GGS: Good Gaelic Souls A Biker Saga (G.G.S) (8 page)

For awhile, they knew that that were being watched and evaluated by the MC's. There were many times that they were tested to see how 'neighborly' they were willing to be. The guys were happy to do a few 'favors' here and there, to help another club out of a tight spot. This occasionally included illegal gun running, stashing drugs short term, riding bird dog or playing decoy.  They also helped with things like security at big events or club funerals. Eventually, like everyone else, the established clubs began to see the good work that they were doing in the community and relaxed, some even became friendly.

In reality, the MC way of life was never the original four's intent, but since life tends to get in the way, you do what you have to do to survive. Slider was always of a mind that it was a good thing to have a 'favor-owed' in your pocket. To this day when there was a need, old favors could still be cashed in. It had worked well for all involved through the years, and a number of established bikers from various clubs had shown up to pay their respects when the old Gael passed.

The G.G.S was well known for the many annual benefits that it held to aid the local community. Twice a year, the club held a 'Bike and Car show' the first one was in the spring  before the kids where about to go on summer vacation. Instead of charging a registration fee, they asked for a two bag minimum of canned or dry goods. The food was donated to the local food banks. This was to help lower income families feed their children breakfast and lunch through the summer. Meals that they would have otherwise been served at school. The cash funds that came from the sale of food, drink and t-shirts during the show, would purchase grocery store or department store gift certificates to be given to struggling families whom the biker's came in contact with or heard about through others. Lastly, the percentage that the club recieved from local vendors, would help buy the supplies and pay for permits needed for the next benefit. This would be fortified by using the biker's annual club dues when necessary.

The second Bike and Car Show of the year came in late fall. The same formula applied, except this time, the registration was one turkey or ham, and one box of traditional non-perishable holiday food items, to be given to local families struggling through the holidays. At this event, several local stores and bakeries would pledge a donation of holiday goodies and fresh vegetables for holiday gift boxes. Families would sign up for the gift boxes on the day of the event and they would be available for pick-up the weekend before Thanksgiving. There were also two local farmers that annually pledged a small portion of their late fall crops to the event. In this way, fresh items could be used for the Thanksgiving Dinner and non-perishables could be used at Christmas.  On top of that, several of the ol' ladies who were good at canning, would come in and preserve any fruits or vegetables that might have been left over after the last box was filled. This would be given to anyone who found themselves in need at a later date.

The club also held an annual 'Battle of the Bands-Survival Benefit'. This helped local artist gain recognition and expand their fan base, while filling the area with good music. It also offered the local vendors another platform to sell their wares. Proceeds from this particular benefit went towards helping people who were victims of natural disaster or financial hardship. It also helped to replace clothing, household items and furnishings.  Since this was a two day event, it brought in a large amount of cash.

The G.G.S were the only food, drink and t-shirt vendor's at their benefits. Everything else from leathers, jewelry, arts and crafts, sweet treats and novelty items were left to the locals, who would rent a booth space at the events. In the early years the club had asked for a 2% donation of all sales, to help support the community projects. Somewhere around the 5th year, the locals got together and agreed amongst themselves that a 5% donation was more appropriate. They had seen for themselves what the G.G.S. was doing to aid their community and were happy to support the effort. 

Every summer they also held a large community yard sale. Through the year, locals would stop by the Clubhouse and drop things off that they no longer needed. These items would be stored in the warehouse out at the property until the event. Stax loved a good yard sale, and would spend the entire day going through all of the goodies on display. Slider was forever telling her, "
Set it down lass, we got nary a space for it.
" She would buy it anyway, and eventually she would gift the item to someone who admired it as much as she did. After the sale was, all leftover items would go back to the warehouse until they found someone in need. The G.G.S. was always in the middle of planning or holding an event, so there was always something for everyone to do. After the first several years, it began to flow and each event became easier to put together. Now, the dream was to host them on the new property with permanent facilities.

Suddenly, Stax realized that she had been lost in deep thought and the table was silent. Both Samson and Strangler had left her to her thoughts and were quietly sipping their drinks, waiting for her to return to the world around her. Still thinking about the club and what comes next, she decided it was time to begin the conversation. "Strangler," she started, as he turned to look at her closely, "Yeah Angel?" he asked. "I want to talk about whats next for the club," she told him. "Are you guys up to this yet?" she asked, eyeing Samson first. Seeing that he was at ease, she looked back over at Strangler. "If your ready, we're ready," Strangler replied, "Where do you want to start?" Giving her the lead to say what was on her mind.

"Well, with the obvious first." she replied. "You have to step up immediately, the club has to have an acting President." She continued as they both nodded slowly in agreement. "The question is, do you still want it or do you want it to go to a vote?" Both of them looked at each other quickly and Strangler spoke up. "That's been done, Angel." he advised, watching the expression of suprise cross her face. "That was the "Club Business" that we tended to last night." he said, explaining further so as to clear any confusion or frustration that she might be experiencing, "Moby and Rage felt that, even though I was a given and nobody was attempting to challenge Slider's choice, it should be official as quickly as possible. Nobody wanted to push you into anything that you might not be ready to deal with yet. In the time that you were sleeping, there was a silent vote that included every member. So, in light of the circumstances, we went through the basic motions with just the Officer's. Griff is waiting to get with you to plan a traditional ceromony at whatever time you feel appropriate."

Both of them saw her eyes turn a darker green, those subtle little flecks of brown and dark green had taken over quickly and they knew that she was pissed. Preparing for the onslaught, they braced themselves, but less than a moment later they were suprised when she took a deep breath and spoke with a much softer voice than they expected. As she spoke, they witnessed the darker colors recede allowing the mist to come to the forefront. "Understood." she said evenly, wiping at a runaway tear. "That makes perfect sense, the club can't be leaderless and we all knew that you were going to step up. I guess I'm just upset that I missed it, but I suppose that's just me being selfish. Congratulations Prez." she said as she leaned over and kissed him.

Turning towards Samson she spoke again, "So does that mean that I missed you stepping up to V.P?" Samson quickly shook his head, "No way, sister," He said. "We only did what we felt was necessary and everything else will wait for the ceremony. Promise." He added, hoping to make her feel a little more at ease with it all. "Okay then, what's done is done, and it was done so for good reason. I'm good with it, let's move on." She replied in a resigned tone. "Has anyone heard from Serenity yet?" she asked hopefully, both of them shook their heads. "Not a word." Offered Strangler. "That's so fucking Serenity." She thought, missing her again, now more than ever. She had secretly been hoping that she would come back with the guys. Now she was worried again.

Samson informed her that there was a new couple who were possible candidate's for probation, and when everything had settled down, they would be invited to a, Meet and Greet. "I think you'll like them," he told her, "They are recent transplants, no children. They heard about us through some of the locals who attended Sliders funeral. He is a farmer by trade, so if they end up being a good fit and decide to stay, his could be an asset." Stax agreed and looked to Strangler for his input. "We'll have to wait and see." was all he said. Stax trusted his opinion, he could read people pretty damn good. He would size them up, watch them closely to confirm his suspicions and then call them out, if he felt it necessary. He was rarely wrong.

Stax dismissed herself briefly, and headed to the laundry room to throw the clothes in the dryer. When she returned they discussed the immediate future and direction of the club. For the most part, things would remain the same. Moving forward there may be an occasional tweak as needed, but all in all, everyone was happy with Slider's format and wanted to continue on in his fashion. Only time would tell the full story, and they were all acutely aware that nothing remains the same. She had the distinct feeling that both of them were preoccupied, although they did seem to be giving the conversation their attention.

When the conversation died down, Strangler excused himself and headed to the john, upon his return, he had in his hands the new edition of Easy Rider. Both Stax and Samson knew that he would be engrossed in this for awhile, so Samson turned to Stax "I'm gonna head down to the bar and play 'shark', wanna join?" Stax smiled, and gave a negative nod. "Enjoy, gotta take care of the laundry." she said as Strangler looked up from his magazine. "If you get lucky brother and need another room, call and let me know. I'll call down and put it on the club's credit card, all you'll need to do is pick up the key from the front desk. This was a business meeting after all." he chuckled, and looking over at Stax he winked, "I hope you saved the reciept for the whiskey and burgers."

After Samson left, Strangler went back to his magazine and Stax went to the laundry room, turning her thoughts back to the club. The largest piece of business after the upcoming ceremony, was to have the monthly cruinniú and bring everyone up to speed on the progress concerning the clubs property. At that time, anyone in the club could take the floor with suggestions, concerns or issues to be voted on. Nothing was written in stone, until it was put to the floor.

In a room full of Gaels nothing was ever cut and dry, and after a few pints, pretty much every subject would lead to a debate of some sort. Mostly, this was tolerated simply for the sake of enjoying a good debate. Though they tried to avoid it, there were times when they had to adjourn due to the rising of the sun. The issue would remain in limbo until the next cruinniú, when they would pick up where they left off. That is, unless time was of the essence, then it would put everyone out because they would have to meet again the following evening and hammer out their differences. Occasionally they would have to agree to disagree in order to move on. To their credit though, they tried to conduct their business briefly, but they were who they were, and it wasn't like they didn't know what they were dealing with when they decided to group themselves together.

The weekly Officer's Cruinniúwas usually more brief and to the point. Largely, it concerned itself with updates, legalities and paperwork. Moby, Griff and Rage being original members, had each chosen to step down from the higher ranks several years ago. From the day the club was founded until their decision, all three had held high rank positions in the club. They were happy now, at their age, to keep their fingers on the pulse of the club and do their part in helping keep the ship afloat and on course, without all of the pressure that rises to the top.

And then there was Stax, for her at least the club
was
a birthright. She was an extension of Slider and everyone loved her. As Slider's only child, her life was the club. As a single father, he had kept her with him nearly all the time. It didn't matter if he was on the bike or in a cruinniú, she was always there, an active part of everything. When she was smaller some of the club mother's would bring their kids to play and they all treated her like their own. Everyone was family to her. In the cruinniú's, they had never asked her to leave the room and they never held back on discussing club business because she was there. She was the perfect example of the old addage, "It takes a village to raise a child." Even as she grew and formed her own opinions, they never stopped her from saying what she thought. Often they took her advice on a subject or asked her to research something for them and then work out the best scenerio to help them move forward. She could come and go as she pleased. The Clubhouse was her daycare, her playground, her school and her home. Hell, she got more education there than she ever did in school. Never had even one member attempted to deny her the right to speak or weigh in on decisions, never. But now, where did she stand? Da was gone and her over-protective lover, was the new Club President. Where exactly, would that leave her?

Chapter 6

" Home Again "

Samson came back later, advising that except for the bartender, the bar was empty, and there was nobody at the pool. They watched a movie and went to bed. The next morning, as the  sun was still waking up, they grabbed a quick breakfast and took a sunrise walk on the beach. Following this, they hopped on the bikes and enjoyed a long ride down the coast . Stopping to visit a lighthouse, they climbed the spiral staircase and stood at the rail of the gallery deck enjoying a breathtaking view. Walking slowly around the deck they could see for miles and miles, both inland and ocean side. It was breathtaking no matter which direction you were staring. Afterwards, they hit a few antique shops, but since all they had were saddle bags, Stax was limited to what she could purchase.