It Was Always You

Ch. 2 Observations

Gemma watched as the little grey Mazda pulled into the SAMCRO compound. She raised an eyebrow at the cheers the sight of it got from the boys working in the garage. Angela wasn't any kind of smoke show; she was average looking at best. She didn't know what the boys were so excited about. The undertaker got out of the car dressed in rather formal attire. A pretty navy blouse tucked into black slacks with short black heels. Her dark hair was braided away from her face in a chunky braid, long ponytail hanging perfectly straight just a little below her shoulders. She must've come from work because she looked professionally dressed, and if Gemma hadn't known her, she'd definitely think she was some kind of fed.

Angela walked around the nose of the car, leaning into the passenger seat and pulling out two large trays of what appeared to be sandwiches. That was why the boys cheered her arrival; she'd brought food. Juice jogged over to her, a slight skip in his step. He took the trays from her, leaning in to give her a sweet kiss. The cheesy grins on their faces made Gemma roll her eyes at their puppy love. They handed out the sandwiches to the guys. Most of them sang her praises in return, Jax even stopping to peck her cheek.

The SAMCRO guys went to sit together at the tables in front of the clubhouse, but Angela and Juice grabbed their own lunches and went to sit on the edge of the ring. Angela angling her body towards him, Juice leaning in to kiss her one more time before digging into his sandwich. The two of them leaned into each other as they started eating, their conversation fluid, easy. She'd been like that with John and Clay once. At separate times, of course, but she remembered that feeling. The joy that came with being with the person you loved most. The willingness to do anything just to spend a few extra minutes with them. Things like buy whole trays of sandwiches for all of his buddies all to have lunch with him. Gemma missed that feeling, those moments. They were few and far between now, but every so often, Clay stepped up his game.

Like at that moment when he was heading towards the office with a sandwich in one hand and a to-go container in another. She wondered if Juice and Angela had inspired him to come spend some time with her. "Scoping out the undertaker?" he asked as he entered the room, a sandwich in his hand. He set a plastic to-go container on her desk along with an Ice-Tea. "She got you a salad. Said Mario over at the deli told her it was your favorite."

Gemma raised an eyebrow as she peered through the clear plastic top. It looked just like her favorite Mediterranean salad with the dressing on the side and everything just like she liked it. She had to admit, she was little impressed with Angela for thinking of her. For asking the deli owner if she had a typical order. Even more so for not going in there to hand deliver the food. It almost seemed like she actually did it to be nice, not for any type of credit. "Nice of her," she commented, opening the ice-tea bottle.

"Uh-huh," Clay answered, sitting on the couch with a grunt. "Juice is real sweet on her."

"Oh I can see that," she replied with a smirk. "Has been for some time."

He cocked his head to the side, blue eyes narrowing. "You don't like her."

"I don't not like her," Gemma corrected, pressing her lips together. "I don't trust her. Playing both sides is dangerous for us. Her ex almost killed Juice in his little quest for revenge. Who's to say it won't happen again?"

Clay considered her words for a moment. "She's Hap's cousin. If he trusts her, I ain't gonna push it. We need him. Plus, we just bought that new oven for the funeral home. She's useful."

She'd been shocked when she heard the club was going in on a new cremator for Dubrowski's. Apparently, it'd been Juice's idea. One of the first things he'd brought up when he'd been allowed to sit at the table with them. He'd said if they helped pay for it, they could use it as a cleaner way to make their mistakes disappear when needed. It was a great idea, but it seemed a little advanced for Juice. "You really think it was Juice's idea, or did the undertaker pull some strings for that?"