Chapter 4
CLARISSA
Igot into the SUV after my exchange with Cole. He was being an ass as always. The seat felt warm; he had warmed it up for me. A little too warm if you ask me.
“Let’s go. What are you waiting for?” I asked.
“Jesus Christ! I thought you were going to beat the shit out of Cole.”
“Shut up and drive, Ralph,” I said in a stern voice. “Everything is going according to plan. I’m wearing him down.”
The ride back to my hotel wasn’t long. Just about 10 minutes from the club. New York was as beautiful as ever. The streets were filled with yellow cabs and people walking really fast on the sidewalks—it was simply delightful.
“Hey, Mom,” Ralph said. “Do you think Cole will agree to have the paternity test?”
“Don’t call me Mom. Don’t break character even if we’re alone in the car. You never know who is listening,” I said.
“Fine. I’ll try not to. But don’t you find it odd he didn’t recognize me?” Ralph asked.
“Really, Ralph? He’s never met you. Sure, I’ve mentioned that I have another son, Rafael. But he’s not going to remember you if he’s never met you.”
Not the brightest of the two.
“By the way, I hate the name ‘Rafael.’ Why did you have to pick that old-ass-sounding name?”
Ralph kept driving, his eyes on the road. Clearly, he was very annoyed that I named him after his great-grandfather.
“Well, you know, I loved my grandfather. He was always very kind and supportive of me. And I like the name,” I shot back.
“Fine.”
Ralph stopped the SUV abruptly in front of the hotel. The tires screeched, and the SUV moved violently forward and then settled down. I hit my head against the back of the driver’s seat and then snapped back to my seat.
Thank goodness for seatbelts.
“Aarrgg. Damn it, Ralph. Quit driving like a maniac. We don’t need a cop stopping you and asking questions.
Like father, like son.
There was silence. I didn’t know why Ralph wasn’t saying anything. I looked at Ralph through the rearview mirror. Ralph’s nose was bleeding.
I gasped.
Suddenly, there was a knock at my window—a very familiar face.
John. What are you doing here?
“Mom, do you have a handkerchief or something? My nose is bleeding.”
I looked in my purse and handed him a few napkins I’d kept from the jazz club.
I rolled down the window. John looked at me with a puzzled face.
“Were you trying to run me over, darling?” John asked with a smirk. “Our son here almost ran me over.”
His breath reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. He was dressed like a hoodlum—the same tattered brown jacket and his favorite blue jeans.
“Dammit, John. What the hell are you doing here?”
You’re impossible to deal with. You’re going to ruin my plans.
“Well, Ralph here told me about your little plan to extort Cole.”
I hit Ralph on the side of the head.
He looked at me through the rearview mirror and shrugged.
“He forced it out of me, Mom. You know how violent my dad gets when he doesn’t get money for his vices.”
“John, be a sweetie and move back so I can get out of the car,” I said. “Ralph, please park the car and come upstairs. I’ll be there with your dad. We need to sort this out.”
“Yes, Mother,” Ralph answered.
John and I went up the elevator. I looked at myself in the mirror while inside. I still looked good. My green eyes looked sexy as ever, and they looked even more defined with the eyeliner.
John looked me up and down.
“You look great, Clarissa. That’s a nice haircut. I love the way your brown hair curls naturally. Did you just get it? I don’t remember.”
Of course you don’t remember. You’re drunk all the time.
“Stop flirting with me, John. You’re not getting any. Ralph will be up in a little while.”
“I can be quick,” John snapped.
I’m sure you can.
“I need you to behave yourself, John. This is serious business.”
The elevator kept going up through the floors. The bell rang. It stopped on the fifth floor; the doors opened, but no one got in. The doors closed, and we kept going to the 10th floor.
“You look good, really good, actually. I think New York has been good to you. I mean, your tan looks great. Did you go to a tanning salon or something?”
“No, I didn’t. You know this is my natural color. What has gotten into you, John Rodriguez?”
I already knew, but I wanted to confirm. He wants money. All that sweet-talking means only one thing: he wants money.
He seemed to be thinking clearly despite his breath.
“I’ve missed you. Ralph and I have missed you. New Jersey is not what it used to be anymore for us,” John said sadly. “Ever since my dad passed away, things have not been the same.”
“Oh, you mean because you’ve spent all the money he left you?”
I hated seeing him this way—feeling sorry for himself. Despite his drinking, he still worked out, and I loved how muscular he looked.
“I’m not working at the gym anymore. I got tired of that. All the girls saw was a brown-eyed hunk of meat. I cut my hair really short. Now I look like a sergeant in the army instead of a hippie from the seventies.”
I laughed. Then he laughed. We both laughed.
That’s what I loved about John. He could always make me laugh. And that’s something Cole could never do.
The elevator hit the tenth floor, and then the bell rang. The doors opened, and we stepped out.
“The room is here to the right, John.”
I swiped the card, and the hotel door light went green. We walked in.
“This is a very nice room,” John commented. “How much do you pay a night?”
“That’s not important right now. What’s important is that you get back to New Jersey. Cole can’t find out you’re here in New York. He’s going to get jealous.”
John looked at me, puzzled. He looked out the glass double doors and then turned back to me.
“Hey, but you, too, are divorced, just like we got divorced right after Ralph was born. So what’s the deal?”
I rolled my eyes. John sometimes didn’t get it. I sat on the chair by the television table, looking at the pretty pictures of flowers hung around the white walls of the room.
“John, please sit down.”
He sat down facing me on the edge of the bed.
“Yes?”
“Listen, I need to have Cole believe that Ralph is his son, and I can’t be distracted with you here.”
“So now I’m a—”
The door opened. It was Ralph. He was still holding his nose with the napkin to stop the bleeding. Apparently, he took a nasty hit.
“Ralph, go to the bathroom sink and wash off the blood, please. Just hold your head back; that should stop the bleeding.”
Ralph went inside the bathroom.
My attention went back to John.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
“So now I’m a distraction?” John asked with resentment.
I sighed.
“Look, let’s do this. I’ll give you some money to tide you over until I get back to New Jersey in a couple of weeks. By then, this should be all sorted out.”
John gave me the side-eye. I felt uneasy. I got up from my chair and went to the small fridge under the television table.
“Do you have a beer in there?” John asked.
“No. Do you want a bottle of water instead?”
“I guess that’ll do,” John said in disappointment.
I took two bottles of water. I handed one to him and took one for myself. I sat down again.
“How about this? I’ll give you five hundred dollars and money to take a bus back to New Jersey.”
“Make it a thousand, and I’ll be out of your hair,” John replied.
“Hey, that’s a lot of money!” Ralph yelled from inside the bathroom.
Ralph walked out of the bathroom and sat next to his dad. He put his arm around him and held him tight.
“I love you, old man,” Ralph said sweetly.
“I love you, too, bud.”
“Pops, we need that money just in case this doesn’t go right.”
I felt uncomfortable and impatient. Ralph was just talking too much. I just wanted John out of the picture. I needed time to think clearly, and I couldn’t do that with John around.
“Listen, everything is going to be just fine. Here’s the money. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be just fine.”
John took the money and started counting out the ten hundred-dollar bills I gave him.
Ralph looked at me with a concerned expression. I just winked at him, reassuring him that everything would be okay.
I sure hope my plan works.
And if it doesn't, I'll think of something.
I need this money.