and Megan were bonding and getting along, Christy was surprisingly doing a good job bbq'ing the steaks and we all were sharing laughs and stories about our lives to one another. It was a wonderful time to say the least, almost like we were all old friends and new eachother for years, which for Christy, Julia, and I... we did.
Shaun was getting fussy, so while Megan and Julia set the table and Christy was outside bbqing, I dressed Shaun up in a tuque and jacket and carried him around the yard, humming songs to him.
"Amber! Is that the baby?!" A familiar child's voice called out, startling me a little by catching me off guard.
Kid Billy, my next door neighbour.
"Oh hey kid! Where have you been?" I asked, casually making my way over to the fence.
Billy grinned excitedly before hopping over the fence and plopping down on his feet beside me, "I just got back! Is that the baby?! What's his name?"
"Shaun. Back from where?!" I asked, slightly worried as I was starting to wonder where he had went for so long.
"Ah... dad got busted having metha in the house. Long story short, the pigs took me away and put me in with some stinky cat lady who'd flip if my elbows were on the table."
"When did this happen...?" I asked softly.
"You guys were gone for a long time when it happened. Thought you moved or somethin'," he replied with a shrug.
"So you're back here?" I asked, chewing on the inside of my bottom lip as I glanced up at his house.
"Yeah, mom only had to serve a small stint, she's out now and doin' way better now that my dads in jail and can't hit her anymore," he replied honestly and casually, like this was something normal that just happened everyday in his life, making me sad and worried.
"Is she clean?" I asked, not caring that I was speaking to an eleven year old... because this eleven year old was eleven going on twenty.
"He's so cute!" Billy the kid gushed, "Where's chop?"
"Billy takes him to work with him," I breathed.
Kid Billy frowned, "That sucks... you can call me Will, by the way."
"Will?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Billy is short for William, I prefer Will. My dad use to call me Billy... I hate it." He explained, scratching the back of his neck.
"I like Will." I stated with a smile.
"Is your Billy's name really Billy or William?" He asked as he smiled at Shaun, who was cooing and making baby noises.
I shook my head, "No, it's just Billy."
"You gonna be around?" He asked, glancing up at me.
I cocked an eyebrow, "I sure hope so kid. And you're a lot smarter than you lead on,"
"Hey... beats Shaun growing up to be like me," he frowned.
"Like you? A smart kid? I'd be honoured," I replied with a wink.
He laughed and shook his head slightly trying to push his bangs out of his line of vision, "Thanks Amber, wish my mom was like you."
"How old do you think I am?!" I fake gasped.
"No, no! I mean... you're just.. you know what I mean!" He got all flustered.
I smirked and nudged him, "I know."
"Well, I better get going before my ma gets pissed. It was good seeing you and baby Shaun."
I nodded, "Same! Glad to hear you're doing better now,"
"Hey Amber?" He called out before pulling himself up onto the fence.
"Yeah?"
"Can we hang out again someday? You know? Like we did when you got me new shoes? But with Shaun and chop?"
I smiled, my heart slightly breaking for this kid who was born into an unfair lifestyle that my own son may grow up in, "Of course."
By the time all of us got dinner ready, everyone was finally showing up. Jack and Billy were the only two who were running late, but it wasn't an issue because we were all getting along so well, sharing laughs, eating appetizers and having drinks - except me - that it didn't matter.
"So you Julia huh?" Bodie asked Julia, plopping down on the chair beside her.
Julia, who's legs were stretched out and ankles hanging off of another chair, casually turned her head to look Bodie up and down. She scoffed/laughed and played with a strand of her long, naturally curly hair, "Correct."
"You single Julia?" Bodie asked, resting his elbows on his knees and folding his hands together.
Julia twirled a strand of hair around her finger and clicked her jaw to the side, "You see anyone here with me?"
"So is that a-"
"Yes, I'm single. No, I'm not interested in fucking you," She cut him off, making pretty much all of us burst out into laughter.
"Damn you're ice fuckin' cold, girl" Bodie sighed, shaking his head lightly, "How you gone do me like that when you don't even know me?"
"What's your name?" Julia asked casually.
"Bodie," He replied.
"Bodie?" Julia asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"See, you god damn cold as ice!" Bodie exclaimed, cracking a smirk.
Julia went to say something but was cut off by Billy and Jack suddenly appearing after being absent for so long. My eyes shot up over at Billy and our eyes locked on one another as he just stood there, tense and in deep thought.
Jack made his way over to where Megan was sitting, quietly introducing himself to Julia as he sat down next to the two of them. Bodie was mouthing 'what's going on?' to Jack, only to get a shrug and a wince for a reply from Jack.
Before I could even say anything, Billy made his way over to where I was sitting at the table with Shaun asleep on my chest. He sat down on the empty chair beside me, resting his arm on the back of my chair, exhaling a deep breath through his nostrils. His body was tense and uncomfortable, just like how he use to get when Bones was around hollering at him.
"Hey..." I greeted him in a whisper.
"Go put him to bed," Billy instructed firmly, clenching his jaw.
"Why? He just fell-"
"Just do it..." Billy said in a low, flat tone.
I didn't want to start an arguement with him, especially not in front of Julia or all of these people for that matter, so instead I just slammed Shaun's now empty bottle down on the table and pushed my chair out before carefully storming upstairs with Shaun.
Now what's his fucking problem?
Gently, I placed Shaun down in his crib and hummed softly as I turned on his mobile. A faint smile appeared across my face as Shaun stretched in his sleep, luckily giving me the chance to change his diaper. Once I was done, I tossed the diaper in the garbage bin and placed both of my hands on the side of the crib, hunching over and planting a soft kiss on Shaun's forehead.
"Goodnight sweetheart, I'll see you when you wake up," I whispered, taking a moment to admire my beautiful baby boy.
I silently made my way back out of the room, praying that everyone here tonight wouldn't get too rowdy and end up waking Shaun up multiple times throughout the night. Not that I cared, as I love spending time with him... but it would also be nice to have him sleep through most of the night.
"Ah, there she is! Jailbird!" An unfamiliar man called out as I made my way down the stairs and over to the table where Billy was. "Ah, I'm just fucking with ya,"
"Pardon me?" I asked, sitting down back on my chair and scoffing.
"Rude of me?" The bearded man with the undercut asked, "My apologies. But I wasn't wrong though, was I?"
Billy exhaled a deep breath again and placed his hand down on my knee, lightly squeezing it, signaling me to shut up.
Straightening out my posture, I held out my hand, "Amber."
The man smirked and took my hand, but instead of shaking it, he gently kissed my knuckles, "Rafael."