Big Daddy Sinatra 3: The Best of My Love (The Sinatras of Jericho County) (19 page)

“Hey
Allie,” Donald said as he approached.

“Hey,”
Allison said and hurried down the steps.
 
Both brothers watched as she got in her car, and drove away.

Donald
looked at Tony.
 
“What was that about?”

Tony
looked at Donald.
 
“What are you doing
here?”

“I
came to make sure Nita got off to school.”

Tony
frowned.
 
“You knew Mom had instructed me
to handle that.”

“And,”
Donald added, “I came to make sure Miss Pretty Nanny didn’t try any tricks,
like coming over while Mom was away.”

Tony
smiled.
 
“Are you serious?
 
You actually thought about somebody other
than yourself for a change?”

“Dad’s
happy with a woman for the first time in my life,” Donald said.
 
“Nobody is going to mess that up.
 
Not the nanny, not anybody.
 
They’ll have to go through me first.”

Tony
laughed.
 
And gave his kid brother a big,
bear hug, causing Donald to smile too.
 
“Get in here!” Tony said jovially.

   
He was kissing her so aggressively that
even Ashley knew this could get out of hand.
 
But Barry was gorgeous, all the girls wanted him, and he wanted
Ash.
 
Ash didn’t necessarily want
 
him.
 
He was just somebody to fool around with until Friday night, when she
and Willie, a real man, would get together, but she was going to enjoy this
while she could.
 
She leaned closer and
let him kiss away.

Until
they heard Carly’s voice.
 
“Ash?” she
yelled from behind Ashley’s locked bedroom door.

“Forget
her,” Barry said, as he continued kissing.

“Ash!”
Carly yelled again.

“Let me
see what she wants,” Ashley said, but Barry kept kissing her.
 
She had to lean her mouth away from his.
 
“What, Carly?” she asked with a sting in her
voice.

“Don’t
yell at me,” Carly responded to the sting.

“Then
leave me alone!”

“All
right, lover girl,” Carly said.
 
“I’ll
leave you alone.
 
But I thought you’d
want to know that Dad just drove up.”

Ashley’s
heart fell through her shoe, and she jumped off the bed.

“What’s
wrong with you?” Barry asked, confused.

Ashley
ran up to her bedroom window and looked down at the apartment complex parking
lot.
 
And sure enough, Charles Sinatra
was getting out of his Jaguar.
 
Barry
hurried up to the window with her, and looked out too.
 
He saw Charles standing at his Jaguar, and
putting on his suit coat.

“Some
white guy,” Barry said.
 
“So what?”

Ashley
began hurrying over to the bed and grabbing Barry’s shirt.
 
“You’ve got to go,” she said.

“Why?”
he asked as she slung the shirt against him and began hurrying him out of the
room.
 
“Who is he?”

“My
Dad.
 
You’ve got to go!”

Ashley
opened the bedroom door.
 
Carly was
standing in the hall smiling.
 
“Hey,
Barry,” Carly said.
 
“Want to meet our
father?”

Ashley
hurried Barry through the apartment and out of their front door.

“If
you see him, don’t say anything to him,” Ashley urged Barry.
 
“I’ll call you later.”

“Y’all
got a white daddy?” Barry asked.
 
“How
can that be?
 
Y’all black.”

“Bye,
Barry,” Ashley said, and Barry hurried on down the steps.
 
Ashley slammed the door back and looked at
her younger sister.

“If
you say one word to Dad,” she said, “I will beat your skinny ass.”

“You’ll
try,” Carly said as she sat down on the sofa.
 
“And you should thank me.
 
I
didn’t have to tell you he was here.”

Ashley
settled down.
 
“That’s true,” she
said.
 
“But you still better not say anything.”

Ashley
ran back into her bedroom and up to her bedroom window.
 
She could see Charles walking across the
parking lot and heading for the apartment building, and then she saw Barry
walking past him.
 
And Barry was grinning
with his retarded self, she thought.
 
But
her dad ignored him, which was all she was after.
 
She began to spruce back up her bedroom.

In
the living room, knocks were head on the front door.
 
Carly went to the door and opened it.
 
“Daddy!” she said with a grand smile, and
hurried to him.
 

Charles
smiled greatly himself as he gave her a kiss and pulled her into his arms.
 
“There’s my girl,” he said.
 
“How are you?”

“I’m
good,” Carly said as they continued to hug.
 
He entered the apartment.
 
“I
didn’t expect to see you today.”

“I
had some property I needed to look at here in Boston and decided today was as
good a day as any.
  
So I got in the car
and drove on down.
 
Since I haven’t seen
my girls in a few weeks, I decided to drop by and check up on you guys.
 
You certainly don’t bother to drop by and
check on me.”

Carly
looked at him and then nodded. “I see,” she said.
 
“You miss your wife.”

Charles
looked at her.
 
Carly was his adopted
daughter, but he declared if she was not just like Tony when it came to
perceptiveness.
 
“I miss you and Ash,”
Charles said.

“And
Mom,” Carly said.
 
“But since she’s all
the way on the other side of the country, you decided seeing the other two
adult females in your life is the next best thing.”

Charles
pulled her in his arms again.
 
“You’re never
a consolation prize with me,” he said, “and don’t you forget it.
 
You’re never number two.”

“Except
when it comes to Mom, right?”

“Damn
right,” Charles said and Carly laughed.
 

“I
understand it,” she said. “When I get married, you’re going to be second fiddle
too.”

Charles
laughed.
 
“You’d better make sure he’s
worthy of the number one spot.”

“I
will, don’t worry.
 
I will.”
 
Then Ashley entered the living room. “It’s
that other daughter of yours you need to worry about,” Carly added.

“What
did you say?” Ash asked as she entered.

“I
was talking about his other daughter.
 
I
could have been talking about Bonita.”

“Except
you wasn’t,” Ashley said and then smiled and hurried to Charles. “Hey, Daddy!”

Charles
gave Ashley a great bear hug also.
 
It
was no secret around the family that Carly and Charles had a special bond, but
he loved Ashley just as much.
 
If not
more, given her many challenges.
  
“Hey,
baby,” he said to his oldest daughter as he gave her a kiss and pulled her into
his arms.
 
“You’re looking spiffy.”

“It’s
great to see you, Daddy,” Ashley said.
 
“What a wonderful surprise!”

Carly
wanted to laugh, but she didn’t.
 
She
went and took a seat on the sofa instead.
 
Charles sat beside her, while Ashley sat in the flanking chair.
 
Carly leaned against him, and he placed his
arm around her.

“Heard
from Mom today?” Ashley asked, shaking her crossed leg.
  
“We talked to her just before her flight
yesterday, but we haven’t heard from her today.”

“I
spoke with her after I got to my office this morning.
 
She’s fine.”

“How
about granddad?” Carly asked. “How’s he doing?”

“She
said he’s recovering nicely from his surgery.
  
He’s fine too.”

“That’s
good,” Ashley said.

“So
what about you two?” Charles asked.
 
“School still going okay?”

“It’s
challenging,” Carly admitted, “but I’m hanging in there.”

“I’m
doing better than that,” Ashley said.
 
“My grades may be better than Carly’s this term, Dad.”

Comparing
grades received from coursework at Berkskill College versus coursework from
Harvard was like comparing a kitten to a lion, but Charles nor Carly had ever
played that game.
 
They both were glad
Ashley finally settled down long enough to make it through college at all.

“And
you graduate in a couple months,” Charles said.
 
“That’s fantastic, Ash.”

Ashley
smiled.

“No
classes today?”

“I
have one tonight,” Ashley said.
 
“But
that’s the only class I have on Tuesdays.”

“I
had two this morning,” Carly said.
 
“I
have one tonight as well.”

Charles
held her tighter.
 
He was so proud of her
he sometimes felt emotional about it.
 
She
worked so hard and achieved so much.
 
“So
everything’s fine then?”
 
Charles asked
them.

“All
is well,” Ashley said.

Charles
looked at Carly when she said nothing. “All is well?” he asked her directly.

“If
Ash leaves those boys alone and stop bringing all of these different guys to
our apartment, then yes, all would be well,” Carly said.

Ashley
rolled her eyes.
 
“You are such a
snitch!
 
People hate snitches!”

“It’s
not safe what you’re doing,” Carly said.
 
“You don’t know those guys like that, but you always bring one home with
you.
 
To
our
home!
 
It’s damn
uncomfortable and I’m tired of fronting for you.”

“You
aren’t fronting for me,” Ashley said, “so don’t even get it twisted like
that.
 
You talk too much and that’s a
fact of life and has always been a fact of life with you.”

“But
am I lying?” Carly asked.
 
“No, I’m not,
thank-you very much.
 
And since Dad pays
our rent and all of our bills, including our very expensive tuition, I feel he
at least has a right to know who’s coming and going in this apartment that we
wouldn’t have if it was not for him.”

“Whatever,
Carly.”

“So
answer my question, Ash.
 
Am I lying?”

“Snitch,”
was all Ashley would say.

“But
am I lying?”

“Bitch,”
Ashley said.

“That’s
enough,” Charles said to Ashley.
 
Then he
looked at Carly. “Have you had lunch?”

Carly
was still upset with Ashley, but she shook her head.
 
“No, sir.”

“Let
me talk with your sister, then I’ll take you guys to lunch.”

“Yes,
sir,” Carly said.
 
She gave Ashley
another cold look before leaving the living room.

“Don’t
believe her, Dad,” Ashley said.

“Carly
is a lot of things,” Charles said, “but she’s no liar.”
 

Ashley
shook her head.
 
“She needs to mind her
own business. I’m a grown woman.”

“A
grown woman that acts like a girl,” Charles said.
 
Then he stared at her.
 
“Was that grinning boy one of those men you
bring home with you?”

Ashley
was stunned.
 
Charles didn’t give Barry a
second glance when they walked past each other in the parking lot.
 
She didn’t think Charles even noticed him.
 
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You
don’t?”

“No,
I don’t.”

Charles
considered her.
 
She was willing to lie
to his face, and that was not good.
 
“It’s easy to be easy, Ash,” he said.

Ashley
looked at him.
 
“What does that mean?”

“Easy
girls are a dime a dozen.
 
Men run through
them like they run through shoes.
 
They
discard them afterwards just as easily too.”