Flashback: Made her bones ...

When Jessie and I walked into the club I announced to the room;

“Twice the cookies today, Mike!  In fact, cookies for everybody, my little girl just made her bones!”

The crew and the hang-arounds all cheered and applauded, and even some of the regulars clapped.  Leon, Patrick, and Cheech all came forward to kneel and hug Jessie and kiss her on both cheeks in the Italian way.  Then they ushered her to a chair at the crew table as Mike came out with a heaping plate of cookies and Jessie’s usual frosty glass of milk - Mike had taken to keeping a glass in the freezer for her so her milk was extra cold as the weather got warmer.

The guys waited until Jessie had her first sip of milk then begged her to tell the story.  With a milk moustache, Jessie began by saying that Morgan and her had been on the playground when Rickie had come up to them and said that horrible thing to Morgan that made her cry.

“What did the mutt say?” Cheech asked.

“Yeah, his exact words.” Patrick said.

Jessie looked at me standing at the counter, sipping a coffee, and I nodded, so she turned back to them and repeated word for word what Rickie had said to Morgan that made her cry.

Cheech made a fist and bit his knuckle and made a painful sound.

“The stronzo!” said Cheech.

“Infamia!” said Leon.

“Ach!  What a bum!” said Patrick, “What did you do?”

“I made a fist back here” Jessie demonstrated but putting her arm back and to her side and making a fist, “And I swung as hard as I could up like this.” she said as she pushed her fist up and in front of her, “Because he’s bigger than us.”

“And?” Cheech asked.

“Pow!  Right in the nose!” Jessie said, getting into the theatrics of telling the story.

“Was there blood?” Leon asked.

“Gallons!” Jessie said with feigned fierceness, “They had to take him to the hospital because it wouldn’t stop.”

The crew laughed.

“And!” I said loudly, “When she was pinched, she didn’t rat.”

More laughter.

“What did you tell the Principal when she tried to get you to talk?” I asked her.

“I went like this.” Jessie said, crossing her arms and making her angry face, “I’m not saying a god-damned word until my dad gets here.”

The crew was up on their feet again laughing and jostling her good-naturedly.  It was good to see Jessie basking in the adoration of the crew, knowing it was all in fun and seeing it as the rough acceptance of her adopted family.

When every one had settled down, and we all had a celebratory cookie, Jessie asked Cheech;

“What does “making bones” mean?”

“Ah, when some guy has to go because he’s nothing but trouble for the family, and another guy - you know - pushes his button, he turns into a pile of bones.  So when you do that, you ‘make your bones’.” he explained.

“Have you made your bones?” she asked Cheech.

“I refuse to answer on account that my testimony may incriminate me.” Cheech held up his hand like he was pleading the fifth like an American gangster, and we all laughed.

“Has my dad made his bones?” Jessie asked.

And there it was.

"Millennial Gangsters"