Big Poppa

5.



Early. Too early, for a Saturday. Delwyn didn’t go out to the pub, as he had planned, but it was still too early. He showered and dressed in his work clothes –jeans and a long sleeved shirt– but couldn’t hold any breakfast yet. He would pick up some coffee and breakfast on his way to the garage.



It appeared it was far too early. For the first time that week, the door was closed when Delwyn arrived. He locked his bike and sat down on a low fence, to drink his coffee. Now, if only Big Poppa hadn’t decided to let him down…



Big Poppa’s truck was big. Delwyn stared at the huge tires, and winched when the man honked his horn. Loud too. “You know what they say, don’t you?” he smirked, getting up from his fence. “About men in big cars?” He had to look up, when Poppa climbed out and stood in front of him. “Hum. Good morning.”



“Good morning, pretty boy. I see you brought breakfast and a good mood… Shall we get inside? Then you can tell me all about what they say about men with big cars.” Poppa opened the door and let Delwyn in. He walked straight to the canteen, to make coffee.



“I brought croissants and buns…” Delwyn followed to the man, putting the bag on the sink. “Would you like some?”



“Always,” grinned Big Poppa, tapping his belly. “Thank you… Wanna sit?”



“Sure…” Delwyn sat down, waiting for Poppa to join him. “So you didn’t want to go fishing, did you?”



“I was tempted.” Poppa sat on the chair carefully. It looked flimsy, under the big man. “But I didn’t want to let you down, did I? I mean, you were looking forward to today, weren’t you?”



“Oh, yeah…” Delwyn yawned empathically. “I couldn’t wait to get here.”



Laughing, Poppa picked a croissant from the paper bag on the table, and ate it with a few large bites. “It’s nice to be here when it’s all quiet,” he rumbled, wiping the crumbs from his face. He took a bun. “When there are no annoying guys buzzing around me.”



“I believe they let you in peace though,” said Delwyn. He quickly took a bread roll himself, before they would be all gone. “They actually seem quite scared of you…”



“Scared, eh?” Poppa laughed again. Delwyn didn’t hear him laugh the whole week, but today he seemed in a good mood. It was a deep, rumbling sound, like an earthquake. “Coffee?”



“I’ll get it,” said Delwyn. The chair might collapse if Poppa stood up. “I didn’t get you a new cup yet…”



“That’s okay. This one does the job nicely. Don’t worry about it. The staff gave it to me about a year ago. I hated it… I bet it was a joke, but I pretended to be very fond of it. I didn’t grant them their pleasure. Thank you, love…”



“Welcome.” Delwyn ignored the ‘love’. He sat down, and continued on his breakfast. “I first thought you had a daughter, who gave it to you,” he admitted. “With your name Poppa and all.”



Poppa laughed again, short this time, and shook his head. “Nah, no kids. Never wanted them either. Do you?”



“What, want to have kids? Oh, I don’t know. I’m too young to think of that now. As long as you need women to get them for you, or have to adopt, I think I’ll let it pass.”



“Fair enough. I think I had the same motivation.” Big Poppa wasn’t about to go to work yet, and leaned back in the chair with his coffee. He looked up when there was a knock on the metal door, and groaned. “There goes the neighborhood.”



“Will there be others today?” Delwyn asked surprised. “I thought we would be alone?”



“Yeah. Me too. Go see who it is, and be careful. No use to pretend we’re not here, with my big car outside…”



With a chuckle, as Poppa was apparently still bothered about his previous remark about men in big cars, Delwyn hurried over to the door at the other side of the garage. “Who is it?”



“It’s Mark! Let me in, I know you’re in there!”



Oh wow, now how could he have guessed? Delwyn rolled his eyes, and unlocked the door. “Gee, you caught us, didn’t you,” he mumbled.



Mark grinned a goofy grin. “I saw Poppa’s car outside, so I knew he was in!” he stated proudly.



“Yeah, and you heard me asking who you were! Well done, Mark!” If Mark had been simple, it wouldn’t be as bad. But the mechanic was supposed to be intelligent, in charge of the group, and he was just plain dumb. “Poppa is in the canteen. We were having coffee.”



“Is he over the mug yet?” Mark waited for Delwyn to come with him. “We had to be very careful with it, you know. One chip would mean broken limbs… And you just smashed it on the floor! I’m amazed you’re still walking.”



“Guess I’m blessed,” said Delwyn. Apparently he was blessed indeed. So far, Big Poppa hadn’t harmed him at all.



The big man looked up when Mark stepped in, and growled. “What the fuck are you doing here?”



“I thought you might need some help today,” grinned Mark. “Numnuts here may not be able to be of much use, so… Any coffee left?”



Big Poppa glowered at Mark, and put his mug down slowly. “Numnuts?” he rumbled. “You called Delwyn numnuts?”



Even Delwyn backed away, when Poppa arose of his chair. It seemed he kept on rising, bigger than before, and the pale blue eyes were shooting fire. “Uhm… Pop, calm down, it’s alright…”



“Alright? Alright?!” Poppa barked the word, his biceps flexing. A thick vein at the side of his neck began to pound. “Get the fuck out of here before I break your ugly skinny neck, you moron! No one will ever call my pretty boy names, you hear me? Get out!”



Delwyn had enough sense left to jump out of the way, when Mark dodged out of the canteen. Poppa followed him, roaring like a bear, teeth bare in a ferocious grin. He was remarkably fast, for such a large man. Mark reached the door in time, but it was locked…



“Poppa!” Delwyn screamed from the top of his lungs, followed by a loud curse, as he ran towards the door. “Calm down! Please, Poppa…”



Mark stood against the metal, looking like a deer caught in headlights. His chest rose with every deep gulp for air, his face pale, staring up at Big Poppa. The man towered above him, still growling. “Apologize,” rumbled Poppa. Mark didn’t respond fast enough, and he punched his fist against the metal door, leaving a deep dent. “Apologize!”



Mark trembled on his legs and tears rolled down his cheeks, as he was clearly fighting to stay conscious. “S-sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I am!” he squeaked quickly.



“Do you believe him, pretty boy?” asked Poppa over his shoulder.



“Yes!” Delwyn said, nodding wildly. “He’s peeing his pants, dammit, yes I believe him! Now calm down!”



“Alright. Apologies accepted.” Poppa retracted, looking calm as ever. “You’re lucky my pretty was around, Mark. Now leave. I don’t want to see your ugly face until Monday. And you will be in time, understand?”



With another squeak, Mark turned to unlock the door, fiddling with the keys. Only when Delwyn helped him, the door unlocked, and he ran out as if the devil was on his heels. Delwyn followed him with his eyes, and then locked the door again. “What the hell was that all about, Poppa?” He was trembling a bit, and had to lean against the wall. “Man…” he sighed.



“Meh. The fact I’m nice to you doesn’t mean I’m nice to everyone…” Poppa shrugged, and walked back to the canteen. He grunted as he sat down, and picked up his mug.



Delwyn didn’t sit down. He stood in the doorway, observing the man, and slowly shook his head. “I’m not in the mood for work,” he said quietly. “Let’s go fishing instead.” That way he would be able to think about everything Poppa had said, in this short, scary moment.



“What a good idea…” Grinning, Poppa got up again. “We’ll take my car and go to my house at the lake. You don’t have to bring anything.”



God, the man was big… Delwyn looked up when Poppa stood close by, and repressed a shiver. “You sure you have a fishing rod for me?” he asked, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice.



“Fishing rods, toothbrush… All you need. Let’s go.”



Toothbrush? Why would he need a— “Okay,” Delwyn heard himself say. “It will be fun…” And interesting. Oh God.



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