Magnet & Steele (13 page)

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 released 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.

“Has anyone ever told you how
intoxicating you are?” Suzy voiced trying to look away from his
hypnotic stare.