Just then, a loud screeching sound of rubber on pavement turned both their heads sharply around.
Nancy abruptly parked her car in a bizarre position, sort of half on the concrete and half on the lawn. She hurriedly exited her car and slammed the door behind her, scurrying past the twosome on the steps.
Francine focused on her mother’s face as she blew by her; she’d been crying. “Mom?”
“I’m OK honey,” Nancy cried, opening up the front door and Francine watched her mother disappear behind the closed mahogany.
“She doesn’t look OK,” Derrie quietly stated to Francine.
“No, she doesn’t,” Francine agreed. “She’s been acting real strange ever since we moved to California.”
“Strange like my dad?” Derrie snickered.
Francine thought about it for a moment, “Yeah, strange like your dad.”
December 25, 1967
Christmas ornaments, popcorn and tinsel hung on the noble fir while a nativity set just above the fireplace mantle was assembled artistically. The entire Steele family was at the dining room table and everyone was hushed while the turkey was being passed around. For one day out of the ordinary, it was a special day; Paul and Ian were dressed in their military uniforms, on R&R for the holiday for just two weeks then back to Subic Bay.
Along with the Marines, Suzy, Francine, Cassie, Nancy and Stephen were in the middle of prayer when a knock at the front door startled their peace. Nancy rose up first and walked into the foyer and opened up the door to see her son-in-law, Ray Ashford about to knock on the door again.
Normally, Ray Ashford was a tall, good-looking athlete with a presence larger than life. But on this day, he was drunk and unshaven and walked right past his mother-in-law and straight into the house unwelcome.
“Hey mom! Thought I might join ya!”
Nancy watched Ray as he stumbled into the dining room making his attendance felt. “Ray, we’ve—”
Ray took a quick look towards the family all collected at the dining room table all staring back at him. “Oh wow, my invitation must’ve gotten lost in the mail.”
Suzy scooted back her chair and got up immediately from the table to assist Ray out. “Ray, what the hell are you doing here?” She yelled at him through clinched teeth.
“See what’cha did to me Suzy!” Ray yelled back at her, waiving her helpful arm away from his forearm. “See the asshole you made me become?”
Within hearing the profanity Francine quickly looked at Ian. Ian shook his head in disbelief.
“What should we do?” Francine whispered to her fiancé.
Ian shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, do you want me to do something?”
Back in the living room; Ray fell out of a chair as soon as he tried to sit down and bounced his backside hard on the hardwood floor.
“Oh my God…I can’t believe you’re drunk!” Suzy exclaimed in a panic.
Back in the dining room everyone was reserved, except for Stephen, Stephen started to carve himself another slice of turkey.
Nancy turned to Francine, “Fran, go and help your sister.”
Francine obeyed her mother’s wishes and stood up and walked into the living room to find Ray still sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of him. Francine went to grab his arm to help him up, but Ray jerked his arm away from her grip.
On all fours, Ray stood up on his feet and shuffled his way around the two girls and headed outside. Suzy glanced over at Francine first before heading out towards his hasty exit.
“What the hell were you thinking Ray?” She yelled at him the moment they were alone outside. “Coming over to my dad’s house stinkin’ drunk!”
Just inside the sliding patio door, Francine eavesdropped to the two of them squabbling. She took a peek around the corner and Ray was pacing the floor in front of her sister while Suzy stood across from him standing her ground.
“Goddamn Suzy,” he screamed at her, “I didn’t want to come over here, but you took the baby!”
“Well, I wouldn’t have left if I hadn’t caught you screwin’ that whore!”
“You screwed Billy! I was only getting’ even!”
“Even? Oh man, you’re such an asshole, Ray Ashford and I wish I never laid eyes on you!”
“Why you bitch! You practically hand-cuffed me down the altar! You screwed up my football career gettin’ pregnant!”
“Yeah right, that’s right; blame it on the baby, always blamin’ it on the baby.”
“That goddamn kid of yours screwed everything up.”
“You’re the one who screwed up Ray! You’re the one who threw away your damn career, not the baby! Cassie didn’t shove coke up her nose like you did and Cassie didn’t smoke weed at three o’clock in the mornin’ jeopardizing her career like you do.”
“Why you little—”, Ray threatened, grabbing Suzy by the shoulders.
“Don’t touch me!”
Francine heard the fear in her sister’s voice and came rushing back into the house. Nancy was frozen in shock while Stephen just continued to eat. “Mom, dad, Paul, do something!” No one was moving! “What’s wrong with this family? Paul, please, she’s your sister. Ian, help her! Ian, help my sister, please!” Francine couldn’t take the coldness any longer and ran back towards the patio door and outside to her backyard. Ray was on top of Suzy now, slapping Suzy on her head and face. “Stop it, Ray! Stop it!”
Paul soon followed Francine and lunged towards Ray, grabbing Ray’s arms from behind and holding him in his best corps grip and yanked him instantly off his sister. But like a demon possessed, Ray turned around and punched Paul square in the gut, knocking him down to the floor. Screaming off the top of her lungs, Francine pulled at Ray’s hair and somehow got him away from Paul and onto her. But this just made Ray angrier and Ray made a fist and hit Francine right smack in her eye.
Ian came out next and was enraged to see Ray hitting his beloved in the face. He floored Ray and held him down to the ground, digging his face into the concrete and holding back both his arms in a death grip. “Enough Ray—Enough! Look at what you’re doing man…Look at what you’ve done!”
Ray looked up at the family and around him. Suzy was grasping hold of Francine now with Cassie huddled up in a corner afraid.
Francine wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulders and helped her walk back into the house. Upon entering, the two sisters noticed their father reclining back in his armchair drinking his glass of J&B like it was just another Sunday afternoon.
December 26, 1967
Alone in the backyard, Ian and Francine are sitting on one of the benches in the gazebo reflecting on the prior evening. Francine closed her eyes in pain and when she reopened them, Ian’s warm fingers caressed the side of her cheek like a feather across her skin.
“I wanted to kill him,” he stated in anger.
“I know,” she softly agreed, trying to forget the horrible evening.
“How ya feeling today,” he asked, trying to lighten up her demise.
“My eye hurts,” Francine admitted, touching the sore spot with her own fingertips.
Ian extended his arms out to her and Francine fell into them. She held onto him tightly and then began to cry. When she was this close to him she wished everything else would just melt away. Hearing his heartbeat, feeling his chest move up and down while he breathed…but was this love or just her body crying out for intimacy?
Francine opened up her eyes and was surprised to see Derrie walking down on the grass towards the gazebo. Francine instantly let go of Ian and responded like a cheater getting caught in the act of betrayal. Ian turned immediately around with Francine’s sudden interest and her body becoming tense.
Standing erect with his chest sticking out, Ian looked Derrie up and down. “You must be Francine’s little friend, Derrie. It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said, extending out his hand for a friendly greeting.
The two men met eye to eye and Derrie shook his hand and rel
eased it quickly.
Francine cleared her throat and turned the opposite way, she didn’t want Derrie to notice her black eye just yet. “I’m sorry; I forgot you two never met.”
“Yeah, nice to meet ya,” Derrie quickly replied, not really looking at Ian and only at Francine. “Do you have a moment?”
Francine continued to look down and noticed a little box within Derrie’s hands as he tried to get her to make eye contact.
“How was your Christmas Fran?”
Francine desperately continued to look away from him. “Oh…Christmas was…different,” Francine disclosed, trying to avoid him but losing to the urge of wanting him to see her predicament. The urge won and she lifted up her head.
Derrie immediately spotted the bluish tint to her left eye and went white with shock. “What the hell happened?” He judged, looking directly at Ian.
“Her brother-in-law came by and picked a fight with Suzy,” Ian relayed to the quick.
Derrie looked back at Francine, “And he mistook you for your sister?”
At that very moment, emotions swirled inside her heart that tested her willpower. Francine wanted Derrie to console her too but in another way. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and kiss her eyes while he was kissing her lips. She wanted it so much she had to take a step backwards to help her soften the motion to do so.
And Derrie was in a comforting mood, but he too held back his contact; instead he gently grabbed her hand and placed the little box within it. “I’m sorry Francine,” he softly expressed turning around to make his gentlemanly exit, “Merry Christmas.”
Francine stood overwhelmed again. Holding the little box within her hand she looked up at Ian and gave him a jaded smile. Heart pounding beyond her control, she turned towards Derrie’s exit and yelled, “Derrie!” And then to Ian, “I’ll be right back, I haven’t…I haven’t given him his present yet. I’ll be right back.”
Two seconds later, she reached Derrie already inside the foyer. Derrie was about to leave through the front door when Francine spotted him. “Derrie, wait…I have something for you too.” She then trotted over to the tree and grabbed Derrie’s present that was way in the back. “Merry Christmas Derrie,” she pronounced, handing him the present.
“Thanks Fran.”
They both open up their boxes simultaneously. Taken back, Francine was staggered to find a gold chain with a heart made of pink gold hanging on the end of it. “Oh Derrie, it’s beautiful!” She cried, picking up the necklace and dangling in front of her eyes. Tears rush straight away towards them when she looked up to see Derrie wearing the black leather motorcycle jacket she purchased for him. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it’s cool. But my dad’s gonna hate it. Do you like yours?”
“It’s so pretty Derrie, I love it!” Francine liberally gave out, feeling free at that moment to let go all her inhibitions to stand back up to give Derrie a long, hard hug. Whispering in his ear, she breathed, “Thank you.”
It had been the very first time the two had actually touched. The feeling was…wonderful, the feeling was intoxicating! But Francine let go of him quickly and on instinct, Derrie didn’t allow her to walk way just yet. He brought both his hands up to her face and gently brushed the back of his hand against her sore eye. Holding one another’s stare, tears filled her eyes instantly when they read each other’s thoughts and brought their lips together and kissed. Tender, but like dynamite, their hearts beat like crazy, when…
Nancy entered the hallway and instantly noticed the two of them embracing. She didn’t want to interrupt them and chose not to alarm them. Apprehensive and so unsure, she quickly left them alone to their moment and quite possibly, their anguish.
New Years Eve
With a gentle sprinkling rain, the thunder bellowed over the horizon and beyond the dark clouds at the breaking point of a full-fledged downpour. It was nighttime and the celebratory lights, tissue paper and festive ornaments decorated the dwelling of the Steele residence on the night of the New Years Eve party. Frank Sinatra music filled every room of the house as cheerful guests roamed every inch of the hardwood floors. There were nearly a hundred of them invited to the celebration along with some business associates from Stephen’s work, even a few family members flew in from Connecticut to help ring in the New Year.
Derrie and his father entered through the doorway at precisely nine o’clock. Derrie was dressed in a black suit tapered at the legs like one of the Beatles in a Hard Day’s Night, while his father wore a festive white tuxedo coat, black slacks and white shirt with a red bow tie just like one of the Rat Pack. They looked absolutely divine and Francine was just about to walk over to greet them when she spotted Derrie’s father mesmerized by her sister.
Meanwhile, Nancy was in the kitchen pulling out a tray of quiche from the stove, when the ding of the oven clock notified her that the appetizers were ready to be taken out. With potholders over both her hands, she delicately picked up each one and placed them down on a decorative ceramic serving platter. Turning towards the several servers she hired for the evening, she spoke to them kindly so that they would follow her instructions. “Now, I want these served in about ten minutes. Also, before I forget, start to serve the caviar approximately half an hour before midnight…is that understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” they all said in unison.
“Fine then,” Nancy accepted, looking across at all the smiling faces. “Good job everyone, keep up the good work.” Adjusting her taffeta green gown before entering back into the party, Nancy fell short of the swivel door. A strange feeling overcame her as she looked down at her hands; they were shaking.
Inside the living room there was a massive crowd now forming and Nancy pinpointed Stephen in the distance and carefully walked around several couples while greeting each one along the way, bumping into a few guests as she did and then unexpectedly collided with her next door neighbor. “Oh Derrie, I’m sorry,” she apologized, reaching out and laying hands on him.
“Oh, Mrs. Steele, this is my—” Derrie relayed, turning around to introduce his father but found that he had vanished.
In a dimly lit corner, Jerry and Suzy flirted with one another. Suzy was drunk and Jerry was just plain amazed by her.
“So…here we are,” Jerry gutturally expressed eyeing her body up and down like it was a yummy piece of candy.
“Yes,” she giggled, “Finally alone.”
Jerry tried to disguise the grin on his face but it just wasn’t happening, he was spellbound; the girl had identical eyes and hair, even the same shape of mouth. Had he just stepped into something far-fetched? Was it just a dream? Was he really alone with a ghost?
Suzy took a sip of her champagne and batted her fake eyelashes at him. She was attracted to him as well. He was very handsome…tall, dark and handsome.
“And what’s your name?” Jerry asked, trying to calm his excitement down.
“Suzy,” she voiced seductively, awarding him her best come-hither smile.
Jerry leaned his tux back up against the wall across from her and eyed the girl up and down.
Strategically placed in a spaghetti-strap dress, Suzy adjusted her position and showed off a little bit of her thigh and leg.
Jerry lowered his eyes to her bare skin and asked, “So, you come here often?”
Suzy let go another one of her cute little laughs.
And Jerry liked it, he liked it a lot. Suzy seemed to bring it all back, every detail and every memory and beamed again, drowning in her lush green eyes.
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