{"id":7196,"date":"2011-01-03T10:30:08","date_gmt":"2011-01-03T18:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beltdrivebetty.com\/wyzwmnsworld\/?page_id=7196"},"modified":"2011-01-03T10:30:08","modified_gmt":"2011-01-03T18:30:08","slug":"chapter-54","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/?page_id=7196","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 54"},"content":{"rendered":"

the sound: <\/strong>Seals & Crofts \u2013 Hummingbird<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>SuperTramp \u2013 Fools Overture<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Rory Gallagher \u2013 Secret Agent<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>the Beatles \u2013 Free as a Bird<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Tom Waits \u2013 Waltzing Matilda<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Bruce Springsteen \u2013 Streets of Philadelphia<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Round about the time I remember to close my yap I hear Greybeard chuckle and tell Robert that he should \u2018pay his debts\u2019 as opposed to trying to wiggle outta them.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a couple of tense moments while the 2 groups of men glare at each other and then Barnyard pipes up and invites them to a bbq.<\/p>\n

Robert looks perturbed but agrees, and Greybeard nods his head and allows as he and the boys may be hungry after the long ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s enough goat for everyone\u201d Robert answers.<\/p>\n

As if by magic there\u2019s a full relaxation that comes across the group and almost immediately the tension leaves and these people start to talk and laugh and joke amongst each other.<\/p>\n

Again I find myself gawping.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo minutes ago I expected gunfire and now they are sitting side by side at the fire discussing bbq technique\u2026.\u201d I muss.<\/p>\n

As I begin to relax I spot Rosie walking from the garage towards the fire and I make a beeline to head her off and get some answers. She laughs as I approach and tells me that I look like a woman on a mission. I admit that I am and that I want more info. She sighs and agrees that maybe I do need some background then ushers me into the big barn like garage so that we won\u2019t be overheard.<\/p>\n

We settle onto a couple of shop stools and both of us light a smoke in silence, then I start with something eloquent\u2026\u201dwhat the fuck was that all about??\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d she asks, playing stupid.<\/p>\n

\u201cthat\u2019s the second near shoot out between those two in two days\u2026what the fuck is up with that?…And now they\u2019re sitting there like brothers cos there\u2019s food? Come on!\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosie shakes her head and smiles as she says…\u201dThey are sitting there like brothers because they are brothers\u2026.birth brothers not just blood or riding bro\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m gawping again\u2026I just know it. \u201cWell what\u2019s all this shit about debt? And what was in those saddle bags? And why does Robert keep referring to me as if I was a product? And how the hell did BarnYard get away with suggesting supper?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosie laughs as she gets up and walks across the end of the garage to the an old \u201cCoke\u201d cooler…the kind that with the sliding doors on top and slots to hold the bottles by the neck\u2026she reaches in and pulls out a beer \u201cwant one?\u201d she asks before she continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure\u2026as long as you start talking\u2026I\u2019m like to have a cardiac trying to figure all this shit out\u201d is my reply.<\/p>\n

Rosie brings me a beer and settles down again. \u201cRobert and Grey are brothers, hard to imagine considering how different they look, same mamas, different daddies. There\u2019s someone else here that\u2019s their family too\u2026betcha can\u2019t figure out who?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really care\u2026except to say that it\u2019s likely Barnyard cos he\u2019s too stupid to get away with some o the shit he does and says.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight on the money!\u201d Rosie replies\u2026.\u201dGrey\u2026.Barnyard and Robert\u2026are 3 of 13 kids\u2026.7 boys, 6 girls, 3 fathers. Irish Catholic, and as tough as the day is long. Story has it that the first person to shoot Robert was Greybeard and that was over a fight they had over Barnyard\u2026who\u2019s the baby.\u201d Grey\u2019s the eldest and BY\u2019s the baby and there\u2019s 11 more of them in between\u2026.betcha also didn\u2019t know that all 3 of them boys are my brothers?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrothers? yours? waitafuckinminute! Didn\u2019t you tell me yesterday that Robert owns the bar and alla you? What the fuck is up with this place? Can\u2019t I get a straight answer outta anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosie laughs at me again\u2026\u201dyer quick on the uptake little girl. Robert does own us\u2026he\u2019s now the \u2018father\u2019 in our family\u2026at least he is since Grey left us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk\u2026Grey\u2019s yer oldest brother and Robert lands somewhere in between, and he gets to treat you like he does cos Grey left?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight again\u201d she says as she takes another pull on her beer. \u201cOnce our last daddy died and it became clear that Momma wasn\u2019t gonna be able to keep us all together we started working towards makin the family some money\u2026each in our own way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d I harrumphed, \u201cif my brother tried to turn me out to flat back, he\u2019d find himself sitting in a puddle of his own blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBe careful with your mouth little girl, don\u2019t let it take you places that you have no knowledge of.\u201d Rosie said as she set down her beer bottle, rose and walked out of the garage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

the sound: Seals & Crofts \u2013 Hummingbird, SuperTramp \u2013 Fools Overture, Rory Gallagher \u2013 Secret Agent, the Beatles \u2013 Free as a Bird, Tom Waits \u2013 Waltzing Matilda, Bruce Springsteen \u2013 Streets of Philadelphia Round about the time I remember … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":6871,"menu_order":54,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7196","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7196"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7197,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7196\/revisions\/7197"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyzwmn9444.live-website.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}