Chapter 36

Tank
As much as I didn’t want to leave Lilly I had an appointment to get to. Neil and Connor had just shown up so I knew she would be in safe hands. I got on my bike and headed to the address the realtor sent me. When I pulled up she was waiting for me. “ Tank, it is good to see you again.” she said. I caught her slowly eyeing me like she wanted to make a meal out of me. This isn’t the first time she has done this but it was getting really annoying. I grunted, “ Show me.” I wanted to see if this was Lilly and my dream house. Not deal with her shameless eye fucking. She pointed to the two story light blue house in front of me. “ You see it has an attached garage. There is also one on the back of the house toward the edge of the property. It has a road that leads to it.

The front of the house was well maintained. The grass was mowed. The driveway is clear of debris. The house itself looked like it had been painted recently. So far so good. “ Show me inside.” We walked on the porch and I noticed a porch swing. I could imagine me and Lilly sitting watching the sunset after a long day. The porch itself was in good shape. I didn’t see any rotting boards and anything that could be a hazard for Lilly. I wanted to make sure it was safe for her before we moved in. Once the realtor got the door open I walked past her. The bottom floor was an open floor plan where you could see in the kitchen from the living room. It has hardwood floors throughout the living room and the hallway.

“ The kitchen is through there. All updated appliances. Tile floors.” I walked in there looking while she talked. I could see the fridge looked brand new. “ Plenty of counter space. There is a pantry through there.” She pointed to the left of me. “ And a laundry room just off the kitchen.” I looked in and saw I would need to get a washer and dryer. But all the hookups were there. We walked out of the kitchen to the dinning that was big enough to have a few of my brothers for dinner. Merigold and the kids. There were two rooms off the living room. “ A den and the other one was used as a rec area.” she said. I could see setting up a pool table and small bar in the rec room. We really didn’t need the den but it was nice to have. Maybe a playroom for the kids.

“ I want to see upstairs. '' She had a big smile on her face. I could see from the look on her face she was thinking of trying to give me a personal tour of the bedrooms. We walked up the steps and I started thinking I needed to put a rail up for Lilly. “ There are four bedrooms plus a master bedroom.” She pointed. I looked in each room and I could see a nursery painted in light colors. I could see the rooms for when the kids got older. There is one bathroom here and one in the master room. I opened the door to the master bedroom and was shocked at how big it was. It took up most of this side of the house. I walked around it. I could see the huge bed I planned on getting with Lilly sprawled out on it.I looked in the bathroom. It had a huge garden tub where Lilly could relax with me. The showewr was big enough for both of us and had four massaging shower heads. Yea, my girl was going to love this. “ So what do you think so far?” the realtor asked. “ Show me the backyard and other garage. I’ll decide then.”

She walked me to the back of the house to the double sliding glass door that led to the back. Before she even opened the door I was in love. The porch was large and overlooked a wide fenced back yard. There was even a jacuzzi off to one side and a brick barbecue on the other. “ The property is two acres of land. The house and backyard take up about an acre.The rest is untouched.” she said. “ How far is the closest neighbor?” I wanted to know if Lilly’s rehearsals might disturb anyone. “ About a mile in either direction.” Good. I looked at the realtor. “ Do the paperwork. I want to be able to move in within a week.” She walks up to me “ This is an awful big house for just one person. Won’t you be lonely. I could help with that.” Really lady. I looked around and smiled. This is the perfect place for me, Lilly and the dog she is getting.

The realtor must have thought I liked her idea because she was pressed against me. “ I’m sure we could think of something to keep us busy.” she said. I gently pushed her away. “ I won’t be lonely with my wife and dog with me.” I grinned. Yeah, I said, my wife. Because one day soon Lilly will be my wife. The realtor backed away real quick. “ You're married?” If I would have known that was all it took to get her to back off I would have said something sooner. “ I will be soon. So get everything ready.” With that I walked away. I knew she would do her job because she wanted the big commission she would be getting by selling this house.

When I returned to the club Goof came up to me “ Tank, I need to ask you something.” he says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bracelet and hands it to me. “ Do you think this would be a good birthday present for Lilly? I picked all the charms of things she likes.” I looked at the bracelet. It was a simple gold rope with several charms. It had a microphone, a motorcycle, a guitar,a music note, and the letters SB. I was actually really pretty. I’m sure Lilly will love it.That’s when it dawned on me. The day Goof was getting frustrated trying to find a gift for a friend. It was Lilly he was talking about? Shit.” That’s why you were pissed. It was Lilly’s birthday wasn’t it?” Goof looks at me “ You really didn’t know. I found out by accident when I was picking up some prescriptions for her. I thought you guys just didn’t bother.” I shake my head. I’m embarrassed for all of us. “ No, we didn’t know.” I thought about it. We all needed to fix this. Poor Lilly probably thought we didn’t care.

“ When do you plan on giving this to Lilly?” I asked. “I plan to take her to dinner in two days.That’s when I was going to do it.” I nod but I’m already coming up with a plan. “ Goof, I need to talk to Prez. We are going to fix this. Keep your plans. I’ll fill you in on how long you need to keep Lilly out of the clubhouse.” Goof looks confused but nods. I take off to Viper’s office. “ Brother, what’s up?” Viper asks. “ Viper, you need to call princess and put her on speaker for what I have to say.” He gives me a weird look but does as I ask. “ Sis, Tank is here and said I needed to call you.” Viper says when Merigold answers. “ Hey Tank. What is going on?” she asks. “ Did you know Lilly’s birthday was a few months ago?” Viper looks shocked. Merigold screeches “ What?” I know she is surprised because she always does something special for each person's birthday. “ I’m guessing you didn’t know either.” I say. Both Viper and Merigold answer no.

I explain how Goof found out and told me about it. “ I can’t believe we didn’t know. The poor girl. She must think we don’t care. Tank, Viper, we have to do something.” Merigold says. I can tell she is upset. Merigold thinks of Lilly as a sister. She would never forget something as important as a birthday. To think that Lilly thinks we didn’t care enough to even say ‘ Happy Birthday’ to her. I feel like shit. But I will never forget again. “ That explains why Goof asked if he could take Lilly out to dinner.” Viper says. I tell him that we can use Goof to distract Lilly while we set up something for Lilly. Merigold is going to call Anna and Trina to make arrangements. I call Lug Nut and have him include Neil and the rest of the band. By the time all the calls are made, let's just say everyone was embarrassed and vow to make it right.