Stipulations

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I've been working at Romero Scrapyard for over a year now. I'm close to everyone here and since I am here all the time, the guys let me live in one of the dorm rooms. "Good morning Princesa." Bishop says as he enters the office. "Morning Bish." I say as I pour my first cup of coffee of the day. "You want a cup?" I ask. "Yeah sweetheart." he says as he heads into his office. I pour his cup and put two sugars in it like he likes before taking it into his office and putting it on his desk. "Thanks Sami." he says. I nod and head back to my desk to work on paperwork. Lunch rolls around and Chucky comes in. "Lunch is in the clubhouse." he tells me. I kiss his cheek and head into the clubhouse. "Come on Princesa." I hear Angel call as he pulls out the chair next to him for me to sit. Handing me my food, I start to eat. Sitting there talking to some of the guys, my phone rings. "I gotta take this." I say, seeing that it's my brother. "Hey Jay. What's up?" I ask as I answer. "Hey Sami. Just wanted to call and tell you that Maggie died." he tells me. "Oh. Um okay." I say. "You have to be here for the will reading. Apparently she's left us some shit." he tells me. "Yeah. Just text me the details I guess." I tell him. "Will do." he says. We end the call and I just look at my phone. "You okay Princesa?" Coco asks. I snap out of my daze and look up to see all of the guys looking at me. "Yeah. I'm good." I say as I head for the door. I walk into the office and sit at my desk and try to stay busy. Riz walks in and sits on the edge of my desk. "You want to talk about it?" he asks. I lean back in my seat and say "I need to leave for a few days." He looks at me concerned and I say "My brother called. Our grandmother died and apparently left us some things in her will." I tell him. "I'm sorry Bebita. You really shouldn't go alone." he tells me. I finally look up at him and say "You know, I think I may have seen her twice in my entire life. I can't imagine why she would leave me anything." I tell him. "Well, let's get a bag packed. I'll go with you." he tells me and I nod and head to my dorm to pack.

We head out on the back of Riz's bike and head to Oakland. Pulling up to the local motel, Riz gets us a room with two beds and we get settled in. "I'm going to get a shower." Riz tells me. "I'm going to call my brother. Let him know we're here." I tell him and he nods. "Hey Jay." I say. "Hey Sami. You finally make it?" he asks. "Yeah. We just checked into the motel." I tell him. "We?" he asks. "Yeah. You remember the club I told you I was staying with?" I ask and he says "Yeah." I say "One of the guys, Riz, is with me. He didn't want me coming here alone." I tell him. "Good. Well, Maggie's funeral is tomorrow and then we have to be at the lawyer's office the following morning." he tells me. "Okay. Are you going to the funeral?" I ask. "No. Thought I'd show up for the wake but not the funeral." he tells me. "Well, I'll meet you there in a bit. I just want to shower first. I don't feel right going to the funeral tomorrow though. I didn't know her." I tell him. "We'll, see you shortly. Maci can't wait to see you." he tells me and I am so glad my sister-in-law will be there too. Riz gets out of the shower and asks "You heard anything about the funeral?" I nod and say "I don't feel right going to the actual funeral but I would like to go to the wake this evening if that's okay." I say. "That's fine sweetheart. Whatever you need." he tells me. I walk over and hug him and say "Thank you Riz. I really don't think I could do this alone." He kisses the top of my head and hugs me back. "Go get a shower and we'll head out and we can get something to eat on the way back." he tells me. I nod and do what he says.

A little bit later, we are walking into the funeral home and I see my brother and sister-in-law. I tap his shoulder and when he sees me, he pulls me into a hug and so does Maci. "Hey guys. This is my friend Riz. Riz, this is my brother Jay and my sister-in-law Maci." I tell him and they greet each other. "You ready to go pay our respects?" Jay asks. "Might as well." I tell him. The four of us head inside and we walk up to the casket and say our goodbyes. Once we walk back out to one of the gathering rooms, I see someone watching me. "Jay, do you know who that man is?" I ask and he shakes his head no. The man walks over and says "Hello Samantha, James." I feel Riz wrap his arm around my waist and pull me into his side. "And you are?" I ask. "Your Dad." he tells me. "I buried my dad ten years ago." I tell him and go to walk away. He gently grabs my arm and I pull away from him and Riz pulls me behind him. "Don't fucking touch me. Don't speak to me. Don't come near me." I say and feel Maci take my hand and squeeze. "You need to show some respect little girl." he tells me. I move in front of Riz but he keeps his arm around me. "You are not my dad. You will never be my dad. You're nothing more than a sperm donor. I don't want anything to do with you." I tell him before turning to Riz and asking "Can we go. Please." He nods and walks me outside with my brother and sister-in-law behind us. "Are you okay?" Jay asks. "I will be. I just want to get these next couple of days done and go back home." I say and Riz pulls me back into his side and I see Jay and Maci smile.

Back at the Motel, Riz asks "You want to talk about it?" I sit on the bed and say "He's my mom's ex husband and biologically he's mine and Jay's father. He beat the shit out of mom while she was pregnant with Jay and she left him and divorced him. I didn't even know he was out of prison. He's been there most of my life. Sent letters telling me one week that I was a good kid and the next week he was telling me that I wasn't his kid and he hated me. Fucked with my head. I think I've only seen him a couple of times in my entire life and saw his mom about the same." I tell him. "You think he might try something?" He asks. "God I hope not but I know I'm going to have to see him one more time when we go to the will reading." I tell him. I finally look up at him and say "Thank you for being here Riz. Seriously. I fucking hate it here. I just want to get this shit done and go back home." I tell him. "You feel like you're at home with us?" he asks. I move back over to him and wrap my arms around his waist as he wraps his around me, "Riz, you're one of my favorite people. You know that? You and the guys have always made me feel like I was at home. You and the club, you're my home." I tell him and he smiles. He hugs me close before we order food and call it a night, him in one bed and me in the other.