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waitress.
    As she walked away, Erik turned to me and smiled. I hoped he was proud of me for not drinking. Teddy stood behind Heather, with his arms around her waist. She leaned into his body, and laid her head on his shoulder. She was almost as tall as he was, and Teddy was tall. She appeared to be as happy as I have ever seen her. I smiled at them both and turned to Erik.
    “Shakey, Easter, what do you think?” Erik asked.
    “Good scenery,” Easter said as he lit a cigarette.
    Shakey nodded, “Yeah, good scenery, Doc.”
    “Hell, this is where I met Heather,” Teddy bragged as he turned his head to the side and kissed her.
    “So, what did you think of Bone’s new bike?” Teddy asked.
    “I liked it. Paint was pretty wild, but it was a nice bike,” Erik answered.
    “Nice sled,” Shakey commented.
    “Wild paint,” Easter agreed as he took a drag off of his cigarette. He hand shook as he smoked.
    “Fuck, Bunny. You’re shaking like a dog shittin’ peach pits,” Teddy laughed.
    “That fuckin’ Slick, Crash. He’s got me pretty shook up,” Easter admitted.
    “Hey!” Erik said sternly as he motioned toward Easter.
    “Well, fuck, he’s a piece of shit...Oh, yeah. Gotcha, Doc. My bad,” Easter said as he took another drag off of what was left of his cigarette.
    I immediately knew what had happened. Easter had mentioned club business in our presence. The business of the club was never discussed around outsiders. Big things or small things – it didn’t matter. Unlike on the television shows, it was never discussed. Erik said it protected everyone. Things that weren’t club business were discussed freely.
    I quickly changed the subject.
    “I wish I wasn’t dressed like this, it’s a great night for a ride,” I mentioned as I looked up at Erik.
    “Fine with me, you can ride in slacks and heels, I don’t care,” Erik smiled when he answered me.
    From him, a smile was a form of reassurance. It was proof he was satisfied to some degree with what I was doing or what I had done. He didn’t smile freely, and his smile was never fake. If Erik smiled, he was happy. If he wasn’t happy, he didn’t smile. Most of the time, his mouth was closed and his lips were pursed.
    “Here you go,” the waitress said as she began to pull the beers from the tray she was carrying.
    “I’ve gotta pee, you need to go, Heather?” I asked as the waitress placed my water on the table.
    “No, I went when I was inside,” Heather responded, Teddy’s arms still around her waist.
    “I’ll go with you. I could use the bathroom,” Erik said.
    When I came out of the bathroom, Erik wasn’t done yet. As I waited, I looked around the bar. As always, it was packed. It was a huge open restaurant full of wooden tables with wooden stools. In the center was a large square bar surrounded by stools. The bar was covered in large screen televisions, and people often sat there and watched sports events.
    Looking at the bar, I saw Tommy standing and talking to someone.
    Oh God, no. I don’t want to walk past this idiot.
    “Come on, baby girl,” Erik said as he walked past me.
    I stood frozen, and stared at Tommy, who was facing the bar and had not noticed me yet.
    “Baby Girl,” Erik said over his shoulder as he approached the bar.
    I ran toward him to catch up as he started to walk beside Tommy. He faced forward toward the exit to the patio. As he walked up to Tommy, he turned to me.
    “Baby girl, on my left ,” he demanded.
    Tommy turned around and looked at Erik as he spoke.
    Oh God. I hate it when he thinks I am fucking up. On my left . Always on his left.
    I ran to Erik and grabbed his left arm as he was passing Tommy. I stood between Erik and Tommy as we walked past.
    “What is she, your fucking dog ?” Tommy asked.
    Oh my God, please, please, please shut up.
    “Excuse me?” Erik said as he stopped.
    Tommy turned around and faced Erik.
    “Nothin’. Never mind,” Tommy said as he turned around.
    “No, there isn’t