Chapter 245: Nessie
*You ever wonder how accurate Nessie’s predictions are? And does that ever scare the hell out of you? – Law*
In the week that Rye had been at the Shack, she had kept mainly to herself. Her second night there, she had gone to Karan’s room for ice cream. There she had met a girl named Zee. She was twenty-four and had three children with her ex-husband. Her shoulder length hair was bright blue and usually hung loose unless she was working.
“I love your hair!” Zee declared as she came through the door with a small cooler of ice cream and toppings.
“Thanks.” Karan said patting her long brown hair.
“Not you, bitch.” Zee laughed as she placed the ice cream on a table. “Sassy over there.”
“Me?” Rye asked in surprise.
For the next few hours, the three of them ate ice cream, talked about wedding plans and pretended to watch the movie on the TV. When Rye got up the next morning, she went to the kitchen planning to get herself a cup of coffee. Instead, she found Zee in the large kitchen by herself.
“I have a bagel for you. Do you like those?”
“I’ve never had one.” Rye admitted as she guiltily thought about the one Joanna gave her that she couldn't bring herself to eat.
The toaster dinged and Zee pulled out the blueberry bagel and smothered it with cream cheese. After that she plated it and handed it over to Rye. She picked up one half and took a bite.
Unable to help herself, Zee busted out laughing. “You don’t like it?”
With a look of disgust, Rye shook her head no.
“Spit it out.” Zee ordered handing over a small stack of napkins.
“People eat that?” Rye asked, taking a large drink of her coffee.
“I do.” The other woman answered as she picked up the other half of the bagel. “I’ll make sure that I have something else for you from now on.”
After that, Zee made sure that there was a muffin, a few slices of bacon and a fruit cup ready for Rye every morning. Now it would only be a few more days before her little bungalow was supposed to be ready.
Every morning when Rye came in, Zee would ask her a question about the bungalow. Rye gave simple answers at first. Then Zee was able to get more detailed information. They were still simple, but they left Zee feeling sympathetic for the young woman.
“Why white walls?”
“Easier for the next tenant.”
“What kind of furniture do you want?”
“Depends on what the thrift store has on clearance.”
“Do you like satin sheets?”
“No. They remind me of my mom. After dad died.”
“How big of a TV would you like?”
“Doesn’t matter if I have one.”
“Don’t you watch TV?”
“I haven’t owned a TV since my mom died.”
“What do you do in your free time?”
“Survive.”
“I love the big beach towels. Especially, if they’re warm right after a shower. What about you?”
“I have a towel that I found at a garage sale. It has a bleach stain, but it’s still good.”
“Do you like stainless-steel appliances? Or do you prefer the basic white ones?”
“I’m not picky. Whatever is cheaper and besides, I can’t cook very well.”
“What about the nursery? Do you have a theme picked out?”
“No. Once I have a place to put it, I’ll start looking at garage sales and thrift stores.”
“What’s your favorite color?”
“I don’t know. I never had time to think about something that small.”
And now that Nessie was back, Zee would be handing over the reins for the kitchen again. But this, her early mornings with Rye, she wanted to keep. The first morning, Nessie stayed in bed with Knuckles, and who could blame a new bride for wanting to stay in bed with a man like Knuckles.
Zee admitted that she might be a bit biased. But if he was anything like his younger brother, she would not want to get out of bed either. Of course, Zee had three small children and even making it to bed was difficult. Scrapper was a lot more patient than she had expected.
This morning Nessie came in at her usual time and was surprised to find Zee already cooking. First batch of muffins were cooling on the rolling rack, a few strips of bacon were sizzling on the grill and fruit cups were being made.
“Yer up early.” Nessie said heading straight for the grill.
“I have an early riser.” Zee said as she heard coffee being poured in the dining hall.
Nessie said nothing else as she removed the bacon and set it on the paper towels to cool. The kitchen door opened, and Rye walked in. She stopped when she saw Nessie.
“Rye, this is Nessie. Rye works for Karan at the daycare.” Zee packed up the breakfast. “How is little Michael today?”
As always, Rye brightened when someone asked about her son. She pulled out her phone and handed it over so the other women could see the live feed.
“Nurses notes said that he had a good night. Feeding tube should come out again in the next few days. He’s almost four and a half pounds.”
“When he comes home, we’ll have to have a baby shower for him.” Zee smiled at the young mother.
“You guys don’t have to do that.”
“Nacht.” Nessie scoffed. “These big bad bikers love a reason to party.”
And babies.” Zee added.
As she spoke, Nessie moved over to Rye and took her left hand in her own. Looking at the palm, the seer was assaulted with sadness and loss and pain. Looking up at the woman, she smiled with tears in her eyes.
“Yeh’ve had such a hard road. And yeh’ve walked it by yerself for so long.” Nessie tucked some of the silver hair behind Rye’s ear. “Yeh don’t have to walk it alone. Yeh won’t walk it alone. He needs yeh just as much as yeh need him.”
Rye’s eyes flicked to the phone that Zee still held.
“Not Michael.” Nessie whispered. “Yeh know who.”
Pulling her hand back, Rye stiffened, and her face hardened. “No.”
“Rye, are you okay?” Zee asked.
“I need to get to Michael.” Rye took her phone and shoved it in her back pocket and left. Zee looked over at Nessie who was grinning.
“What the hell, Ness?” Zee asked.
“Right. Let’s get breakfast started.”
And with that, Nessie began to pull out trays of prepped food. Zee was still confused but went about her regular morning routine.
