Rumbling Thunder

  “I know the way the dancers are treating her. That’s the thing, Bonnie, she will be their boss. And she can write in any part she wants to be in.”

  “She can do both?”

  “She can do both. And I was going to tell her the reason today. That is, after I make her my partner. Only first, I want my wife home. We both need her.”

  “You know, she’s going to shoot me.” Bonnie sighed.

  “I won’t let her.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes, beautiful!”

  “Okay, she’s living in an apartment. Central Park East, Apartment 501. Don’t you dare tell her I told you.”

  “Why did she leave me?”

  She told me she had something to take care of. She didn’t leave you to be mean, and she was coming back home after the first of the year.”

  “Really, why wait a year?”

  “Donavan, your guess is as good as mine. When I ask her, she shuts down. But I know she’s worried about Rainy.”

  “Does she know she’s with me?”

  “Yes, but she just found out. She thought Rainy was still with the biker, and she’s been worried about her. And you know when she went to Samantha’s house, I think that’s why she wouldn’t go back home. She knew you would be upset.”

  “I’m worried about those kids, Bonnie. She could cost them their lives.”

  “I think she knows that, but Samie has always been so close to her.”

  “I know. And thanks, beautiful.”

  Donavan went and knocked on Rainy’s bedroom door. “Rainy, sweetheart, open the door so we can talk.” He waited, but there was no answer. Oh, he could get in, but he didn’t want to bully her. Not this time. He wanted her to feel safe with him. He knew how badly the biker had hurt her. And he knew there was nothing he could do to make her feel better. But it was time she knew he was on her side. “Give me a minute of your time, Rainy. Then if you never want to talk to me again, I’ll understand.” Donavan waited, but the door never opened. “Rainy, please, sweetheart.” He was about to give up and started to walk away when he heard the door open. He turned to go back and smiled at her. “Hi, baby girl. I think we can do this over a cup of coffee. Would you like some?”

  Rainy nodded her head and gave him a weak smile. There was nothing but sadness in her eyes, and Donavan knew she’d been crying. “Come along, let’s go in the kitchen.” Bringing his arm around her shoulder, he led her into the kitchen. “Have a seat. I’ll get our coffee.”

  ***

  Rainy watched as he set up the coffee machine. She didn’t say anything.

  Donavan pulled down the cups out of the cabinet and set them on the counter. He then poured coffee in each one. He looked up at her and said, “I’m sorry I messed up your plans this morning. Sometimes I just don’t think. But I have a better idea. Why don’t we cook brunch for everyone? I’ll call and invite them over.”

  “Dad, it’s Christmas morning. No one is going to want to come out in this weather for brunch.”

  “If that’s the case, then it will just be the two of us.” He pushed her coffee towards her. “That is, if you don’t mind cooking. I have an errand to run. I won’t be gone long.”

  “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

  He looked up at her slowly. “Um... No, it has to do with you working for me. Wait.” He held up his hand. “I worded that wrong. I should have said, working with me,” he said, placing his hand on his chest. Rainy tilted her head and gave him a look of confusion. “It’s true. If you write a ballet while working for the company, the ballet belongs to Imakey. However, I would never take that ballet away from you, Rainy. What I want is for you to be the choreographer. But not unless you agree to be my partner.” Rainy’s mouth gaped open as she stared at him in disbelief. “I know you think I haven’t seen what has been going on with the Imakey dancers. But I’ve seen enough to know that they have been giving you hell. You, my daughter, never had to take that treatment for one second. And I don’t understand why you have. Yes, I could have stepped in and stopped it, but I wanted to see how you handled it yourself. And from what I’ve seen, you handle yourself well. You just tune them out. That is until you had your fill.” Donavan watched her as she tried to process the information. It was as if it was hard to swallow. “Are you going to give me an answer, Rainy?”

  She blinked and shook her head. “Sorry, you lost me after the part where you said you wanted me to be your partner.”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m waiting for; your answer.”

  “What about Tim?”

  “He turned me down. Said he likes being a worker and not one of the bosses.”

  Rainy bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know, Dad. What would I know about dance companies?”

  “You know all you need to know. And hey, look at it this way. Next time Pedro gives you grief, you can fire his ass.”

  Rainy couldn’t help it. She grinned at her father, then she slid off the stool and ran to him. Wrapping her arms around him, she said, “I thought you felt I was useless now that I can’t dance.”

  “You don’t have to be able to dance to teach it or to write a ballet. But you already know that.”

  “I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you more, sweetheart.” He kissed her on the top of her head. He moved away from her and pulled his gloves on.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in no time. You get started on that brunch.”

  “I hope you’re coming back and helping me.”

  “Like I said, I’ll be back in no time.”

  ***

  He then took his phone out and started to call his family. The way he saw it, they could come to his house this year.

  By the time he got to the street, he was freezing. He didn’t even look at the weather report before he came out of his house. That’s when he changed his mind about walking to Jessica’s apartment. He couldn’t believe she had been living this close to him, and he had never run into her. But maybe that was for the best. After all, it would have been one big fight. And maybe that what would happen today.

  After he got out of his car, he made his way into the building. At the elevator, he pushed the button for the fifth floor and waited. For a Christmas morning, there were lots of people in the lobby.

  Now standing in front of 501, he hesitated to knock. Why was he here? Was it really for Rainy? Maybe not. And he knew this was going to be a fight. He hated fighting with her. But here went nothing, he thought as he rapped on the door three times. Then he waited for a few minutes, and there was no movement. He knocked again and waited. He knocked a third time even harder. Then the door opened. Jessica stood looking back at her husband as if he had lost his mind. “You going to invite me in, or what?” He growled at her. She stepped back so he could enter.

  “Why are you here, Donavan?”

  Walking past her and taking his gloves off, he turned back to look at her. “I think a better question is, why aren’t you at home, Jessica?”

  “I was coming back.”

  He frowned at her.“What year would that be?”

  “I figured by the time you turned 90, you wouldn’t be able to catch me.”

  “How long have you been in New York?”

  “I never left.”

  He nodded his head. “No, you just left me.”

  “I went to see Samie. And I figured you wouldn’t understand. I’m tired of fighting with you, Don.”

  “We aren’t going to fight about anything, Jessie. But I need you to come back home.”

  “Why would you even want me to?”

  “Rainy needs you.”

  “She’s home?”

  “She’s been home for a year now.”

  “I wasn’t gone that long.”

  He nodded his head. “Yes, you were.”

  “What happened with the biker she took off with?”

  “I don’t know. But a lot of bad things have happened to our daughter. I’
ve been her court-appointed guardian for almost a year now.”

  “Is she okay? Why does she need a guardian?”

  “The courts don’t believe she couldn’t get away from the biker gang.”

  “I don’t understand, she went with the guy willingly.”

  “Yes, but when she tried to leave, he wouldn’t let her. They kept her captive for months.”

  She turned away and started pacing “Oh God, I’m so sorry. My poor Rainy.”

  “I believe she’ll be better with her mother with her. She needs you right now, Jessie.”

  “Of course, I’ll do whatever I can to help her.”

  “Right now, she needs a friend. She got hurt and can no longer dance. She entered a contest with a ballet she wrote, and I took it away from her.”

  “You jerk!”

  “Don’t look at me that way. I wasn’t going to keep it.”

  Jessica folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. “No, it was to keep her.”

  “I made her my partner.”

  Jessica smirked at him. “You’re too much, Donavan. They have to live their own lives. We don’t get to keep them.”

  “What’s wrong with keeping them close?”

  Jessica just shook her head. “When am I coming back here?” Donavan wouldn’t answer her. “Okay, but when we return, I need to bring my turtle back with me.”

  “What turtle?” He was joking, but the way she glared at him he knew she didn’t find it funny. “ Rainy feeds him.” He said to let her know her pet had been taken care of.

  “Okay, but we can bring him back here?”

  “Tomorrow.” Jessica shook her head no. “Alright, later today. Come on, Jessie, Rainy is waiting for us.”

  They pulled up in the driveway. There were cars everywhere. “I thought you said Rainy was waiting for us, not the entire Graystone family.”

  Donavan smiled at her. “Look at it this way Jess, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can return to your apartment with your turtle.”

  “And what about dinner?”

  “You’ll get to see our granddaughter.” That’s all Jessica had to hear. She could deal with the in-laws to be with Ruthy.

  Looking down, she said, “I didn’t get anyone a gift. I wasn’t planning on celebrating Christmas.”

  Donavan gave her a knowing look. “I got you covered, Jessie.”

  “But I don’t have a gift for you.”

  “You are my gift, Jessie. You’re all I need to make me happy.”

  Glancing up at him, she said, “That’s sweet of you to say.”

  “I’m not just saying it to make you feel good. I love you. I always have. You should know that by now.”

  “I know you do. You’re my rock, Don. If we could only get along.”

  The look on Rainy’s face when she saw her mother was all Donavan needed to know he did the right thing. When they walked in the house, everyone was there except Charles, their son, and his family and Quinn. But that was fine. They would be with them later that day. Rainy left the kitchen and ran into her mother’s arms. Before they even got into the dining room, there was a knock on the door. Quinn had made it home for Christmas. She and Rosa came into the house bearing gifts. Donavan embraced his daughter, so excited to see her.

  Later in the morning after the other’s had left for home, Rainy sat in the living room with her mom and sister. She told them everything that had happened to her. Jessica wanted to know all about the bikers and how she got into trouble.

  “I don’t understand how you got in trouble if you were their captive.”

  “I don’t know how the law works, Mom. They saw the tattoo on my right shoulder and thought I was one of them.”

  “Were you?” Quinn asked.

  “I guess I was Decker’s old lady. Whatever that means.”

  “Who’s Decker?”

  “He was the VP of the club.”

  “This club have a name?”

  “Yes, Quinn, ‘The Screaming Bandits’.”

  Quinn wrinkled her nose up. “And that didn’t spell trouble for you?”

  Rainy rolled her eyes in frustration. “Yes, and I tried to run more than once.”

  “I don’t understand, Rainy. Who was keeping you there?” Asked Jessica.

  “Why don’t you believe that I tried to get away?”

  “Maybe that tattoo. I mean you did have to sit still to have it put on.”

  Rainy hesitated for a minute. “The tat was Decker’s idea. If he claimed me for his own, the other bikers would leave me alone.”

  “The same biker that sold you to the traffickers?” asked Quinn.

  Rainy started to tear up now. “Can we talk about something else, please?”

  Jessica reached over and placed her arm around Rainy’s shoulders. “Sure we can, honey. Whatever you want to talk about.”

  “Are you going to live here again?”

  The look Jessica gave her had both the girls laughing.

  ***

  In the dining room, Donavan and Rosa sat enjoying a cup of hot coffee. “They seem happy!” Stated Rosa, referring to Quinn and her mother and sister.

  “Jessie has a way about her.”

  “And that’s a good gift to own. I think this will be a good Christmas for them to remember.”

  Rosa was right, and Donavan was happy to see Rainy smiling again.

  Donavan and Jessie went into the living room alone. While seated together on the sofa, Donavan asked, “So, Jessie, did you see the ballet?”

  “What ballet?”

  “The same one you made all the costumes for.”

  She bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t even know Rainy was home, I swear. Bonnie asked me to make the costumes for the school’s recital. Is that the ballet you took away from her?”

  “It is, and you should be proud of our daughter. She’s very talented.”

  “Have you bothered to tell her that?”

  Donavan grinned at her and changed the subject. “You know you’re not going back to that apartment.”

  Jessie let out a sigh. “And just why not?”

  “Because if you break my heart again, Jessie, I might just die.”

  “I’ll stay, but Bonnie might not want to give up the school to me.”

  “Are you kidding? I called them back from their vacation.”

  “Don?” He just threw his hands out.

  ***

  There was a change of plans when Charles and his family came over. The entire Graystone family returned and stayed until Christmas was over, and it had become the 26th of December. After Quinn and Rosa left, they were the last to leave. And this day would be one that Rainy would always cherish. Her family together, even her mom and dad. All except Samantha’s family. And that was okay, she was thinking. She knew they were happy. She would see her big sister again one day and was going to make it a point to do so.

  Rainy went to her room to get ready for bed, exhausted, but in a good way. Then she thought about her mother and wondered if she had left as well. After she put her nightgown on, she went back downstairs to see if her mother was still there. She got as far as the landing and saw her parents sitting on the sofa in the living room. Her father had his head resting on the back of the sofa, and her mother’s head laying on his shoulder. The lights were still shinning on the Christmas tree giving the room a warm glow. Grinning at the scene, Rainy’s heart started to swell with happiness because she knew her father was content now that her mother was with him. They belonged together, and they did love each other. She knew that much. Maybe one day she would find someone to share her life with who loved her the same way.

  Chapter 26

  Out Of Line

  It was January the 5th, and Rainy returned to the dance studio with a pep in her step. She was no longer a cleaning lady. No, she was one of the artistic directors of ‘The Imakey Dance Company’. And she already knew the dancers weren’t going to like this change. Most of them, that is. Not all the dancers hated her. Ju
st Pedro’s little click.

  Entering the building, she went to change into her leotard and tights. She put on a dance skirt to match her leotard. As she slipped on her ballet slippers, she wondered what The Screaming Bandits would say. But even if they were to see her now, she didn’t believe they would even know who she was. Sporting her hair in its natural glory, she was born a blonde, but had always dyed her hair black. Funny, she was thinking when Samantha was still living at home how she would get angry with her for dying her hair, and now Samantha did the same thing.

  Going into her father’s office, Rainy looked for the folder that held the dance order in it. It wasn’t on the desk where she left it. Going behind the desk, she pulled out a drawer. There it was right on top. Taking a seat in her father’s chair, she started to work on which dancer would dance what part. While she would use a stand-in to begin with, she, herself, had planned on playing the part of the conductor. Having created the part just for herself, she saw no reason to change that now. But as soon as her father came in, she would talk to him and get his input.

  This was all surreal to her. Her father had always treated her as if she was a child without a brain in her head. So when he asked her to be his partner, she thought he was making fun of her. And she even asked him again if he was sure. It was his answer that made her so happy.

  ‘I’ve never been more sure of anything.’ It was like she had to pinch herself to make sure she was awake.

  She didn’t even notice when her father entered his office, she was so into the task at hand. He cleared his throat. “You took over my desk?” Rainy looked up at him and frowned like she didn’t know what he was talking about. Then she stood up and was going to move. “Stay. You look like you’re engrossed in what you’re doing.”

  “It’s okay, I’ll find another place to work.”

  “We’ll take the sofa out and put a desk in here for you. The way we did when Samie worked here. But for now, we can share,” he said as he hung his coat on the hook behind the door.