Rock Chick 07 Regret (36 page)

“It’s a stun gun!” I cried, so excited I was being nearly as loud as his family. “Veronica Mars has one of these!”

I lifted happy eyes to him and saw he was grinning. “Yeah,
mamita
, but be careful with that.”

“Is it for me?” I trilled happily.

His hand went to the side of my neck and slid up, fingers in my hair, thumb at my hairline.

“Yeah. Keep it in your purse where you can get to it. It’s got fresh batteries. You turn it on, touch the prongs to your target, a one-second touch causes an incapacitating jolt, three seconds it’ll take someone down.”

I lifted the stun gun between us, stared at it in awe and murmured, “Aces.”

I came out of my stun gun euphoria when I heard his soft laughter and my eyes went to him.

“What’s funny?” I asked.

His fingers wrapped around my wrist, pulled the stun gun from between us and he closed in, his other hand sliding to the back of my head.

“You don’t know,
mamita
, it’ll be more fun to watch you figure it out.”

Then he kissed me, another slow, sweet one (with tongues) that again lasted until I wrapped my arms tight around his waist and melted into him.

Then he was gone.

* * * * *

Ralphie and I went into Art and at eleven thirty Ralphie picked up the phone and dialed.

“Jet, you pretty girl, I’m callin’ in a delivery,” Ralphie said into the phone as I watched in stunned surprise. “Sadie and I will simply
expire
if we don’t have two of Tex’s specials. Can you send someone over with them? I’d come get them but, see, Double H says I’m in charge of Sadie’s safety during the day. We opened late, we can’t close down just to get coffee and I can’t leave her alone.”

I stood beside Ralphie still staring at him wondering when Hector made Ralphie “in charge” of my “safety” while Ralphie nodded and said in the phone, “Un-
hunh
, un-
hunh
,” then, “Oh, ‘Double H’ is Hector, stands for Hispanic Hottie’.” I heard laughter through the receiver, he finished with, “
Toodles
,” and put the phone down.

Then he turned to me calmly and said, “
Daisy’ll
be over in ten with two specials.”

At this point, I rewound my life back six weeks.

Six weeks ago, my father was in prison, my days were spent with Ralphie in Art and my nights were spent either at yoga class, a movie (by myself) or curled up with a book in my living room.

I had no excitement except a scary call or a buzz up from one of the Balducci Brothers but that wasn’t good excitement, that was bad excitement.

I was alone and, albeit frightened, my life was my own and my destiny was decided by me. Except for the Balduccis, I was in complete and total control.

Now I was never alone and I made no decisions for myself. When I did, they were circumvented. Ralphie thought he was my bodyguard. Blanca was going to teach me how to cook. Tom thought I was the reunited member of “the whole family”. And Hector was going to put his mouth between my legs that night (and, by the way, the very thought made me shiver).

And then there was the imminent arrival of YoYo the pug who was being delivered tomorrow night.

Instead of reveling in this which I should be doing, I was planning to disappear.

For a second I wondered if I was crazy. Then it hit me that I wasn’t.

First, a lot of people were going out of their way to make me safe and that wasn’t right or fair. They had better things to do and furthermore, they barely knew me.

Second, even though they all appeared to like me no matter who sired me, I’d never forget and I’d always know I was the odd girl out.

Last, because Hector was a good guy (maybe even the best guy ever born), when he found someone, she should not be a
Belinda
but she should also not be a drug dealer’s daughter.

And she certainly shouldn’t be the tawdry, broken, throw-around toy of the Crazy Balducci Brothers.

I knew I had to ride this out, keep my plans to myself and, when things were all ready, I’d sit down with Ralphie and Buddy and explain. Then I’d sit down with Hector and explain. Then I’d go and let them get back to their normal lives being good people and having nothing more to worry about than their Z
Gallerie
credit cards (not that Hector had a Z
Gallerie
credit card, more like Home Depot).

Daisy and Ava showed with the coffees, taking me out of my unhappy thoughts.

They stayed and gabbed.

When I said they “gabbed”, I meant they filled in the gaps as told by the reporters and they shared with Ralphie and I the stories of how Indy got together with Lee. Indy was somehow mixed up with why Terry Wilcox disappeared. I knew Terry; he was a contemporary of my father’s. He was creepy and I was glad he was gone (and my father had been
super
happy when he disappeared) but I was sorry he made Indy’s life a misery before he left.

Then they told me how Eddie and Jet got together (Jet had nearly been raped too, but, luckily, she was saved at the last minute).

Roxie “popped” around (said she was shopping at 16
^th
Street Mall and she had about a dozen bags to prove her story correct). She found out what we were gabbing about and then
she
shared how she and Hank got together. She’d been stalked by an ex-boyfriend, he found her at Hank’s house, beat her up and took her for a wild ride across three states before Vance, or Native American Hottie, found her and eventually her ex got his hand shot mostly off (again by Vance) at one of Daisy’s society parties (I’d heard about it, but, obviously, hadn’t been invited).

Then they shared how Vance and Jules (the black-haired lady from the drag show) got together. Jules had gone on a vigilante mission to take down drug dealers (which meant I might not be her most favorite person) and she ended up getting shot twice (something, the girls told me, Hector blamed himself for though I didn’t get it, it seemed an honest, though heart-wrenching, mistake). Vance and Jules were the only other “Hot Bunch” (as Daisy called the Nightingale Men) and Rock Chick couple who were married and they had a newborn baby.

Finally, Ava shared how she and Luke got together. I found out she knew Ren too and I also found out that Ren’s cousin, Dom (who I knew too, but not as well as Ren, Dom used to be kind of a jerk but I’d heard that he’d turned into a rather keen family man). Ava’s story was kind of confusing, had to do with con men and somewhere along the line she’d been violated too. Though not as bad as me, still, did one put degrees on these things? Violation was violation, simple as that.

I already knew about Stella and Mace.

After they were done talking, I was seriously
weirded
out but I also had food for thought. Mainly because it would seem I wasn’t the first girl to catch the eye of one of the Hot Bunch who caused some significant worry, out-and-out scares and visits to the hospital.

While I was thinking this, Daisy, Ava and Roxie took off to The Market to get us sandwiches.

They came back with Shirleen who was taking her lunch “hour” (an hour that lasted two) and they chipped in to help with the final touches for the opening. I asked Roxie for Jet’s number and called her to warn her about the
Reunión
de la
Familia
(because that was the nice thing to do). She muttered some choice words, thanked me in a way that seemed very genuine (and even relieved), we hung up after agreeing to meet up sometime and then I turned to the catering menu.

* * * * *

“You need some pigs in a blanket,” Shirleen advised, casting a critical eye over the menu.

“You don’t have pigs in a blanket at an art opening,” Daisy said to Shirleen.

Shirleen’s head popped up. “Sure you do. You just make ‘em with those little, baby sausages.”

“It’s an
art opening
you need
vol
au vents
or shit like that,” Daisy said.

Shirleen turned back to me. “Ask ‘em if they have pigs in a blanket. They wanna make it fancy; they can wrap ‘em up in
Pilsbury
crescent roll dough rather than biscuit dough. Trust me, people full of champagne and pigs in a
blanket’ll
buy
a lot
of paintings.”

“How do you know?” Ava asked.

“Because
I’d
buy a painting if someone gave me a glass of champagne and a non-stop supply of pigs in a blanket, especially if it was wrapped up in that crescent dough. Have you tasted a
Pilsbury
crescent roll?”

Ava nodded and smiled. “Yeah, there was a day when I’d bake and eat a whole tray of crescent rolls all by myself.”

“Not hard to do,” Shirleen muttered with the voice of experience.

The gallery’s phone rang and I was so wrapped up in thoughts of
Pilsbury
crescent rolls, and wondering how hard it was to make them, I didn’t even think when the operator asked me if I’d accept the collect charges.

I just said, “Yes.”

“Sadie?” my father said in my ear.

My torso snapped up and my mind shut down.

He’d been calling for months, the gallery and my apartment. He had to call collect and I never accepted the charges. A few months ago, Ralphie received a call, put his hand over the mouthpiece and asked if he should accept but I’d shook my head “no”.

At the time Ralphie didn’t ask questions now, obviously, he knew.

“Sadie?” my father repeated.

Shirleen and Ava had come up with me. I felt their eyes on me as well as Daisy’s. I couldn’t do anything, my mind was still shut down.

“Sadie! Jesus! Are you there? I don’t have all fucking day.”

“Daddy,” I whispered.

I hated calling him “Daddy”. I always hated it but it was the only thing he allowed.

At my word, the room electrified.

Shirleen’s arm shot toward Daisy and I saw her fingers snap repeatedly but Daisy was already digging through her purse. I watched as she pulled out her cell.

“There’s talk,” my father said in my ear.

“Talk?” I repeated.

“Talk. We’ll get to that in a minute. Where have you been and why have you refused my calls?”

I blinked.

Was he nuts? Did I play my role
that
well that for twenty-nine years he actually thought I
was
the dutiful daughter? I’d always thought my father was smart (he even told me he was smart, he told me this
loads
) but it seemed apparent he was pretty fucking dumb.

Daisy jumped off the counter, phone to her ear and as she stepped away Ralphie and Roxie got close.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Visiting days, Sadie. Christ, I have things to go over with you. I’ve been here for months, there’s business to attend to, where the fuck have you been?”

“Working,” I replied, wheels had begun to turn in my head as I heard Daisy talking quietly on her cell.

“Working,” his voice was terse, angry and disbelieving. “Your father is in prison and you don’t…”

My back started to go straight and, as my eyes focused on Ralphie’s concerned face, my father’s voice kept on in my ear but I didn’t hear a word he said.

Something strange was happening in my chest. Something hard and hot was forming there and I realized it was anger.

In a flash, my mind reactivated, I lifted my chin and a New Ice Princess, one I’d never met before, one that had a whole different way of dealing with things, slid with a decisive snap into place.

“Excuse me,” I cut into my father talking, my voice dripping icicles.

“What?” he asked.

“I said excuse me. You were talking but I didn’t have any interest in what you were saying so I wanted you to stop speaking so I could ask you why you’re phoning. I have an opening in a few days and work to do.”

My father was silent.

“Hello?” I called.

“Sadie, now’s not the time to be funny,” he warned.

“I’m not being funny. I’m being perfectly serious. Now tell me, is there something you need or is this a social call?”