Trouble in a Tank Top

“Oli!” Lauren shouted, going in through the kitchen door with a scorn on her face. “I need that order for table six right now-“

There was a baby’s laugh followed by Oliver’s deep, but sot voice. Sitting on one of the back counters is a small baby dressed in a pale yellow onesie with a large orange octopus embroidered on the front. Beside Oliver stands a strawberry blonde woman with a soft motherly smile on her face. Lauren frowns.

“Oliver?”

The large man turns and wears a large smile that shows off his teeth.

“Hey, Laure. Come meet Alex.”

The baby looks away from Oliver for just a moment to Lauren, and the baby’s bright brown eyes and tuff of dark hair makes Lauren try to determine just who the baby resembles. The mother, though, with her light hair and light eyes and full lips with a smile that Lauren could pinpoint in any crowd-

“Ande?”

“Hey, Lauren.”

The smooth soft voice causes Lauren to rush forward and embrace her old friend and former co-worker.

“Oh my god, Ande. You had your baby already.”

Ande laughs and nods. Her eyes say she’s tired but the laugh wrinkles and glow on her face says she’s never been happier.

“How’s Tony? Where is he?” Lauren asks, pulling away from Ande. There is slight worry in her voice and Ande smiles down at her.

“He’s good. Visiting his family right now.”

Lauren nods and lets out a deep breath. “That’s good. I’m so happy to see you again.”

“Oh!” Ande says softly and goes digging in the diaper bag hanging from her shoulder. “I wanted to give you both something.” She hands them each a white square envelope with their names written on the front in clean calligraphy.

“What is it?” Lauren asks with furrowed brows as she opens the envelope. She pulls out a soft cream colored card. When opened, a pile of crisp bills falls into her hands along with an invitation to a wedding. Ande takes Alex into her arms while Oliver opens his own card.

“Tony and I are getting married in Spain in a few months. There’s enough cash for the both of you to get a new outfit, a plane ticket, and about a week’s worth of income needed to pay you both and close the shop for the week I want you guys there with us.”

Ande gives them one last smile, before she turns to Lauren. “And I’ve chosen you as my maid of honor, so you’ll get your dress when I see you in Spain.” Just like that, she disappears out the back door of the diner and into the San Diego sun. She was like a wandering soul in the wind over the sea with no land in sight to settle on.

SURVIVE

Ande and Tony stand beside each other as they wave Mike and Frenchi away. The happily just-married couple drives away in Mike’s shiny white Cadillac that reflects the bright Las Vegas lights around them. Frenchi tosses her bouquet of violet colored roses to the small crowd of friends and family that have gathered to wave them goodbye and into a happy marriage.

Tony catches the bouquet and his face turns a shade of pink under his tan skin. He laughs awkwardly as he pulls at the collar of his dress shirt and hands the flowers to Ande. She laughs and kisses his warm cheek before she’s pulled off with the rest of Frenchi’s bridesmaids for a quick picture from the photographer

Mike got his Las Vegas wedding and Frenchi got her big, white one.

“Alright, momma bear, I need you in the middle,” the photographer says as he waits for the females to get lined up and situated comfortably. Ande laughs, again, at the quick nickname but follows his orders. She’s three weeks from her due date. (And anyone at the wedding that she was glowing more than the blushing bride.)

After a few quick shots the photographer lets them go and grabs the groomsmen for their turn. Ande quickly straightens Tony’s bowtie as he takes off the thick framed glasses that Ande always teased him about looking like a nerd when he wore them.

“You look beautiful,” Tony tells her, kissing her cheek sweetly and rests his tattooed hands on either side of her large belly. The lavender dress makes her tan skin look natural and her brown hair with its red highlights curls around her smiling face.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Tony,” she replies and pushes him away lightly by his shoulders to go over to the others waiting for the photographer to take the pictures. He grins and gives her one last kiss before walking over to Vic, who was obviously Mike’s best man, Jaime and Mike’s older half-brother, Frank. The four all stand, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders and all smiling at the flashing camera. Then, they all reached down and pulled up their pants leg. Each one was wearing a different color scheme of Mike’s infamous Mary Jane leaf socks.

The girls, and pretty much every other guest still standing around, fell over themselves laughing, and Ande grabbed at her belly as the baby kicked her for the sudden movement. Jaime’s were black with red leaves; Vic’s purple with yellow leaves; Frank’s blue with white leaves; and Tony’s were bright green with black leaves.

The photographer waved them off with a laugh and checked over the pictures he just took.

“Thanks, Adam! See you around.” Vic calls before walking over to the group of the quickly growing family.

“Vic knows the photographer?” Ande asks as she wraps her arms around Tony’s waist when he walks back over to her.

“Yeah. They were friends back when Vic was in college. I think they were roommates or lived on the same hall or something.”

Ande wears a slight frown. “Vic went to college?”

Tony nods. “Yeah. Got an Associates in Graphic Design before dropping out.”

“Really?” Ande mumbles as Tony leads her away and over to the sleek black truck with the turtle sticker on the bottom left corner of the back windshield. Tony nods again and kisses the top of her head, putting his glasses back on her nose. This conversation makes Ande think back on the dusty degree she has sitting at her mother’s house.

Those long four years of stuffing her face in a book to get a biology degree seemed like seconds compared to the last year and a half with Tony in her life. The couple climbs into the truck, Ande needing help from Tony to do so, and it clamors off into the Vegas traffic before heading to the California state line. Ande doses off and on through the ride to the mountains toward the safe house cabin.

When Ande hit the end of her second trimester, the Los Ladrones agreed with the FBI to retire away their robberies and return ten percent of the money they had stolen. They had six months to be out of the States and living in another country, never to return to US soil. Tony and Ande were just waiting for their child to be born before taking any big moves out of the country.

Ande visited her parents but as soon as they found out who the father of her “bastard” child was, she was no longer welcomed in the Edwards’ household. Ande did not complain, though, and agreed she would no longer hold the Edwards last name, and would quickly change it to the Perry family. Tony’s mother welcomed her with open arms (and a quick smack to Tony’s head.)

Things were changing for Tony and Ande. There was no more small apartments and diner jobs. No more date nights and days on the California beaches.

No more searching…

“Ande?”

She opens her eyes and looks to Tony. Most of the snow had melted around the cabin, but there were still piles of it in random pockets in the yard of the cabin. It was maybe or three in the morning, something that brought nostalgia back, reminding her of her first visit to the cabin. All the yellow police tape was gone and the front door was back intact, again.

“C’mon, sweetie,” Tony says softly, taking her hand and helping Ande down out of the truck. Ande leans against Tony as they go into the front door. They walk up the stairs and into the first room on the left. Not much has changed, if anything. The sheets are the same color and the door to the connected bathroom is open with the light off.

Tony helps Ande change out of her lavender bridesmaid gown, and into a large old shirt that she’s been sleeping in. It is soft, thin cotton and helps Ande with her heat flashes and keeping warm during her cold sweats. Tony gets in the bed first, only in his boxer-briefs, and Ande slowly slides under the sheet with him, lying on her back to sleepily stare at the ceiling.

The two lay together with Tony resting his head on her chest as he rubs her belly, the shirt pushed up just under her breasts just so he can trace every stretch mark and feel their child move around under Ande’s smooth skin.

“Ande,” Tony whispers softly. She feels his warm breath and the baby kicks against the spot. Ande hums, acknowledging him. “What caused this scar?”

Ande feels her throat close up as Tony’s calloused fingers trace the jagged scar that rest just under her navel. His touch doesn’t hurt her but the memory does. The pain, the fear, the blood…

The emptiness felt in her arms and her heart for so many years.

She sits up quickly and takes half breaths, almost causing her to hyperventilate. Tony sits up too and pulls her hair off her neck to give Ande her space. She grabs Tony’s free hand and grips it tight. Tony doesn’t say anything.

“This baby…” Ande says, her voice cracking on her words. She presses his palm to her stomach before looking up at him. The pain is evident in her eyes. “Is not my first baby.”

SURVIVE

"I'm a survivor, I'm not gon` give up!" Ande sings loudly, laughing in between verses.

"I'm not gon` stop, I'm gon` work harder!" Jaime sings back, taking a shot from his Jameson bottle before singing the next verse. "I'm a survivor, I'm gon` make it!"

"I will survive, keep on survivin`!" Ande finishes the song, and the group laughs as they also clap to the duo. Ande goes over to the bowl where they had names written on a piece of paper. She and Jaime pull out the names, along with two slips with different song titles on them.

"Okay, Vic and Casey!" Ande says before looking at the songs and laughing. "Beat It or Pour Some Sugar On Me?"

"Beat It!" Vic calls before Casey can get a word in and jumps up to the computer to pull up the karaoke music for the song. Ande nestles back in her spot between Tony and Mike, curling into the former's side while the duo started on their song.

It was days like these that Ande felt like she was beginning to fall in love with Tony. She got along with his friends so well, and she mentally questioned why he had not introduced her to them sooner.

"Your hair is still wet," Tony whisper in her ear, causing her to press her ear against her shoulder as his breath tickled the soft skin. He gives a breathy laugh and tightens his arm around her waist subtly. They had spent a majority of their afternoon out by the Fuentes Brothers' pool, followed by barbecue and now some drunken fun moments. Her skin felt warm from the soft tan it got after smothering her skin in sun screen, for the fear of going to work the next morning looking like a lobster.

"Sorry," Ande replies softly and moves her hair from one shoulder to the other, letting the middle clump of it that's still dame try to air out and dry. Tony just gives another breathy laugh and rests his head on top of hers as Vic and Casey come to an end of their duet.

They were the last of the group, and Mike disappears for a few seconds only to appear with five cut out mustaches and two large bottles; one of tequila and the other with whiskey.

"Mustache drinking game!" Mike yells and goes flying toward the couch to reclaim is spot before Casey can climb from the floor to the open seat. Casey grabs the mustaches from Mike and goes on to attach them to the large television screen, letting Frenchi put in the movie.

"Really, French? The Hangover?" Vic snorts out a laugh, and the rest of the group chuckles along. Frenchi gives a smug smirk before taking her seat in Mike's lap and pressing play as the menu comes up once all the ads are fast forward through.

"Pick a mustache," Tony tells Ande. She looks at the five and then whispers,

"The one in the middle."

"You can't have that one. That's mine," Tony jokingly tells her, poking her side. Ande jumps and pokes him back, touching bare skin since the arms of his tank top were cut deep.

"Fine then, the one in the top right corner."

"Can't have that one either," he says with a wide grin, putting his glasses back on the bridge of his nose. Ande rolls her eyes and gives a loud sigh. Mike hushes her and waves his large hand in her face. Ande swats it away before leaning over to Tony.

"You're about to get me in trouble."

"I'm always in trouble," Tony whispers back, pecking her cheek with a grin.

Ande rolls her eyes again. "Yeah. You're nothing but trouble in a tank top."

Notes

Sequel coming soon! Keep an eye out for it!

(side note: Mike's socks, I found some! They're sold by
Stoner Supply Co. They're called HUF socks. only $12.
got a pair for my roomie and me!)