Chapter 24: Pops

*The stubbornness was self-defense against my grandchildren. – Pops*

The words that Priscilla said in the hallway at the Shack bounced around in Leo’s head. Pops was her great-grandfather. That left him wondering if it was the same Pops that he had known as a child.

With Pipes not needing him, Leo was working with Pagan at the MetalWorks shop. He had hated working here during summer when it was so hot. But now, with snow on the ground, the large warehouse with forges and welders was toasty warm.

Pagan tapped him on his shoulder and motioned for him to follow into the nearby office. Thankfully, they did not have to go through the reception area to get to the office. The secretary, Carrianne, scared him with her cold looks and brash way of talking. The only person that that he had ever seen her happy to see was Priscilla. She did not even like seeing Pagan and he paid her to sit in the front office and read her romance novels.

The office door had been open and was warm inside, but not as hot as the floor itself. As they entered the room, Pagan closed the door effectively cutting off the loud nose of the hammers, plasma cutter, welders and grinders.

“Have I done anything wrong?” Leo asked before he could stop himself.

Laughing, Pagan pointed to a chair in front of the simple wood and metal desk as he sat in the chair behind the desk. “No, you seem distracted. That’s not safe for you or anyone else on the floor.”

With a small huff, Leo ran a hand through his short hair. “I’m sorry… I didn’t… it’s just…” he let out a deep breath as he tried to find words that would explain what was on his mind. Without making him look like an absolute fucking idiot.

“Take a breath,” Pagan suggested and pulled out a couple of waters out of one of the many coolers stationed around the building. “If I’m not the person that you feel like you need to talk to, I won’t be offended.”

Smiling, he accepted the bottle of water from his boss. “I don’t know who would be.”

“Is it about Priss?” the older man asked

“Yes, and,” Leo shrugged, “not exactly.”

Pagan gave a small chuckle. “Her family,” he said, and Leo nodded his head. “There’s a lot of them. I swear, they multiply faster than rabbits.”

“I didn’t realize how big her family was and I kind of… stuck my foot in my mouth. I’ve made a few mistakes with her and I … I’m trying not to make any more.”

“You’re going to make mistakes,” Pagan assured him as he threw away his empty water bottle. “As long as you keep learning from them, and not make them again, they remain mistakes and not become choices.”

“That’s an interesting way of looking at things.”

Pagan chuckled. “My mother was a teacher up until she retired and dragged my dad out onto the road with their RV. You’ll have to meet her next time she’s in town. The woman is a character. Anyway, she always says that if you made a mistake and did not learn from it, the next time, it was a choice.”

“That’s kind of smart,” Leo smiled.

“Yeah, the older I get, the more I realize how smart my mom is. Smartest thing that my dad ever did was to marry her”

“I’m not a smart man, and I know it. Having someone say that about me, would make me feel good about my decisions.”

Pagan smiled at him, “That’s the attitude to have. And be willing to admit when you make a mistake.”

“Thanks, man.,” Leo smiled back.

“Anytime,” he said and nodded at someone on the other side of the window behind Leo.

“Did you know Pops?”

Pagan smiled, “I did. Not as well as some of the others. A lot of the current officers prospected under him. Brute and Trigg both served as Vice for him. Other than his kids, they would probably know him best. Did you know him?”

“This is going to be a strange answer, but yes, I think I knew him.”

“If you’re going to get all philosophical about whether or not we ever actually know anyone, that’s the perfect guy.”

The phone on his desk rang just before Carrianne’s voice came across the intercom. “Pagan, Camille is on the phone.”

“Alyssa?” Pagan asked.

“I think so,” Carrianne answered and Pagan sighed.

He looked at the younger man as the phone line lit up showing that the call had been transferred. “If you need to go, that’s fine. I’m running out of things for you to work on.”

“Thanks,” Leo said standing up and heading for the door as the fab shop manager answered the phone.

The heat on the floor hit Leo like a brick wall when he opened the door. He headed for the locker room and opened his assigned locker with the black combination lock on it. The first thing that he did was pull out his phone and text his president.

*You available? I need some advise*

He looked at the message and tried to decide if it was advise or advice. It was not popping up as a misspelled word, but it did not look tight. Deciding that Brute would know what he meant, he hit send and then pulled off the MetalWorks Fab Shop T-shirt.

One of the first things that he had been told when working at the fab shop was to keep baby wipes in his locker. He wiped down his torso and arm pits before replenishing the deodorant. During this makeshift shower, his phone beeped with a notification from Brute.

*Headed to the clubhouse. Feel free to bring food*

A few more messages popped up with options of what the president wanted from various fast-food places around town. Thirty minutes later, he knocked on the presidents open door holding a bag of burgers and fries in one hand and a drink carrier in the other.

“Close the door if you need to,” Brute said moving papers off his desk and closing the laptop.

He closed the door and then divvied up the food and drinks. Sitting down on the other side of Brute’s ornate desk, he searched for the words that he needed to explain where he was in his head.

“Do you remember when we first met?” Brute finally asked.

Leo’s eyes flew to his and he could not hide the shock that he was feeling. Unable to speak, he nodded.

Brute smiled and gave a small nod. “What did I tell you?”

He swallowed a few times before answering, “That you were there for me whenever I needed you, no matter what.”

“Exactly,” Brute smiled as he dipped fries into his ketchup, “so tell me what you need.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Leo quietly asked, “How come Pops quit coming?”

Brute froze for a moment before he shewed and swallowed the fries in his mouth. “I’m sorry, I never thought that you didn’t know. Pops was in a crash, he seemed to be fine, and the hospital released him, but said that he shouldn’t be left alone overnight. He died of an aneurism.”

“My caseworker never told me. Just said that you were now my new BACA rep.”

Nodding, Brute dipped more fries in his ketchup. “I was told that she would tell you what you needed to know and that I should not bring him up. You were the only one that he still was seeing, still going to court for.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but he left you in his will. Just like the rest of his kids, you get a half-acre of land to build a house on. Everyone says that Patch brings home the strays and unwanted, but I’m telling you, he got that from his dad.”

“Was I just an unwanted stray to him?”

“No, you were one of his grandkids.” Brute smiled at the younger man. “He had a picture of you hanging on his office wall with the rest of his grandkids. Deuce probably has it.”

“Priscilla… she’s…”

“His granddaughter. Great granddaughter if you want to get technical. But yeah, she’s one of his many grandkids.”

“I feel like that I’m disappointing him,” Leo admitted. "That’s not something I want to do.”

Brute chuckled. “It would take a lot to disappoint him. Unless you’ve killed someone close to him, you can get back in his good graces. I’ve been told that Nessie talks to him and some of the other presidents. Not sure that I believe that” he shrugged. “But that woman knows way more than she should.”

“I want to make you all proud of me. I never had a family, and you’ve given me that.”

“You’ll find that a lot of Saints joined to find family. We’re here for you. No matter what.”