Washing my hands, I smile at myself in the mirror and dry my hands before unsheathing the knife from my pocket and start for the box.
The tape on the box is insane. I love that woman; she always knows how to make me smile. Finally getting through the tape, I see a letter.
Etienne,
Bonjour mon petit-fills préféré. Je sais que vous êtes heureux, dans le Michigan, avec ce groupe de jeunes hommes adorables, mais je sais aussi que certaines friandises canadiennes vous manquent.
Nous vous aimons mon petit bijou, soyez en sécurité et venez bientôt nous rendre visite.
amour
grand- mère
I tear up at her scribbled writing and take note to phone her after church to say thank you and chat a bit.
I place the letter to the side and smile wide, inside are four huge containers of Tim Hortons coffee grounds, coffee whitener, sugar cubes, five cans of poutine gravy and ten bags of flash frozen cheese curds.
I look at my watch and realize I have about thirty minutes before church starts, quickly I turn the hot water on and start to prep the coffee pot.
I fill the pot with boiling hot water and put it in the opening, then place a filter in and scoop six heaping scoops of the coffee in, then add a pinch of salt and start the machine.
Then I go in search of the paper cups I found and set them to the side. I know that I have a ten-minute wait so I sit down on the bed, light up a cigar and turn on Michael Bublé. I get lost in the taste of the cigar and Michael singing Haven't met you yet so the beep from the machine catches me off guard.
This is where the science of making the perfect Canadian cup of coffee comes in. Two spoonful’s of coffee whitener, four cubes of sugar and percolated coffee go into the cups, one for me and one for my Prez.
"Tabernac, c'est chaud." I jump back and shake my hand, before searching for the two leather cup holders my cousin made for me. I trust Prez will put it back in my room when he is done.
My thighs start to itch and I know that I need to shift within the next few days or my mental health will start to deteriorate and I'll slowly lose the hair on my legs. Do you know what a Lynx with no hair on his legs looks like? Yeah, neither do I.
The last time I shifted I almost got caught by a woman and her son. I was frolicking in the mud that had accumulated after the rain storms and almost rolled right into their path.
I have to admit that she intrigued me, her scent was sweet and reminded me of being home and sitting at Grand-mémère 's breakfast table while she served pancakes with warm syrup.
My stomach starts to growl and I decide that I’ll hit the local grocery store for pancakes and real maple syrup for dinner. I love having breakfast for dinner.
I pick up the coffees and head to church.
"Prez, here it is, the only way to have a coffee." I hand him the cup and smirk as he smiles and breathes in deep.
"Black?" The prospect at the door states causing everyone to moan and me to turn my head.
"Tabernac prospect who the fuck told you to open your mouth? Double, double is the proper Canadian way to drink a Tim Hortons coffee. Next you'll tell me that maple syrup gets served cold and in plastic containers." I shake my head and sit to the left of my Prez about two spots down.
The prez bangs the gavel and brings the meeting to order.
"Mayor Burns is up to his old tricks again. He called me this morning and told me that a developer has asked about our land at the far end of the lot. You know the one where the hills collect the most snow during the winter and turn into a mudslide after the rain. He has told me that the bid came in at close to a whopping thirty million dollars. I told him to fuck off, that the land has been in the hands of the Dark Leopards MC for centuries, and money would never change that." We all bang the table and chant fuck the mayor.
We discuss what our next plan of action is and what our next mission is, before the Prez calls the meeting on account of his stomach begging for food.
I head out of the clubhouse, and straight for the grocery store, time for blueberry pancakes and syrup or maybe blueberry bannock with maple syrup dip. I will decide when I get to the store and see what they have in stock.
241
Viktoria
"Good Afternoon Mrs. Jenkins, I hope you found everything today." I smile at the eighty-year-old woman in front of me as the door chimes go off.
"I always find everything and then some." She starts to giggle and turns her head to look at the door.
I start to scan her groceries as I wonder if I found a better job, would me and Rhys be better off. Oh hell who am I kidding any job not at this place would be a better damn job.
I’m so lost in my own thoughts that when Mrs. Jenkins put her hand on mine it made me jump
"I am sorry dear, you were starting to mumble and cry." She leans in and uses her hand to wipe the tear on my check before she continues, "no matter how hard a battle you're fighting in your head, never let them see you cry."
I smile at her and place my hand against hers. She doesn't know how important those words are.
"Thank you, I really needed to hear that." I smile at her and finish off her order.
There are people that shop in this store that I truly adore, they go out of their way to make you smile and then
