Page 48 of Alexander: Alexander's Story

I’m not counting the times I’ve gone to my mom’s shows. She’s a degenerate, and so are the crowds that follow her around. Like every person at the bottom of the barrel has been attuned to Darla Strait’s siren song.

Eventually, the start and stop become steady forward movement, and we enter the tailgating field after Alex shows the attendant a special pass. We drive down the grassy, makeshift roads towards the tent village that’s amassed outside the stadium.

The air smells like tri-tip and BBQ sauce. Smoky and sweet.

He eventually pulls behind one of the tents into a reserved area and puts the kickstand down. I take a look around and realize the proximity to the stadium is far above my cheap seat general admission.

“This is the brothers’ tent,” he motions to the left while he unbuckles, then hangs up both our helmets.The Brothers. That’s how Alex refers to Max, Niko, and Silas. I know there’s one more, but he doesn’t talk about him.

I hadn’t met the brothers, but I heard about them plenty, and I’ve seen pictures at Constantine’s house. Meeting them in real life feels like unlocking another layer to Alex.

“Cool, can’t wait to meet them.”

Taking my hand in his, he leads me through the slightly bumpy grass to the front of the tent. There’s a large sign for “The MS Group” out front, and inside are rows of long tables covered in red and white checked tablecloths. They’re mostly full, too.

I spot Connie about the same time he sees me, and he breaks out in a grin, raising a hand for us to join him at the other end. So I tug on Alex’s hand, that’s still holding mine, and motion over to the direction we should go. He takes the lead, not relinquishing me the whole time.

I notice one or two people glance at us curiously, but for the most part, no one pays us any attention. Even though I don’t know anyone here, it doesn’t feel awkward. Yet.

“Hey!” Connie greets us, opening his arms for a hug from me.

“Hi, Connie,” I greet back as he releases the embrace, turning to give Alex the same bear-sized hug.

“We’ve missed you at dinner, kiddo.” I blush, not sure what to say. Alex said he knows the truth, but that doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable.

“Anytime you want to have dinner, Connie, give me a call.” I shoot him a wink, and he laughs. I notice him give Alex a look, but I don’t know what it means.

“Get the girl a drink while we catch up,” Connie instructs him.

With a gentle hand at my back, Alex asks, “What do you want?”

“Beer, please?” He gives me that signature half-smile before slipping away.

“How’s school going?”I miss Connie, too.

“It’s good. Just busy. I’m working in the library now.”

He makes a sort of clicking sound and says, “Gosh, the two of you are so alike, you know that?” I nod because I do know. We’retooalike.

“You’re still married?” He doesn’t beat around the bush. He just goes straight for the jugular. I roll with it, though, because I love this old man.

“Hitting on a married woman, Connie?” I tease, and his cheeks turn pink. I know that’s not how he means it. He’s literally checking in to see if we’re divorced yet. We aren’t. I can’t really give a reason why.

“If I was thirty years younger-” He’s stopped from finishing the sentiment by a tall, dark, and handsome man with a buzz cut and tattoos peeking out from the collar of his shirt. He looks familiar, probably from the photos at Connie’s.

“Fuck, Dad, please don’t finish that sentence.” The man rolls his eyes, then turns to me. “Please, pardon him. He’s mixing Coors light and prune juice tonight, clearly it’s taking its toll.” Connie laughs, and I do, too.

“Niko, this is Emma,” Connie gestures towards me. Niko extends a hand, and I move to take it. When a young boy runs between us, sending Niko stumbling towards me, he has to use two hands to hold us both upright.

“Cool points: gone,” Connie laughs at Niko.

“Hands off my wife, please.”Hisvoice, speaking those words, is like kerosene on my internal fire.He did not.No, he did. Because Niko rights me in a respectful manner, double-checking my ring finger that’s naked.

I smile at Niko and say, “It’s nice to meet you, I’ve heard a lot.”

“None of it good, either,” Alex busts his balls, then passes me a cold beer.

Niko shoots him a faux dirty look and says, “How the hell do you end up with tens?” Redirecting the question to me, he asks, “For real, how much is he paying you?”