When dinner was over, Donnie took the check and paid it without hearing a word from Craig. “I told you it was my treat,” he said, amused. “You can buy me drinks at your social club soon.”
Craig laughed lightly. “You’re on.”
They left the restaurant together, getting back into Donnie’s limo that appeared as if by magic. Instead of being impressed by it, Craig treated it like it was nothing. Such things were just how his life was. He relaxed against the cool leather seat in the car, watching the lights of the city outside of his window. They were definitely not going in the direction of his building; they were heading out of Manhattan. Towards his parents' mansion in Southampton. He looked at his brother and rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, too.
“I knew you were going to just take me to see Mom and Dad,” he said. “This was a trap, wasn’t it?”
Donnie laughed along with him and shook his head. “No, not at all! I just figured we could kill two birds with one stone. Why? You have other plans tonight?”
Craig had cleared his schedule for the night and Donnie knew that. Even if he was planning to do something else, he wasn’t going to turn down family time. This was a perfect opportunity to see everyone and stop feeling like a guilty son. “You know what my other plans would’ve been, but I’ll take you along with me next time.”
“Excellent,” Donnie said. “Mom and Dad will be so happy to see you. Especially Mom. She still talks about you like you’re a kid, you know. ```Oh, I hope he’s been eating well.’” His voice mimicked their mother’s and it wasn’t a half-bad impression.
“She just worries about me because she loves me best,” Craig said with a playful grin.
They listened to some bouncy jazz music as the car rolled along, catching traffic this time as people made their way out to Long Island and The Hamptons. When the limo finally pulled into their parents’ long driveway, it was a good hour and a half later. Craig zoned out a little during the ride but he snapped awake now he was ready to get out of the car again.
Donnie stretched as he stood up beside the car. “We should charter a chopper back to the city after this,” he said. “Unless you want to stay the night here.”
Craig had a feeling that was exactly what his brother was planning to do, but he thought it would make more sense for Donnie to stay with him in the city since they were planning to do things there instead of in Southampton with their folks. “I haven’t taken a helicopter in awhile. I hope my fear of heights hasn’t crept back.”
They went up to the front door and knocked. After only a moment, they were greeted by one of their parents’ butlers and escorted into the living room, where their parents were enjoying a relaxing evening together. Their mother stood up from the couch, clearly overjoyed to see Craig and feigning a bit of surprise that he could tell right away wasn’t genuine. This had been the plan all along. Their father stood up as well, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his corduroy pants. He didn’t seem surprised either, but he did have a smile on his face which Craig hadn’t expected from him.
Their father was quite a serious person. He was often more aloof than friendly with his sons. Maybe I really should visit more often, if it makes Dad have this reaction. Then again, if Craig visited more often, it might not be special anymore…
“It’s so good to see you!” their mother said, coming over at once to hug him, then she pulled back enough to get a close look at him. He regretted his business casual look even more now. “Have you been taking care of yourself? How is your club?”
Craig blushed. “It’s good to see you, too. I think I’ve been taking care of myself… I’ve been feeling good. My club is going well. You know it’s not really my club, right? It’s not like I’m the founder or anything.”
“Oh, I know, but I only know it as the club you’re a part of,” she explained. “That’s good, though. It’s good to have friends outside of work if you can find them.”
“He’s going to take me there soon,” Donnie informed her. “I can’t wait to see just what’s so great about it.”
Craig got the feeling his brother envied him a little. He never heard about Donnie’s friends, though he was sure he had made some. He was a partier, and it wasn’t possible to party by oneself. “I think it’s been hyped up a lot for some reason,” Craig said with a laugh. “It’s just a relaxing atmosphere with some good guys and even better food.”
He wished he had founded it. He hadn’t ever founded anything in his life. The plastic surgery clinic where he worked was founded by their dad. There wasn’t really anything Craig could lay claim to, not that he thought putting one’s name on things made one more worthy of respect.
“You hype it up every time you describe it to me,” Donnie pointed out with a laugh.
They all sat down in the living room together, Craig in a wing chair, Donnie on the couch next to their mom, and their dad in the opposite wing chair. It felt a bit strange to Craig they’d come all the way out there just to sit and chat. Such things were usually done over texts or perhaps phone calls, but his parents were old school in that way; they prized face-to-face interaction above everything else, especially when it came to their sons.
“Have either of you met any nice girls lately?” their mother asked, raising her eyebrows in a slightly exaggerated manner. “You spend so much time going out places, I find it difficult to believe you never meet up with young ladies as well as your friends.”
“I go on dates occasionally,” Donnie said, seemingly proud of himself for that. “I’m not really looking for anything long-term, though. I’ve got my work to keep me busy.”
Their mother frowned. “Well, no offense, dear, but you’re not getting any younger.”
Craig chuckled, but then she turned to look at him. “And what about you?”
He looked down at the carpet, pretending the blue and silver pattern of diamonds and florals was completely new to his eyes. “I haven’t been focusing on dating,” he replied honestly. Trying to find a girlfriend hadn’t been at the forefront of his mind, but it wasn’t for lack of interest. He was just preoccupied, much like his brother said. Except whereas Donnie was a partier who probably did have a woman on both arms at most gatherings, Craig was much shyer. “I’m sure the right woman will come along, but probably not at the places I like to hang out, that’s true…”
Donnie was stifling a laugh now himself. Apparently, this little get-together with their parents had turned into parental scrutiny hour. Their dad had declined to comment on any of this, of course. He was most likely on their side; he valued hard work above everything else and, well, he had the fabulous mansion to prove it had worked out well for him.
“Thank you for coming to spend some time with us,” their mother said to them about an hour later. Craig looked at the clock on the mantle and could scarcely believe it was nearly one in the morning. He was quite grateful when he remembered he didn’t have to go to work in the morning. “Please keep us informed about how you’re doing. You could write every once in a while, at least. And maybe next time you’ll have some pretty girlfriends to introduce me to. We want grandkids while we’re still young enough to play with them without breaking a hip.” She smiled after saying this, as if to prove she was mostly joking this time.
Craig and Donnie took turns hugging their mom, and then they each shook their father’s hand. “See you boys again soon,” he said.
Donnie had his limo driver take them to the nearby helipad and they chartered a helicopter. Since they were going to spend most of the weekend doing things together, they decided to just have Donnie stay with him in his penthouse. “You should be in Manhattan for this visit,” Craig told him. “It just makes sense. Otherwise, you’d be flying back and forth all weekend.”
“You’re right. You’re smart. Thank you for sharing your swinging bachelor pad with me,” Donnie said with a grin and a wink.
Craig laughed and shook his head a little. “It’s not so swinging, but it’s certainly the home of a b
achelor.” Now their mom had put the idea into his head, it was all he could think about. At least Donnie was the same way. He would’ve felt inadequate if his big brother had a successful job and a beautiful young wife already. The way Craig saw it, they were young and could still take their time.
Chapter Two
Sandy Davenport stood on the stage at Studio 9L and looked out into the small audience as everyone applauded. Of course, she couldn’t actually see any of the people because the stage lights were so bright, but she knew they were there because of the roar of the clapping and the squeal of their cheers. Another successful airing of The Banana Peel was in the books. The weekly comedy sketch show was a TV staple that went back decades, and Sandy was thankful every day she got to be a part of it.
Everyone in the cast went around and hugged each other, and Sandy wished she could come along with them to the after party. She somehow always missed the after parties, not that they were really the sort of thing she was interested in. When she was performing, she was “on”, but whenever she went back to being plain old Sandy, she became shy and quiet and people got bored with her.
“Are you coming to the party tonight?” Annie, one of her friends from the cast asked as they embraced.
“Unfortunately, I can’t,” Sandy replied. “And I’m not even making up an excuse this time. I kind of have this thing with my dad. He’s in town and he wanted to catch a late pizza dinner.”
“Aww, okay,” Annie said, frowning slightly before quickly reverting back to a smile. Sandy wasn’t sure if it was for her or for the camera which was still recording as the credits were meant to roll over the cast’s enthusiastic farewells for the night. “Well, next time I hope. I promise you we don’t bite.”
Sandy laughed a bit awkwardly. “Haha, yeah… I know you don’t bite.” She felt bad for being a wet blanket each week, but at least in this case, there was nothing to be done about it. Once the cameras were off and the cast was whisked off stage and back into their dressing rooms, Sandy was more than ready to make her escape. She didn’t have to change out of a costume this time, which was helpful. She noticed it was getting quite late and she didn’t want her dad to be waiting too long, the pizza getting colder and colder in its box, so she just threw her hefty purse onto her shoulder and headed to the elevator and down to the street level of the tall building.
Sandy was from Oklahoma and New York City was very different from her hometown, to say the least. She was eager to see what her dad thought of the place. He’d been there to visit a few times before, but this was the first time he would be there without her mom… Places could seem a lot different when they were seen alone as opposed to with someone else. Sandy knew that well since she’d moved to Manhattan shortly after college graduation. The moment her parents said goodbye to her and went on their way, it was as if the whole world had opened up for her. She’d been terrified and excited at the same time.
She wondered if her dad felt the same way now that his better half wasn’t there to lead him around with her guidebooks and her cautious street-sense. I guess it’s up to me to help with that now, Sandy thought with a sad sort of smile as she rode in a taxi back to her apartment uptown. Traffic was slow-going because it was a Saturday night in the city that never sleeps, so she eventually told the driver to just dump her out on a corner a few blocks past Times Square. “I can get there on my own, thanks,” she said, giving the driver a generous tip for his trouble.
She hoofed it the several blocks to her apartment building, holding her purse and body tighter as she walked. Being a real New Yorker meant being used to walking in the city at night. Sandy wasn’t at that point yet, but she hoped to be eventually. She usually opted to walk or take a rideshare with a friend out of safety concerns, but tonight she was alone because she was focused on seeing her dad.
Once she finally made it to her building, she found her Dad sitting on the little pink fabric couch in the lobby. The space in there was tight and the building itself looked like it was built or at least decorated in the 1970s, so really her dad should’ve fit right in. He stood up as soon as he saw her come in. She grinned at him and he grinned back at her, the same grin. He held out a bouquet of red roses for her and Sandy went in for a hug first instead of taking them. An extra-large pizza box sat on the couch, not steaming anymore but still smelling so good.
“I’ve missed you,” she said to him, speaking practically into his shoulder but he could hear her anyway.
“I missed you too,” he replied. “I picked up some mushrooms and olives at the all night grocery store around the corner that I thought we could slice and put on top. They were always your favorite.”
Sandy didn’t want to stop hugging her father, but she knew they wouldn’t get anything accomplished if she just stayed in his arms all weekend. It was a long weekend, but the show meant that it was normal-length for her. She was going to monopolize all of the time she could with her dad. “Oh pretty! It looks like you also brought roses,” she said, finally letting her arms fall away from his tall, slightly portly frame. “Thank you, Daddy!”
“Anything for my beautiful television star,” her dad said.
She graciously took the roses from him and then he grabbed the pizza box. They went up the elevator and to her apartment. There wasn’t a lot of space in her studio abode, but it was enough room for the likes of her. There was a forest green futon in the living room, though it spent most of its existence in its bed state instead of looking like any kind of sofa. “Sorry,” Sandy said as soon as they stepped into the tight space and she realized she should’ve thought to reposition things before her dad arrived.
“It’s all right,” her dad said with a laugh. “You’re a busy young woman. I didn’t expect you to live in a mansion with maid service.”
The very idea made Sandy laugh along with him. “That’s not even the kind of thing I’m dreaming of for myself,” she admitted. “It’d just be nice to not sleep on a slab in my living room.” She went to the futon and wrestled it into the shape she wanted, moving the pillows so they were more like throw pillows for the now-couch and less like pillows for her sleeping head. “I feel far from glamorous like this.”
Her dad shook his head, placing the pizza box onto the small square of chipped wood that served as a table in the kitchenette. She didn’t have a microwave, but they could heat in the oven in a pinch if it needed to be warmed up. “I think you’re glamorous,” he said to her with a sweet little smile.
She went over to inspect the pizza and found it was a suitable enough temperature. It wouldn’t burn their mouths, which she honestly thought made it more appealing. She got some thin, earthenware plates out of a cabinet and served up some slices for her and her father. Then they sat together on the futon-couch, each at a bit of an angle so they could look at each other. It wasn’t midnight yet, but it would be soon.
“This is the best midnight snack I’ve ever had,” she said to her dad as she ate her slice of olive and mushroom pizza. Sandy didn’t even know where it was from, but in New York, it didn’t really matter; all the pizza places in the city were decent if not amazing. She thought this one was closer to amazing, but maybe she was biased because her dad had brought it. “Thank you, both for the pizza and for coming all the way here to spend part of Memorial Day weekend with me. I’m sorry it couldn’t be all of it.”
“No sweat,” he said before taking a bite of his slice, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the flavor of it. “You’re more than welcome. I love eating my favorite food with my favorite daughter.”
“I’m your only daughter,” she said with a grin. They’d been making such a joke for as long as Sandy could remember. “How was your flight?”
She knew both of them were awkwardly skirting around the topic of her mother, but they never knew how to bring it up, especially because it always made them sad. Neither of them was very good with emotions. Sandy believed it was why she was so good at crying on command, and it was a lot easier to think of it as a creative a
sset than it was to think of it as it related to trauma. She remembered seeing her dad cry a lot when her mother died, and it was the sort of thing she hoped to never have to see again. So she refrained from bringing up her mom and he did likewise. Instead, they let the topic of her hang in the air between them almost like her ghost itself. Maybe it didn’t really help either of them, but it was the best thing they could do for now.
“My flight was fine,” her dad said. “No gremlins on the wing.” He grinned at her, knowing she would catch the reference. “I slept most of the way, which is just how I like it.”
“I don’t know how you sleep on planes,” Sandy said, gasping a little even though she of course knew this fact about her dad. “I spend the whole time white-knuckling the armrest and trying not to think about how high up we are. Which is impossible when the pilots always remind me.”
Her dad chuckled. “I put some headphones in and listen to music. If I listened to the pilot, of course I wouldn’t be able to rest.”
That made sense to Sandy, but she didn’t think she’d be comfortable listening to music and ignoring announcements from the cockpit either. She just figured planes were destined to make her anxious. Fortunately, she wasn’t alone. She and her dad finished up their slices of pizza and then she put the leftovers away in her refrigerator, hoping the oven would be able to work its magic to heat them up again after a night in the cold. It probably wouldn’t burn the pizza to a crisp, but she could never be sure about that. She didn’t have a lot of confidence in her apartment’s old kitchen, which was why she ate out most of the time. Not at fancy places, though; she was a big believer in fast food curing everything.
Thank goodness there were fast food salad and wrap places!
Billionaire Hearts Club- The Complete Series Collection Page 13