“I’m at this party, Dad,” Donald said, but Charles could barely hear him for the background noise.
“You’re where?” Charles asked.
“I’m at this house party on Lunden Road,” Donald said. “I’m here with Ash.”
“You guys okay?”
“We’re okay. But the thing is, I told her we had to go, but she won’t come on. I hate to call you, but she won’t listen to me.”
“You mean to tell me you’re calling me because Ashley won’t leave a party?”
Zim looked at Victor and shook his head. “It must be Donnie,” he said in a low voice.
“It’s not just that,” Donald said into the phone. “They’re doing drugs at this party. And I mean the hard stuff, Dad.”
Charles was concerned now. “I know you and Ash aren’t participating.”
“I’m not,” Donald said.
“Ash better not be either,” Charles said sharply.
“I don’t know what she’s doing. She’s real slick about it. But it’s a bad scene over here, and I don’t know how to handle it. I would have called Tony or Bobby, but Ash isn’t afraid of either one of them. She’s afraid of Brent, but you know how he is. If I call Brent, he’ll arrest everybody and me and Ash right along with them. You’re the only one I could call.”
Charles could hear the distress in his son’s voice, and although they were adults and could do whatever they wanted to do, he knew he had to go. Ashley being fun-lover was one thing. He could try to dissuade her from living that kind of lifestyle, but in the end it was her life, her body. But Ashley doing drugs was something altogether different. That was a scary thing. That was not going to happen. “Give me the address,” he said. “I’m on my way.”
He arrived at the house party less than fifteen minutes later. There were so many cars that Charles had to park his Jaguar near the end of the street and walk to the party scene. And Donald was not exaggerating. The party was on a secluded street, at a grand estate, and was out of control with partiers. Donald looked flustered as he met his father at the end of the driveway.
“Thanks for coming, Dad,” he said.
Charles gave his son a hard look. He knew he suffered from Depression and was on medication. He wondered if he had taken his meds today.
But Donald disabused him of that thought immediately. “I’m not overreacting, Dad,” he said. “I took my meds. I’m just concerned about Ash.”
Charles nodded. Donald and Ash were close, and looked out for each other. They also were the two he often worried about the most. Carly was younger, and Bonita was his baby, but both of them seemed to have more common sense than Donald and Ash ever displayed. “Where is she?” he asked.
“Follow me,” Donald said, and escorted him inside the house.
And Donald was right about the drugs too. Charles saw cocaine, he saw pills, he saw drugs he didn’t even know the names of. And his daughter was caught up in this scene? As Donald escorted him up the stairs to a bedroom that he believed Ashley had entered, Charles couldn’t get to her fast enough. And he was getting angrier with every step he took.
Inside that bedroom, Ashley and a young black man whose name she didn’t even know, was making out hard. She had her shirt unbuttoned and he was sucking her breasts. By the time Charles opened the bedroom door without knocking, the boy had sucked her breasts so hard that they were wet and aching.
Charles was not stunned by what he saw. She was old enough. But he also saw what looked like ecstasy pills of some sort on the nightstand. Drugs. That was the problem.
Ashley, however, saw the problem as soon as the bedroom door opened and Charles and Donald walked in. She jumped out of bed with shock in her eyes. “Daddy!” she said in a stunned voice, closing her blouse.
The boy, stunned too, jumped out of bed also, with his dick completely aroused and his shirt completely off.
Ashley, to his further shock, immediately started crying. “I told him to stop,” she said. The young man and Donald both looked at her. “But he wouldn’t,” she continued. “He tried to rape me, Dad. He was raping me!”
The young man was stunned. “That’s not true!” he yelled. “Why are you lying like that? I didn’t rape her, sir. I didn’t try to rape her! I swear to you, I didn’t try---”
“I know you didn’t,” Charles said firmly.
Ashley was surprised by her father’s response. “What are you saying?” she asked with shock in her voice. “He raped me!”
“Get out of here,” Charles said to the young man. “Now!”
The young man grabbed his shirt, glanced at Ashley in anger, and at his drugs in regret that he couldn’t take them with him, and he left, slamming the door behind him.
And then it was Ashley and Charles, with Donald looking on.
Charles began to approach her. She wanted to back up, but there was nowhere to go. “He tried to rape me, Dad,” Ashley said. “Don’t believe him. He was---”
But she didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence, because Charles slapped her hard across the face. So hard that Ashley’s face snapped sideways by the blow, and Donald grabbed his own face, knowing how much it had to hurt.
Ashley held onto her fast-reddening cheek with pain in her eyes.
“Who do you think you’re dealing with?” Charles asked her, anger in his eyes. “You think I’m some fucking idiot?”
“But it’s true!” Ashley insisted. “He tried to rape---”
“If you tell that lie one more time,” Charles said, “I declare I’ll beat your ass right now. Say it one more time!”
Ashley wanted to tell even taller tales if it would get her out of this tough spot, but she knew her father. She didn’t say a word.
“Button your blouse,” Charles ordered, and looked around the room as she buttoned up.
He walked over to the nightstand and looked at the assembled pills. Then he looked at her. “Did you take any of this shit?” he asked her.
“No,” she said quickly.
“I am going to take you straightaway to the hospital to have them conduct a drug test. If they so much as find any drugs in your system, I will give those results to Brent and have your ass arrested. Now you tell me the truth. Did you take any of these drugs around here?”
Ashley glanced at Donald. “I did some pot,” she said. “But that’s it. I’m no fool.”
“Pot is bad for you too,” Donald said.
“Shut up!” Ashley said to him. “You sound just like Carly.”
“I can’t stand that obnoxious girl,” Donald said, “don’t compare me to her! I’m just trying to look out for you.”
“Let’s go,” Charles said, motioning for her to leave.
“Are you going to tell Ma about any of this?” Ashley asked.
“You mean am I going to have a secret with you and keep it from my wife?” Charles asked. “Hell no! I’m telling her everything. Now get your ass out of here!”
And Ashley, followed by Donald and Charles, walked out. Donald hurried up beside Ashley as they made their way downstairs.
“I told you Daddy don’t play,” he said. “He almost knocked me out cold once. All he did was slap you.”
Ashley pushed him away from her and hurried on down in front of him. She was embarrassed and angry too. She didn’t need his sympathy. Donald, flustered, looked back at his father.
“You did the right thing, son,” he said to Donald.
Donald usually felt better when his father complimented him. But not this time. Ashley was his best friend. She stood by him and understood him better than any human being alive. He hated with a passion being on the outs with her.
CHAPTER NINE
The next day, Jenay sat inside the food court at the Jericho Mall and tried to get Ashley to understand. Carly was seated at the table with them, and Norm Morgan, a gay chef who worked for Jenay at the Inn and was also one of her closest friends, was seated at the table also.
“When will Dad be back in town?” Carly asked.
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“Tomorrow,” Jenay said. “And I can’t wait.”
“He just left this morning,” Carly said. “You can’t possibly miss him already.”
“Wanna bet?” Norm asked. “Love is a crazy thing, girl. And especially established love.”
Carly smiled. “Found you somebody yet, Uncle Norm?”
“Not a soul. But that’s why I pay attention.”
“Getting back to your little party last night, Ashley,” Jenay said. “I know it was Friday night and you wanted to have some fun, but there’s such a thing as going too far.”
“But I didn’t go too far,” Ashley said. “What did Dad tell you?”
“He told me what happened, what do you mean what did he tell me? He told me about your rape claim and the drugs at that party.”
“I didn’t say he raped me,” Ashley said.
Jenay looked sidelong at her. “Are you calling my husband a liar?” she asked.
“I mean, I said it,” Ashley clarified, “but I didn’t mean it.”
“You don’t play around with rape, little girl,” Norm said. “That’s nothing to play with.”
“I told her,” Carly said.
“But Dad still didn’t have to slap me,” Ashley pointed out. “Whether I cried rape or not, he still didn’t have to slap me.”
“You admitted you did drugs,” Jenay said, stunned she just didn’t get it.
“I admitted I did weed,” Ashley corrected her. “That’s all I admitted to. Weed.”
“Weed is still a drug too, child, don’t play with me,” Jenay said.
“But I’m an adult, Ma! Dad treats me like I’m a kid. I should be able to do whatever I want.”
“You’re a Sinatra,” Jenay reminded her. “You carry his name. None of his children are going to do drugs, that’s just a fact. And he means it. He once called the police on Donald and wouldn’t bail him out either. Donald did a year in prison behind that stupid stuff.”
“But Dad slapped me,” Ashley complained. “He slapped me down, Ma!”
“He’d slap me down too,” Jenay said, “if he found out I was doing drugs. Who the hell are you?”
Carly smiled. “He wouldn’t do any such thing like that to you, Ma! Why are you saying that?”
“Because it’s the truth,” both Jenay and Norm said in unison. “You girls better understand your father,” Jenay continued. “He’s no joke. He is not a compromiser, he doesn’t want to hear it, he will leave your ass high and dry if you go around doing stupid stuff. You best believe what I’m telling you. Charles Sinatra does not play. He expects you and Carly to comport yourselves as proud, dignified African-American women.”
“Amen to that!” Norm echoed.
Carly smiled. “What do you mean amen to that, Uncle Norm? You aren’t a proud, dignified African-American woman.”
“No,” Norm admitted, “but I play one in real life.”
Carly, Jenay, and even Ash had to laugh at that.
Further over, inside the Food Court, Willie Stiles sat at a back table. He was staring at Jenay as he talked on his cell phone. He smiled. “Yeah, I see her. She’s wearing a nice little leather jacket with a pair of jeans and some very nice boots. She’s still got that style and that superfine body too. Everybody can’t wear it like Jay can. Only she’s wearing designer clothes these days. None of that off-the-rack shit she used to wear when I knew her.”
“Who cares about her clothing,” the voice on the other end of his cell phone said. “What is she doing?”
“She’s laughing up a storm, that’s what she’s doing. Having fun. The same way she always was. And man is she still beautiful. That Sinatra’s got taste, you hear me?”
“Is she alone?”
“She’s got two pretty young ladies with her, and some fairy. Some older white guy, I don’t know who he is.”
“Your job is to ruin her,” the voice on the other end of his cell phone said. “Simple as that. Take the glow off of her in the eyes of the people of this town and destroy her.”
“I told you I got this. You hired the right one.”
“You don’t understand. I want her tarnished. I want to knock that halo off of her head. You rape her if you have to.”
Willie smiled. “Rape her? You’re joking right?”
“Do what you have to do to shake things up. I know how you’re struggling. I know how you lost that job with the Patriots and you barely can pay your bills. I offered you good money, but you won’t get a dime if she’s left unharmed. Her reputation must be destroyed, or I will count all of your efforts as failure. And you won’t get a dime from me.”
“I got you,” Willie said.
“Now what about her husband? How do you intend to handle him?”
“He’s out of town right now, I found out that much. This is the best time to make my move, and I will. You picked the right one. I’m going to earn that money. I’ll win her over, don’t you worry about that. She has no reason not to trust me. We go way back. That’s why you looked me up. You knew what you were doing, and you won’t be sorry. I’ll rope her in then hang her ass. I got this.”
Then Jenay and her party got up from their table and began leaving, with all of them carrying clothing bags from their day of shopping. Willie stood up. “Gotta go,” he said into the phone. “She’s taking off. Yeah. I’ll be in touch.”
He ended the call, placed his cell phone in his jacket pocket, and began following Jenay as she and her group made it to the Mall’s parking lot. It was a cool September day and Jenay lifted the collar of her jacket against the wind. Carly and Ashley didn’t wear any extra covering and Norm wore a heavy coat in a move Jenay thought earlier was way too much. Now, with the biting wind picking up, Jenay figured Norm had it just about right.
“Jenay!” a voice said behind them and Jenay, Norm, and the girls turned to the sound. Willie was walking behind them. “Jenay Franklin?”
Jenay hadn’t been called that name in almost a decade. But she recognized the man who called her that immediately. She smiled. “Willie?” she asked. “Willie Stiles? I don’t believe it!”
They hurried to each other and gave each other a grand hug.
“Um,” Ashley said as they looked on. “Bet Dad wouldn’t like this scene one bit.”
“What are you talking about?” Carly asked her sister. “They’re old friends.”
“Uh hun,” Ashley responded. “That’s what you say.”
“That’s what it is,” Carly made clear. “You’re just too narrow-minded to see it.”
“Narrow-minded?” Ashley asked, offended. “Get your life, girl. Get your life! Your mind is so narrow you can’t get a thin-ass bicycle through that shit, who are you calling narrow-minded?” But then Willie, while hugging Jenay, winked at Ashley. And she smiled. He was one good looking brother, and she loved good looking brothers.
Carly looked at Norm. “Do you know him?”
“I think I might have met him before, when Jenay and I lived in Boston, but I don’t know him, no.”
Jenay and Willie stopped hugging and looked at each other. “How long has it been?” Jenay asked.
“Oh, man. Years. You were still working on your degree at that Hospitality school in Boston, and I was managing Capani’s still.”
“And I was waitressing there to make ends meet,” Jenay said with a smile. “That seems like ages ago.”
“Yes, it does,” Willie responded.
“Ahem,” Ashley said, clearing her throat.
Jenay smiled and she and Willie began walking over to Norm and the girls. “That’s my beloved daughter,” she said to Willie. “She’s trying to get my attention, as if nobody in America knows that little maneuver.”
“I’m smart like that,” Ashley said with a smile. Then she extended her hand. “Ashley Sinatra,” she said.
“Well hello there, Ashley,” Willie said, shaking her hand. “What a gorgeous girl you have, Jenay. She looks more like your sister though.”
“Thank-you. And b
eside her is my other beloved daughter, Carly.”
Carly nodded her head. “Hi,” she said.
“And beside her,” Jenay said, “is yet another one of my beloved daughters, Norm.”
Willie and Norm laughed. “I’m older than her,” Norm said as he and Willie shook. “If she has a daughter my age, you’d better run now. We’ll talking alien crazy here!”
Willie laughed. “I get your point.”
“Norm attended the same school I did, at the same time, and we’ve been friends ever since. I think you two may have met before.”
“Oh, okay,” Willie said. “I don’t think I remember him though, I’m afraid.”
“I have that effect on men,” Norm said, “so don’t be afraid at all.”
“So,” Jenay said, looking at Willie, “what in the world brings you to little Jericho?”
“Business actually. I’m a scout for the New England Patriots.”
“Wow,” Ashley said. “Really?”
“That’s right,” Willie responded. “And it’s my job to come to every high school with any semblance of talent to see what they have to offer. There’s a school right here in Jericho with some serious prospects. I’m checking them out.”
“Well that’s nice,” Jenay said. “How long will you be here?”
“I’m heading back to Foxborough tomorrow,” Willie said. “But listen, while I’m here, maybe we can meet for drinks. Just to talk about old times, catch up on the old gang?”
Ashley and Carly both looked at Jenay. They knew their father would not approve.
“Well sure,” Jenay said. “I’d love to catch up. When is a good time for you?”
“Since I have to leave out tomorrow, what about tonight?” Willie asked. “There’s a bar called Grogan’s. I hear it’s pretty good. Do you know it?”
“I know it.”
“How about we meet up there around seven and catch up then?”
Big Daddy Sinatra 3: The Best of My Love (The Sinatras of Jericho County) Page 10
