Page 111 of Road to Absolution

As she hackled to the sky, I think we could all see her witch hat.

Then the creepy witch told us, “When the little creature of the night realizes fitting through the once gentle opening is against all logic, it’s going to rip its way free!”

All the men gasped in terror.

“Then it’s going stick it’s huge screaming head out,” she imitated a creature looking around between her two hands, “and go…” All the leathered men were holding their breath… “Boogidy! Boogidy! Boogidy!”

Big and very bad bikers all jumped and began holding each other. Whatever they had imagined birth to be, Vixen was shattering it, turning it into the scariest story to ever be spoken about a vagina.

With delight, the witch cackled. “You will hear its everlasting cries throughout the night, haunting your sleep, like a hungry, never-ending nightmare.” Her finger twitched. Looking around at the group of men, she asked, “Did you buy the poor mother to be a delivery gift?”

Whimper. Whimper.

Parking our bikes, an eerie feeling settled over me. I hadn’t been back to this river since the New Year’s party with Delilah. I had found her crying by this river… Now I was here, as her husband, buying her a gift for a disturbing experience she was going to go through, according to Vixen’s terrifying tale.

Art and I lit cigarettes.

There were tents lined up in rows, all filled with hanging flowers, dried herbs, and crystals that shone in the sun. Many patrons were walking around, examining items, oohing and aahing.

Standing in the dirt parking lot, gawking in disbelief, this trio—Tuck, Art, and I—stood out like a machine gun lying at the edge of a bed of roses.

“Are you sure you want to marry her?” Art asked Tuck.

Staring at all the frilly girl stuff and witch stuff, he shook his head. “I can’t think about it right now. My mind is still imaging some evil troll coming out of my sister.” He shivered.

Observing the festival we were about to encounter as if lost and confused, Art muttered, “Every brother is taking turns running into town for gifts.”

Watching someone walk past with a dog in a stroller, Tuck held up a hundred-dollar bill. “Even the Old Coots are scared. I’m supposed to get them… Was that a dog or a really ugly child?”

Taking a deep breath, I cracked my knuckles. “Men, it is time to see what we’re made of.”

Tucker observed another person passing him. “Umm, there was a cat sticking out of that lady’s purse.”

Weary of his surroundings, Art grumbled, “Where the fuck did V send us?”

I stomped on my smoke. “Mystics of the weird, I think.”

As much as I didn’t feel we fit in, we weren’t treated like it. All the different walks of life at this event seemed to understand that seeing three roaming bikers wasn’t odd. They didn’t try to avoid us. We were greeted with smiles and hellos by the sellers and other guests.

One lady with a crystal ball on her table even beamed, “Oh, you gentlemen have a special day to be had.”

“Pardon?” I asked.

Smiling, her eyes drifted shut. “You will have patience today.”

“Er… thanks?”

Art nudged me forward, mumbling, “I think she’s drunk too much witch potion.”

Passing by another white tent, my attention was drawn to the sun glimmering off what looked like window decorations. Hanging from fishing string were a bunch of different crystals, wired together in very girly designs.

I reached out to touch one in the shape of a heart. It was made of different shades of blue, but the inside of the heart had two bigger pink stones. My girls… As my chest tightened with adoration, I knew I had found my gift.

Looking to my right, I opened my mouth to ask what Tuck and Art thought, but their focus was elsewhere. To be exact, their focus was honed to a perky ass in a pair of jeans.

The young woman running this booth had her back to us, placing items in a basket at a table at the rear of her tent. It was spooky when her shoulders seized as if sensing three bikers now staring at her ass. Our eyes lifted as she slowly turned around.

She looked at me, farthest to her right. Then she looked at Tuck, who was in the middle. Then, she saw Art. Those tense shoulders eased… She smiled, “Hi.”