Page 85 of The Champion
“Mommy,” Lane began. “I was thinking today...” he paused, took a large bite from hisdonut and looked up at Alley as she looked over at him pulling her long hairinto a bun. “I wanna get a taboo like daddy has.”
Emma, clearly not thinking, piped up with, “It’s called atramp stamp Lane.”
Alley tossed a pillow from my bed at her head. “It’s nota tramp stamp. Yours is worse!”
Emma had recently let her hair grow out to cover hertrasher 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 debatecuriously. “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 bejust like his dad.” Emma said matter-of-factly. “Let’s hope thatneverhappens.” She placed Noah in the stroller beside Charlie to contain the littlesquirming peanut.
“You know what Emma?” Alley pushed her knocked uptheatrical self from the bed and stood in front of Emma. Her five foot ninestance hovered over Emma’s barely five-foot height. Once she was standingthere, ready to pounce, her emotional pregnant side took over. “What the hellam I going to do?”
“About what?” Nancy asked curiously looking at me andthen Emma and Alley.
“She’s knocked up again.” Emma announced.
Alley was under a great deal of stress these days. Thatwas the only answer for what she did next. The only answer I could come up withat least. I think she’d been hanging out with Jameson too much and that wasprecisely why she was so stressed.
Alley attacked Emma, Emma attacked Alley and there thekids, Nancy and me sat, watching.
“Take it back!” Alley screamed at her, pulling atEmma’s waves of black hair.
“No, you take it back!” Emma countered, pulling Alley’shair.
This went on for a few minutes. It’s not like they werereally doing any sort of damage to one another, just wrestling and yelling.
Lane, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and nudgedmy shoulder with his. “I think mommy give soon.
“I don’t know Lane, your mom is tough. She has Emma onsize too.”
Lane rolled his eyes. “I mean with the taboo, auntie.”
“It’s atattooLane, not taboo. If you tell thetattoo artist you want a taboo you’ll end up like Emma and have to grow yourhair out.”
“I said tattoo.” He sighed.
“I’m curious,” I let out a giggle when Alley spankedEmma’s ass and said,“I’m only doing what your tattoo says.”
Glancing down at Lane and his donut, I continued. “Sowhat will your tattoo say?”
“Not sure,” he licked his donut. Axel, who was stillsitting on my lap took Lane’s donut from him and handed him his “alreadylicked” donut as a piece offering. “It be manly though.” He looked up at me.“Why he always still my food.”
“Stealyour 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 theirbacks, exhausted. “What’s going on?”
“Alley’s pregnant and being an emotional bitch,” Emmatold her breathlessly.
