Village and not at all at the Collective. One day, I might understand why there are so many differences.
“Can you list all the members of the Volkshalberd?” Conor asks, placing a lined sheet of paper on the table before giving Future a fresh one to color on. “Number the names on this paper and then add the numbers to the map to show where they sleep within the Village.” When Mama and I frown at him, Conor only smiles. “Rather than have you write out seventy to a hundred names on the map, you can make a list and then just add the numbers on the map.”
“Is nighttime when you’ll attack?” Mama asks. “They have very little organization once it’s dark. There are only a few teenage boys at the front gate. That would be the best time to attack.”
Conor smiles again at Anders, who shrugs. The two men are so different. I try to hold Anders’s gaze, but he keeps frowning at everything. Then the doorbell rings, and Future shows me his paper. My brother thinks he has to stop coloring.
“Draw more,” I say and then return to working on the map.
Mama starts a list while Dove helps her with names. Anders returns from the front door with bags. When the food’s scent reaches my family, we all turn to him, barely hiding our greediness. Mama’s stomach growls loudly.
“Food?” Future asks, pointing at Anders.
“Yeah, kid, food,” he mumbles.
I walk to where the containers rest on the counter. Rubbing my lips against Anders’s bare arm, I look up at his frowning face.
“Do you not like the food?” When he ignores me, I continue, “The map? Conor? Are you angry we ate your chicken legs?”
Anders finally grudgingly smiles. “I’ll always share my shit with you.”
“Then why are you pouting like a little boy?”
Irritated again, he glares over my head at Conor, who is focused on Mama’s list. “He isn’t nice to women. It’s all fake. He hurts children. I think he set a nun on fire.”
“What’s a nun?”
Sighing, Anders shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m lying anyway.”
“I’m not wholly against the idea of setting a nun on fire,” Conor says, having eavesdropped from the table. “If she threatened the club or my family, I could see striking the match.”
Anders sighs again, louder as if he wants people outside to hear. “Sorry, man.”
Conor glances back and smiles. “Men are so territorial with their new girlfriends. Bronco was the same way with Lana. Then again, maybe I’m just that intimidating to your egos.”
Anders thinks about Conor’s words while the younger man leans over to whisper something to Mama.
“We should eat,” I say when Anders remains silent.
He places his hands on my shoulders and looks at me with his sad, blue eyes. “Do you like him?”
“Who?”
“Really?” he mutters, annoyed. “Who do you think?”
“Bronco?”
“Now, I know you’re fucking with me.”
Grinning, I nudge him aside and open the bags. “You miss being alone with me, is that it?”
Anders leans down and nuzzles his lips in my hair. He wants me to pay attention to him and maybe to punch Conor. I realize he’s jealous like when Future doesn’t want Mama to play with other kids.
“Can I show Mama, Dove, and Future the pool today?” I ask as he sets out plates that I fill with food.
“Of course, but you don’t have swimsuits.”
“Is there a law about wearing them? Can we go naked like last night?”
Conor gives Anders an approving wink, and my blond bear smiles grudgingly. “There’s no law. You can wear whatever you want. Just don’t drink the water.”
“Why?”
“There are chemicals in the water to keep the pool clean.”
Mama and I share a look, knowing Future will want to drink the water. That’s a problem for later.
Conor carries plates to the table. While he seems helpful, I suspect he just doesn’t want Mama and Dove to stop working.
“If the Yabo family will be staying here long term, it wouldn’t hurt for you to buy a playset for the yard,” he tells Anders. “Bronco’s daughters still play on theirs, and those girls are older than Future.”
Mama frowns, not sure what a playset is. Of course, she assumes the worst. I set drinks in front of her and Dove. Then, I join Future and feed him from my plate. I smile at how bright he looks today. I’d forgotten the way my brother smiled before John Marks came along and started trouble with the motorcycle men. Now, Future and Dove can shine, and Mama won’t have bruises