The Champion (Racing on the Edge) (26 page)

“You guys all packed?” she asked looking between Aiden
and me.

“Where are we going?”

“Tulsa
...
I’ve been
telling you this for three goddamn weeks.” Alley said handing Lexi to Spencer.
“The Chili Bowl, remember?”

“I wasn’t listening.” I told her while Sway chased after
Axel who was heading toward the cars once again.

“Neither was I.” Aiden added when he found out he was
supposed to come with me.

“When do we leave?” we both asked.

“Tomorrow morning at eight,”

Damn it.

Justin, Tyler, Tate, Bobby and me all planned to go to
the Chili Bowl this year but I hated leaving so soon after I just arrived home.
Mostly because I knew that after the Chili Bowl, I started testing in
Rockingham and then Daytona.

Being a champion was great, but again, it was wearing on
my sanity at times.

Later in the day, the boys and I challenged each other at
a game of hockey on the ice-skating ring Emma had put in our backyard. Sway
felt the need to remind me of my contract with Simplex.

“Don’t do anything stupid!” her eyes did that judging
once over.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” I yelled over my shoulder and
pointed toward my make shift pads of toilet paper rolls and maxi pads.

Sway looked down at Axel.

“He never plans on it.” She told him and he nodded.

We stood there as Gentry, Kyle’s brother, explained the
rules to us since he used to play in high school. None of us paid a goddamn bit
of attention to him. We just intended on fucking each other up anyway.

The game, which wasn’t a game at all, was on delay soon
after it started so Van could help Ethan and his broken arm off the ice.

“I’m freezing here!” Spencer grumbled, rubbing his hands
together.

“Here’s some matches,” I told him and tossed the matches
in his direction. “set yourself on fire.”

Eventually the ass beating continued until Tyler knocked
Spencer’s front tooth out with a slap shot. Alley was not pleased but Lane
thought it was pretty awesome.

In the end, Dad broke up the game mumbling something
about this being a horrible idea and if I got hurt, Simplex would have a
shit-fit.

“Is that all you do is bitch?” I glared at him tearing
away the remaining toilet paper rolls from my shins.

“I bitch because look who my children are.” He countered
with the same glare.

He had me there.

Sway managed to get everyone gathered up to sing happy
birthday to Axel. I’d never paid much attention at a kid’s birthday party but
watching my son sitting in his go-kart the way I did when I was his age was
something I would never forget. His toothless smile said it all as he jerked
the steering wheel back and forth.

I stood there beside Sway watching our son enjoy his
birthday present.

She sighed softly leaning her head against my chest.

“Thank you,” she whispered looking up at me with her
adoring green eyes.

“No honey, thank you.” I dipped my head down to kiss her
forehead.

It was hard to imagine life getting much better than this
but I also knew my time here with my family was about to end. But for now, for
tonight, we were a family once again.

Adding Spoiler – Sway

Watching Axel blow out his birthday candles I remembered
my theory on wishing and that you got one wish a year and realized that this
wasn’t what I would have dreamed about a few years ago but it was so much more
than I ever expected. It was more.

After Axel was sound asleep in his bed and our home was
free from our family, I made my way into our room where Jameson was packing for
the Chili Bowl. One look and he was no longer packing but tending to his Mama
Wizard.

Two hours later, I was standing in our bedroom getting
ready for bed after our shower when I glanced down at the picture on my
dresser. It was one of Jameson and Axel right after his birth, the look on
Axel’s face was contentment, as though he knew his daddy’s hands would never
falter.

Distracted by remembering the moment he was born, I
dropped my pill, yes,
the
pill.

Oh shit!

I reached down on the floor to grab it but unfortunately,
it wasn’t there.

“Oh goddamn you Mr. Jangles!” I pushed him away. “You
suck!”

12.
        
Pit Stand – Sway

Pit Stand –
Sometimes referred to as the “war wagon”. This stand, on the inside of the wall
adjacent to the pit stall, is where key team personnel, most notably the crew
chief, car chief and often the team owner, sit during the race and communicate
strategy. It is outfitted with satellite television screens, timing and scoring
information, radio controls and other communication relevant to race
operations.

I bit my nails nervously while Alley and I sat there on my
toilet. Well, I sat on the toilet; she sat on the edge of our tile tub, biting
her own nails.

Last night Mr. Jangles ate my birth control pill. This
wouldn’t have been so bad except this was the fourth pill in my cycle he’d
eaten this month. When I took a closer look at the dates on the box, I should
have started my period by now. I was now a week late, which would have led to
only one weekend I could have possibly gotten pregnant, the weekend Jameson
flew home before the last race of the season. That was the night we spent the
majority of our time in bed.

“This can’t be happening.” I muttered incoherently to
myself.

Even though I was talking to myself, Alley replied. “
You
?
How the hell am I going to keep track of your shithead of a husband with three kids?
Did you know that in Phoenix I had to separate him and Colin three times in the
matter of an hour after the first practice session?”

“You’re the one that got knocked up.” I replied
defensively. “That’s hardly my fault or Jameson’s.”

“I didn’t say it was your fault.” She sighed and slumped
down holding the pregnancy test in her hand. “I blame these Riley men.”

“I agree.” I finished peeing on the stick and then sat
next to her. “Axel just turned one. How the hell am I going to manage another
one?”

“You better not turn pink you asshole stick!” Alley
shouted at the innocent pregnancy test. Then she started crying in a very
melodramatic way. “Why does this keep happening to me?”

“I think I remember this conversation we had, or at least
I think I do.” I turned toward her. “I asked what the best birth control was
...
and you said: No sex.”

She held up the now two pink line sticks in my face. “You
clearly didn’t listen to me.”

“Neither did you,
hypocrite
.” I held her positive
stick up in her face.

We stared at each other for a moment, started crying, and
then resorted to laying in my bed all morning after Emma came by and watched
reality TV until Nancy arrived with the kids.

Nancy had been watching them so we could take the boys to
the Lake Norman Air Park to meet Wes so that they could leave for Tulsa and the
Chili Bowl.

On the way back to our house in Mooresville, I told her I
thought I might be pregnant.

Alley, the hard ass bitch that she could be broke and
started bawling because she was three weeks late herself and hadn’t told
anyone. So we stopped off at
Wal-Mart
on Norman Station Blvd, picked up
a few pregnancy tests and a box of donuts.

Nancy let herself in and came upstairs to my room with
all the kids. I’m not sure how she could handle them all but she had Lane
carrying Noah, who looked like he was carrying a bomb that was about to
explode.

Axel was on her shoulders with a very large grin and a
chocolate donut in his chubby little hands. Most of the chocolate had been
licked from the donut and was either on his face or in Nancy’s hair. In her
arms she had Lexi, who was sound asleep, while pushing Charlie in the stroller.

I wondered for a moment why she didn’t have Noah in the
stroller as well but it appeared she had too many bags in there to actually fit
kids in it.

Axel started squirming when he spotted me in the bed.

“Mama Mama!” he practically flung himself off Nancy’s
shoulders to get to me.

She had to set Lexi down before this could happen, which
irritated Axel. As I’ve said before, when he wants something, he wants it right
now.

Pushing myself up from the bed, I went to him in fear for
Nancy’s hair that he was pulling on to get down.

“Calm down buddy. Mommy’s right here.”

He smiled wide. “Mama,”

There’s nothing better than a hug, but a hug given by a
child is by far the greatest feeling. They give everything to you
unconditionally because that’s what they feel. Somewhere along the lines we
lose that in life; the ability to do as we feel rather than what we think.

Not my baby, he loved me.

“Did you have a good time with Me-Ma?” I sat down on the
edge of the bed with him.

That’s when Nancy, just as Emma does after she goes
shopping, showed us everything she bought for the kids.

Axel nodded with a chocolate smile and curled up on my
lap to eat the rest of his donut.

Emma reached over to take Noah from Lane when he found
the donuts we had on the bed. Lane had a habit of forgetting that he was
holding something when chocolate or sugar of any kind was involved.

“It appears you’ve already had a donut Lane.” Alley
deduced after seeing his chocolate smile.

Lane shrugged carelessly and continued the selection
process. Once he had his
specific
donut selected, he crawled up next to
his sleeping sister on the bed and patted her head.

“Mommy,” Lane began. “I was thinking today
...
” he paused, took a large bite from his
donut and looked up at Alley as she looked over at him pulling her long hair
into a bun. “I wanna get a taboo like daddy has.”

Emma, clearly not thinking, piped up with, “It’s called a
tramp stamp Lane.”

Alley tossed a pillow from my bed at her head. “It’s not
a tramp stamp. Yours is worse!”

Emma had recently let her hair grow out to cover her
trasher token she’d gotten over a year ago.

“Yeah well, I covered mine up.”

“So does Spencer.” Alley pointed out.

Emma pointed at Lane who was watching this debate
curiously. “Then how does your four-year old son know about it?”

Lane raised his hand but didn’t look up from this donut.
“I’ll be five soon.”

Alley and Emma were too caught up in their argument.

“It doesn’t matter, he still knows and now he wants to be
just like his dad.” Emma said matter-of-factly. “Let’s hope that
never
happens.” She placed Noah in the stroller beside Charlie to contain the little
squirming peanut.

“You know what Emma?” Alley pushed her knocked up
theatrical self from the bed and stood in front of Emma. Her five foot nine
stance hovered over Emma’s barely five-foot height. Once she was standing
there, ready to pounce, her emotional pregnant side took over. “What the hell
am I going to do?”

“About what?” Nancy asked curiously looking at me and
then Emma and Alley.

“She’s knocked up again.” Emma announced.

Alley was under a great deal of stress these days. That
was the only answer for what she did next. The only answer I could come up with
at least. I think she’d been hanging out with Jameson too much and that was
precisely why she was so stressed.

Alley attacked Emma, Emma attacked Alley and there the
kids, Nancy and me sat, watching.

 “Take it back!” Alley screamed at her, pulling at
Emma’s waves of black hair.

“No, you take it back!” Emma countered, pulling Alley’s
hair.

This went on for a few minutes. It’s not like they were
really doing any sort of damage to one another, just wrestling and yelling.

Lane, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and nudged
my shoulder with his. “I think mommy give soon.

“I don’t know Lane, your mom is tough. She has Emma on
size too.”

Lane rolled his eyes. “I mean with the taboo, auntie.”

“It’s a
tattoo
Lane, not taboo. If you tell the
tattoo artist you want a taboo you’ll end up like Emma and have to grow your
hair out.”

“I said tattoo.” He sighed.

“I’m curious,” I let out a giggle when Alley spanked
Emma’s ass and said,
“I’m only doing what your tattoo says.”

Glancing down at Lane and his donut, I continued. “So
what will your tattoo say?”

“Not sure,” he licked his donut. Axel, who was still
sitting on my lap took Lane’s donut from him and handed him his “already
licked” donut as a piece offering. “It be manly though.” He looked up at me.
“Why he always still my food.”

“
Steal
your food?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Okay, that’s enough girls.” Nancy said separating them.
Emma was panting heavily as was Alley. They both slumped back on the floor on their
backs, exhausted. “What’s going on?”

“Alley’s pregnant and being an emotional bitch,” Emma
told her breathlessly.

Alley swung her arm up and smacked Emma in the throat.

“There are children present Emma.” Nancy told her.

Lane hopped down from the bed, went over to Emma and held
out his hand out.

Axel followed suit and did the same thing.

“Since when does he do that?” she asked pointing toward
Axel after handing Lane a dollar bill.

“I’m not sure. Last week he pooped a dime so I’m assuming
someone is giving him money.”

Axel and Lane were satisfied with their money and sat
down on the bed again.

“So you’re really pregnant?” Nancy asked helping Alley
off the floor.

“Yes,” Alley spit out. “Your son and his super seed
knocked me up.”