Quinn sighed as Jean enjoyed Rachel’s dig at Quinn. “This is about my missing Easter Sunday dinner, isn’t it? It was my weekend on duty. I can’t say I’m sorry, but my Mommy wants me home for an Easter Egg Hunt.”
“We didn’t have an Easter Egg Hunt,” Rachel corrected him. “We had a nice dinner together with our actual family. I told you not to join the Marine Reserves. We have plenty of money to send you to college without scholarships from military branches of the service. Now, whenever the crazies start killing each other overseas, I have to worry about you getting sent at a moment’s notice.”
“He’s serving his country, Rach,” Nick pointed out. “Be proud of Quinn, and quit nagging the crap out of him.”
“Oh…oh hell no, you did not tell me to stay out of my own son’s business, Nick McCarty! That would mean war has been declared.” Rachel tied her hair back, popped open a couple of the top buttons on her blouse, and pulled the blouse out of her jeans with fists up. “Mamma goin’ ta’ kick your ass!”
By this time, coupled with her aggressive movements toward Nick, and wardrobe adjustment, Nick was not the only one enjoying the show. He backed away as Rachel made feinting moves with her fists. “May I remind you, you’re still working the diner even though we have more money than you can spend? You were proud of Jean for doing a stint in the Marines.”
Rachel straightened from her fighting stance. “That was because Jean was too dumb for college, and they didn’t have knife throwing scholarships.”
“What?!”
Rachel went into her fighting stance. “C’mon, sissy-girl, Momma got your bad attitude right here.”
“Dad? What the hell is this?” Jean gestured at her posing Mom. “Is she on drugs?”
“She’s been watching that new reality show ‘Trailer Trash Mamma’,” Nick explained. “Now, every time she wants to act out, we get ‘Trailer Trash Momma’. If I don’t have her tea by the bedside in time, I get a dose of Momma interspersed throughout my day.”
“Oh no you didn’t,” Rachel spun on Nick again, hands on hips this time. “Did you just disrespect Momma in front of her troglodyte children? I don’t think so. I’ll open up a can of kick your balls into yo’ nose, Nicky Pooh.”
“Troglodytes? Really?” Jean also turned on her Dad. “Do something, Nicky Pooh. Can’t you do anything with her?”
Nick shrugged. “You bunch are lucky. At home, she’ll do it naked if I cross her before her shower.”
“Ewww…ewww…ewww…ewww!” Jean danced around with a disgusted look on her face. “Too much information, Nicky Pooh! Quinn… you baby blue Marine… say something!”
“Don’t look at me. I’m just Dad’s little sock puppet. Besides, she may be mental, and start stripping into Big Momma.”
That dig jolted Rachel out of her humorous acting out. “Did you just say Big Momma? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Did you call me fat?”
“Uh oh,” Quinn said, walking over to put an arm around Rachel’s shoulders. She tried to attack him, but he simply picked her up, and began walking from their workout room to the stairs. “Uncle Gus and Uncle John are bored to tears, Mom. The match is over. Let’s go to the deck. It’s clear and there’s a full moon. I want to hear about this new job Jean wants to take on for Phil Salvatore. That she doesn’t want to collaborate with the love of her life is very curious.”
“What?!” Jean ran at Quinn from the rear as he climbed the stairs with Rachel. Nick caught her in mid leap with Gus and John enjoying the McCarty show as they followed along. “Let me go, Dad! I’m helping Big Momma kick the Baby Blue Marine’s ass!”
“Not happening, Viper. Settle down. We need to discuss this Salvatore case. You have my attention now, and you didn’t need to challenge me to a duel to get it. I believe you figured on making me tap out tonight. Is that why Payaso and Kabong were invited early?”
Jean went limp. Nick released her. “Maybe. Quinn hasn’t made you tap out yet, and he’s three times as strong as you are. I wanted to be the first. I thought tonight was the night.”
“It was a good show,” Gus said. “I thought you had Muerto on the ropes, and the Big Momma show was worth the price of admission by itself.”
“Very amusing,” John added. “It must be very entertaining watching that TV show with Big Momma. You’ve been keeping that gem under wraps, Muerto.”
“My ears are buzzing,” Rachel called over her shoulder. “If I hear any more Big Momma jokes, Momma gonna’ punish!”
“I thought it was just a phase she was going through,” Nick admitted. “I didn’t know she planned to adopt it as a life style change. It has made life interesting lately. The only problem about the entertainment is once she gets in character, it’s hard as hell to get her out. Are you done yet, Momma?”
“Maybe. Make this big ape put me down.”