Simone (The Ciprianos of Kellington Book 2)

by Bergman, Jamallah

  “You mean someone with money.”

  “Not just with money but someone with class and sense.”

  Delia’s throat slowly tightened and it seemed to make Mrs. Smith feel good to see her in such misery. But she shook it off and said, “I honestly don’t believe you, you’re making all of this shit up to get back at me.”

  “Well, hold on one second.” Rodger’s mother grabbed her phone from her purse, pressed a button and waited a moment before saying, “Come inside now.” Looking at Delia, she said, “Since you don’t believe me, then I’ll let someone else tell you the truth.” Soon the waitress brought over Delia’s water but not before she looked toward the door and saw Rodger walking into the restaurant wearing what looked like a very expensive tan business suit. He looked so solemn when he came her way and he didn’t look her in the eyes. She moved over for him but he sat down next to his mother instead. All the time Mrs. Smith sat there with a smile meant for the devil. “Tell her,” she demanded as Rodger huffed a bit like he didn’t want to even say a word, much less look at Delia.

  “I’m sorry, Delia, but I think it’s time we moved on with our lives.” He couldn’t even look her in the face, which only made her start to grind her back teeth.

  “You can’t be serious, Rodger. We’ve been together too long for you to act this way toward me.”

  “I think it’s best that we move on with our lives.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Rodger, I heard you say that already. What I want to know from you is this and I want you to look at me when you give me the answer. Did our relationship mean anything to you over the years? Didn’t our love mean anything to you?” She was visibly shaking by the time she asked him this, not looking at the smirk on his mother’s face.

  The look in his eyes was something she would have etched in her mind along with the words that seemed to cut her soul like a machete knife. “No, our relationship was nothing more than a fling, Delia.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing and when he looked her in the eyes, Delia knew that he was telling the truth. It felt like all of her insides had turned to liquid and she felt like she was choking on her own vomit. She looked at Mrs. Smith who had a look of complete satisfaction over what she had accomplished…breaking Delia’s heart in two.

  “So this is it, huh? Well, I hope you enjoy your millions and millions of dollars because honestly, it won’t bring you a bit of happiness. And you think I don’t have any class or sense, Mrs. Smith? Well, I can tell you that I have more class and self-respect than you will ever have in your lifetime. You are nothing more than a vindictive selfish old bitch!” Taking her glass she threw the water in the old woman’s face, hearing her gasp in shock as it splashed over on Rodger as well. Delia grabbed her purse as Rodger tried to say, “Why’d you...?” But a slap across his face stopped him from saying another word as she didn’t realize how much force she had put into it. He was on the floor looking up as some of the other patrons in the restaurant looked either shocked or dumbfounded by the calamity that had ensued.

  Making her way out and toward her car, Delia’s head was swimming with anger as she peeled out of the parking lot. Her foot was on the accelerator so hard that she didn’t realize how fast she was going. The entire time she found herself going along the stretch of road, every curve and turn she made was accompanied by a squeal of her tires. Her sobs continued even when she heard the sound of the siren of the police car. She pulled over to the side while looking into the rearview mirror, tears still clouding her vision as the flashing red and blue lights seemed like they were mixed together to make a purple hue. Going into her glove compartment, she grabbed a napkin to try and compose herself. Soon a tap was heard on her window and she hit the button to let it down. The police officer was one of those older men with one of those buzz cuts who was probably in his late fifties. “Ma’am, do you realize that you are going seventy-three in a forty-five mph speed zone?”

  It was too much for her to even bear hearing as the sobs got even more intense, and her head went onto the steering wheel with a small thud as she continued to cry.

  * * * *

  “Thank you, and please come again.” Jaslyn said while handing the young woman a bag. Looking at the clock, she realized that Delia was about an hour late. She had called her cell but got no answer plus she hadn’t called to let Jaslyn know she’d be late. Thinking that if she called again that maybe Delia would answer, she picked up the phone but saw Renzo coming through the door. The look on his face caused Jaslyn to become concerned.

  “I got a call from someone down at Luana’s, it seems that there was an altercation between Delia, Rodger and Mrs. Smith. She’s over at the jail in Bristol right now and Mrs. Smith pressed charges against her for assault.”

  “Oh no, let me get my purse!” Running toward the back, Jaslyn couldn’t believe what was happening. She knew that Delia had been nervous about meeting with Rodger’s mother but nobody expected this to happen.

  When they got to the car, Renzo told her all that had happened according to what the waitress had told him. “Poor Delia, there is no telling what could be running through her mind right now. Have you called Andrew?”

  “No, I didn’t get the chance, can you call him?” And with that she grabbed her phone and dialed.

  “Hello?” Andrew said.

  “Andrew, its Jaslyn. Listen, we are headed over to Bristol, Delia is in jail.”

  “Jail, why is she in jail?”

  “Long story short, Rodger broke up with Delia in front of his mother and it didn’t go well.”

  “Damn! Listen I’m going to make a call and see if Simone can help out. Thanks for calling me, Jaslyn.”

  “You’re welcome, goodbye.”

  Moments later, Jaslyn’s phone rang again.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey Jaslyn, it’s Andrew calling back. I got in touch with Simone and told him what had happened. He told me that he was on his way over to the jail so you should be meeting him when you get there. I can’t believe that Delia is in jail, I’m in shock and I can only imagine what she’s going through. I can’t be there right now but I know that Simone will get to the bottom of this and take care of Delia. Let me know what is going on.”

  “Thank goodness, I’m so glad to hear that he’ll be there to help out. How do you think I felt when Ren came into the shop to tell me that an argument broke out in the restaurant? I swear I nearly flipped but whatever must have happened there must have been a big deal. I just hope that she’s all right.”

  “Well with Simone being there I know she’ll be in good hands. I’ll be keeping in contact with you.”

  “All right then, I’ll let you know when I hear anything.”

  “Please do Jaslyn, I hate that I’m not there for my sister during times like this but I am thankful that she does have friends there. Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye,” Jaslyn hung up the phone, looking over at Renzo who she could tell was mad as hell. The knuckles of his fingers had gotten so tight on the steering wheel that they had turned white. “Renzo hon, please slow down. The jail will be there when we get there but if you keep speeding up like you are, then we won’t. Now please just slow it down a bit. I know you are angry, hell we both are aggravated by all of this. But driving like you are in the Indy 500 isn’t going to get us there any quicker much less safer.”

  He didn’t say a word, just kept his eyes on the road. But he did slow down the car a bit, letting out an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry baby it’s just that I didn’t know that this was going to happen to Delia,”

  “Ren, none of us knew a thing of what was going to happen. I am just as shocked as you are that it did. But we have to go and see about Delia. Poor thing, she must be going crazy sitting up in that jail cell right now wondering what is going to happen next.”

  Jaslyn was scared, scared for her friend for she never thought that this would happen to her. Lord only knows what she could have been going through at that moment right now. All Jaslyn
could do was pray and hope that Delia was all right.

  * * * *

  Delia looked around the small jail cell with its lone toilet and a bench for her to sit. This is where she sat for the longest time. Her head was still pounding from the headache that tormented her. She hadn’t expected to end up being taken off to jail. But now she was here, her car had been towed and still her head was pounding big time. “Excuse me!” she shouted through the door. Even that brought on more of a headache. She needed to calm down before she had a stroke or something. Luckily a lady cop came over to her door, “Is there any way that I can have something for my head, my head is pounding like crazy right now.”

  “We aren’t allowed to give out anything to the prisoners, honey.”

  Delia gave out a frustrated sigh, “Please ma’am, I am desperate for some kind of relief, an aspirin or something to help take care of the throbbing in my head.” The woman could obviously see how she was in need. God, Delia, you’ve got to calm yourself down to stop the throbbing.

  “Let me see what I can do for you, hon.” And with that she walked away, giving Delia some bit of hope for relief as she sat back down on the bench and waited. They hadn’t even let her make a call when she came in, how was she going to let Jaslyn know what was going on? It was about three minutes later when the officer came with a cup of water. Once the door was opened, the officer handed her the water and then two pills. “Thank you so much.” Quickly she took the pills and gulped down the water.

  “A lawyer called here for you and is on his way. Honestly, I see you out of here soon, because from what I heard, you had every right to be angry.” The lady officer assured her.

  “A lawyer, do you know who?”

  “Umm, it’s a Mr. Cipriano.”

  Simone, she thought. Thank God, he was coming to save her. “Thanks so much for the pills, Lord knows, I needed them bad.”

  “You’re welcome. When he comes I’ll have him come back here to talk with you.” And with that the lady officer left her once more while Delia sat back down on the bench.

  Thirty minutes had passed when the doors opened and Delia saw the lady officer accompanied by Simone coming into the hallway. Quickly she got up, looking happy to see him and she could tell by the look he gave her that he was concerned. When the door opened, he walked inside quickly grabbing her by the arm as she smiled. “Thanks for coming, how’d you know I was here?”

  “Andrew called me and told me you were in jail. Now I want you to tell me all that happened,” Simone said as he got out a folder.

  “I had a lunch date with Mrs. Smith over at Luana’s today. Instead of having lunch, she told me that Rodger was not going to see me anymore. That basically he was going to be going back to business with the family and moving on with his life. Told me that the two years we were together, were nothing more than a fling. I told her she was lying but then she got on the phone and that’s when Rodger came in. He sat down next to her and then had the nerve to tell me that it was a fling, we should part ways and that would be it. The entire time she sat there with that smirk on her face. Well, I showed her by throwing that water in her face and when I got up Rodger tried to ask me why and I went and slapped him dead in his sorry-ass face.” Even though the incident wasn’t funny, Delia couldn’t help but laugh at the smile on Simone’s face.

  “Then what happened after that?” Simone coughed, evidently trying to compose himself.

  “I got into my car heading back home. Then a cop pulled me over after I had been driving awhile. That’s why I’m here now.” She watched him looking over the papers in the folder.

  “Other than all that happened, how do you feel?”

  “The lady officer gave me something for my head because I had a booming headache. But I’ll be happy to get out of here.” Delia told him.

  “Well, from what the witnesses have stated, especially one customer who was sitting in the other booth, it seemed that Mrs. Smith was the instigator in this whole thing. She stated that Mrs. Smith had been bad-mouthing you the entire time you were there. She even went on to say that basically both Mrs. Smith and Rodger got exactly what they deserved.” Simone chuckled while Delia smiled. “And it seemed like the hostess as well as the waitress said the same thing too, because you all were very loud. Don’t worry, I’ll go see if they have set up bail for you yet. If so, we will pay it, then you’ll have to go to court when they state a date. If there is no bail posted, then you’ll have to stay until they call for a court date. But honestly, Delia, you don’t have to worry about a thing because I plan on getting you out of here and home.” Simone told her, holding her hand.

  “Thanks Simone, I so appreciate this.”

  Simone smiled, “You know I would do anything for you Delia, always remember that. I’ll be back, all right?” He knocked on the steel door for them to open it. The lady officer came quickly to do so as Simone looked back at Delia, giving her a wink as he left her alone once again in the cell.

  Simone went into the lobby to make a few calls and saw Jaslyn and Renzo walking through the door. “Hey guys, over here!”

  Jaslyn almost tripped herself when she aimed straight for him, “Everything is fine, I just went to talk with her just now. I don’t plan on having her in that jail overnight, that’s for damn sure. Much less do I plan on having her facing assault charges when from eyewitness reports it was basically the other two who were in the wrong. Like I said, everything will be fine, you guys.” Simone told Jaslyn while she gave a contented sigh of relief.

  “Can I go and see her?”

  “I don’t know if they will let you or not. Come and I’ll see what I can do.”

  Simone worked tirelessly to get Delia out from jail for the most part of the day all the way until that night. He had made himself a makeshift office out of some of the chairs in the lobby. He even had a plug to charge up his cell phone when it was losing its charge. Even though they could have gone back home, Jaslyn and Renzo stayed right there with him, keeping in touch with Andrew and Filomena who were both very concerned over how Delia was.

  “Mr. Cipriano, there is a call for you.” The lady behind the front desk of the visitation area told him.

  “Yes, this is Simone.”

  “Hey, Simone, this is Anthony Walker calling.”

  “Hey, Anthony, how are things going? Don’t tell me you are the Smiths’ lawyer?”

  “Yeah, I am, man. Listen, I had a talk with Mrs. Smith and her son. They didn’t want their name brought up in scandal because mommy dearest doesn’t like her son’s girlfriend. So we have decided that dropping the charges would be best for everyone involved. That is if Ms. Whitney will forgo using anything incriminating against the Smiths in the near future.”

  “I honestly think that’s the best idea and I know she will go along with it as well. So when can we have her out of here?”

  “It won’t be until tomorrow morning before she’s out so she’ll have to stay overnight.”

  Letting out a sigh because he had hoped that she would be out that night, Simone was happy that at least she was getting out. “That’s fine, man. I know she’ll be happy to hear this because I know it’s been a trying day for her.”

  “From what I read, I’m surprised she didn’t end up slapping Mrs. Smith as well.”

  “Thanks, man, I appreciate the call. Check you later.” He ended the call. “Great news guys, they are going to drop the charges.”

  Jaslyn smiled as Renzo breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God, so what about her car?”

  “Damn. That’s right, it’s been impounded. Don’t worry, I’ll handle that myself in the morning. You guys go on and head on back and when she gets out in the morning, I’ll call you guys and let you know.”

  “Thanks Simone, for helping her out, I’ll let Andrew know what’s going on. You go and get you some rest.” Jaslyn told him, giving him a hug while Renzo gave him a pat on the shoulder. Walking to the desk, Simone talked with the officer, trying to get in the back to talk with Delia aga
in. Luckily the girl who had been there for most of the day had quickly taken a liking to him and took him to the back to talk with Delia.

  Chapter Eight

  She was slowly starting to fall asleep while waiting and waiting to hear word on what was going on. When she heard the familiar sounds of the doors opening, Delia sat up for a moment looking to see Simone walking toward the door with a smile on his face. Good news, she thought to herself, for after all they had been through today, his smile was a welcome sight to see. When the door opened, he came in and told her, “The Smiths have decided to drop the charges against you just as long as you don’t use their names in any incriminating way. I told the lawyer that I know you wouldn’t do that, so they are going to drop everything against you.”

  Delia shouted for joy, this had been the best news she had had all day. Quickly giving him a hug she found herself crying again, the entire time softly saying to him, “Thank you, Simone, for helping me.” Feeling him holding her tightly, the whole ordeal felt like it was finally was coming to an end.

  “Come over here now, no tears.” Simone reached into his pocket, taking out a handkerchief to give her so could she wipe her face. “You’ll have to stay overnight because everything won’t be processed until tomorrow. I’ll be here in the morning to make sure things will be all right.”

  Nodding in agreement, she said, “I want to thank you for doing this for me, I honestly don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “Like I said before, you know I would do anything for you, Deedlebug. I would never let anything bad happen to you.” He took her hand in his and she softly squeezed his. “You get yourself some rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”