13, A house mouse

Tite

I was feeling a little better the next day. I looked at the food I had and wondered what to make for breakfast. As I didn’t feel like having chips or candy or noodles for breakfast, I was happy with coffee. As I went downstairs to try and figure out what to start my day with, I saw the young woman who had fled the bar the night before. She was carrying what looked like heavy bags from a car.

“Hey, let me help you with those,” I called out. She froze and looked at me like I was going to eat her in one bite. “Hi, I’m Tite, let me take those for you,” I said as I got to her.

“Um, thank you, but I can do it. I’m Jane,” she said in a low voice.

“Nice to meet you, Jane. And it’s not a big deal, I was hoping to get some information out of me helping,” I told her and smiled as bright as I could muster.

“Oh, okay, thank you,” she said and handed the bags over to me. She guided me into a supply closet. We both started unpacking the bags. “We take turns getting cleaning supplies and things like that,” Jane explained.

“And this time it was your turn, I get it,” I said.

“Well, it’s Little’s turn, but I’m…” she trailed off.

“You're his house mouse, right?” I asked. She nodded, and a small smile appeared on her face. “He treats you as he should? I mean, he is nice to you?” I asked.

“Yeah. He has a small house down in the valley and I have my own room, he always lets me decide what we will have for dinner, he never shouts at me or hits me. He even got me a car so I can go into town when I need to,” she told me. It was clear she liked this Little person and I was happy he was treating her okay. House mice were not really a thing in the pack, but I knew how the system worked from other MC clubs we had contact with. A house mouse was a person, often a woman, who someone in the club let stay in their house. The person was under the member’s protection and would do simpler household tasks for them in return. Sometimes the relationship turned sexual or romantic, but it could just as well be platonic. The house mouse was often a runaway or someone connected to the club who had fallen on hard times. In the pack we had other ways of handling things like that.

“What information did you need?” Jane asked when we were done.

“I need to know where to get food that can actually be classified as food and isn’t dried,” I said. She giggled.

“That would be in town. It’s about a twenty minute drive one way. I can go with you and show you,” she offered.

“Oh, that is sweet of you. But you have already been there and back today. I can find it,” I told her.

“It’s okay. Little had some things to do today and won’t be back until the evening. I get bored just sitting around the house,” she told me.

“Okay, thank you,” I said. We decided the best option was to take her car. “So, there are no activities or anything to do during the day?” I asked as Jane was driving us into town.

“No. Well, there are for the members of the club. Some work in the garage, others do runs or act as protection. Some of the old ladies have their own jobs, but most don’t. There are some who have kids, and that takes up their time. The sweet butts, well.” She didn’t finish her sentence, but blushed a little. She was a sweet girl.

“I get it,” I told her. “They are there to party and have fun, but vanish when there is work to be done.” She nodded. “I have a step-mother and step-sister like that. The most irritating people I know,” I confided in her. She glanced at me and then giggled. “If I buy some supplies, do you think you could find some people who can help us make lunch for everyone?” I asked. It was lucky we had just parked outside the supermarket, or the way she turned to look at me would have had us in a ditch.

“You wanna make lunch?” she asked, as if I had suggested a gold digging expedition to Saturn.

“Why not? It will keep us busy and I’m betting the members would like it. Besides, a club that eats together, stays together, or some shit like that,” I said. She looked at me a while longer and then fired off a sunshine smile.

“I like you, Tite. And I will help you make lunch,” she agreed. We set out on our mission and when we got back to the car, it felt like I had bought most of the supermarket. We made our way back to the club house and I hurried up with the food I had bought for myself. When I got back down, two women I hadn’t met were helping Jane carry in the food to the communal kitchen.

“Tite, this is Essme, she is Doc’s old lady,” Jane said. A woman in her forties turned to me with a warm smile.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hello.”

“I was thrilled when Jane told me you were planning on making lunch for everyone. We haven’t done something like that since our old prez passed away,” she told me.

“Yeah, it sounds like a lot of fun,” the other woman agreed.

“This is Maya, she is Ink’s old lady,” Essme told me.

“Hi, I don’t think you have met my man, yet,” Maya said.

“Hello. Probably not. I think I have been introduced to like four or five of the men,” I told her. She was a Hispanic-looking woman in her early thirties.

“He’s the treasurer,” Maya proudly told me.

“Cool, then I know where I will send the next receipt for food,” I said, and we all laughed.

“What did you two plan for lunch? If you say salad we will need to flee the state,” Esme asked.

“No, no salad. I need real food. I was thinking of meatball subs and some spicy potato wedges,” I told them. The women agreed it was a good choice and they excitedly started texting their men and friends in the club. We started working and although the kitchen hadn’t been used in a while, it had everything we needed.When lunchtime came around, we were done and judging by the number of men in the bar area, word had got around. As we put out the food and called for everyone to grab lunch, it was a stampede. Luckily, I had foreseen the issue and had grabbed some servings. I took my tray and called for Shadow and Nash to follow me. I put the food down in front of them and took my share.

“If you want beer, you get it yourself,” I said.