Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Salomi officially graduated from high school a few weeks before Christmas. She was very happy that she didn’t have to devote so much time to a tutor. She felt free. She would have graduated earlier but with the deaths of her child and Uncle Vernie, there was no way she could concentrate. Again, she,Gabriel,Leon and Darla celebrated by going to the chapel. Ruth insisted that she attend college since she had ‘promising math skills’. But she refused. She was content with her life now. She could imagine herself settling down with Gabriel, Darla would do the same with Leon and they would all grow old together and see the world as they did so. She was happy.
In other news, Ola finally got word from friends and she was going to stay with them as she searched for her father. The three shared a tearful goodbye as they waved her off, not knowing then that would be the last time they would see her. Salomi and Gabriel did their own cooking and cleaning, which wasn’t much since they were barely home. Salomi made an effort to help Ruth out more, even though the ‘Dorothy Gibson scandal’ was over, people still couldn’t get enough, now that the word was out that she and Jules were getting married. A few weeks after Ola left, she wired Gabriel and Salomi that she did find her father. He was paralyzed from the waist down and was supposedly tortured by German soldiers but he was very much alive. She was going to stay in Ireland and take care of him. Gabriel insisted that they find another housekeeper, he could afford it now anyway since he and Leon were doing so well. That’s where they found Heidi. A blond haired, blue eyed and also chest heavy girl from Holland. Her English was kind of bad but not too bad to the point where you couldn’t understand her.
Dorothy moved out of her apartment and moved in with Jules. Now that the cases were closed against them and the secret was out, they felt free and could do whatever they pleased. They planned for a small and secluded wedding ceremony on Long Island and were going to Europe for their honeymoon. At first it was one week, then two, who knew when they would come back.
Everything seemed like it was coming up roses for everyone. But ‘Trouble’ was still the theme it seemed. It was still a hit song on the radios. The newest scandal was the ‘Roxy Hart scandal’. A wannabe actress from Chicago who shot and killed a man because she claimed that he broke into her apartment. As the story unfolds, the truth was that the man she shot was someone she had been sleeping around with, although she was married. She shot him while they were having an argument in her apartment. It was all the papers could talk about and now she was famous- for getting in trouble. It was the trend these days. Even in prison, she somehow kept her peroxide blond bob clean and it was all the rage. Many girls went out and got the same dye job. Even Darla.
“Ahhhhhh!”Salomi screamed when she opened the door and saw Darla with a new peroxide blond bob. “Ohmygod! Your Roxy Hart! When did you do this?”
“Today, just now actually. It kinda burns. Let me in. Its cold”Darla said as she pushed her way in as Heidi made her way down the stairs to see what the commotion was.
“Alright miss?”Heidi asked
Salomi laughed,”Oh yes Im fine. But look at Darla. She has a new look”she said to her. Heidi smiled and nodded her head and left to go into the kitchen as she and Darla made their way up to her bedroom,”What made you do it?”
“Sal, it’s the cats meow right now. Everyone’s doing it”Darla said.”I look better as a blond”she said as she looked at herself in the mirror.
“But we wont be twins anymore if you’re a blond”Salomi said as she faked a pout,”What will I do?”
“Go Roxy! You should do it. Gabriel’s a blonde. We can be a whole blonde gang”
“No Im fine with the way my hair is, thank you”Salomi said,”But it does look good on you. I will say that”
“Clothes miss”Heidi said as she walked in with clean laundry.
“Thank you”Salomi said as Heidi started to fold and hang up the laundry. She looked at Darla and saw the expression on her face,”Whats wrong?”
“Tell her to leave”
“Who? Heidi?”Salomi whispered
“Yes. I have to tell you something”Darla said
“Heidi? Im sorry will you excuse us? We need to be alone. Don’t worry, I’ll finish up”Salomi said to her as she ushered her out the door and closed it behind her. “What was that all about? Whats wrong now?”
“I don’t trust her”Darla said
“Heidi? She hasn’t even spoken a correct sentence in English to you. What has she done so that you cant trust her?”Salomi asked her
“Shes….she just cant be trusted. Shes rotten. She has big breasts, you know that? I always see them too which means that Gabriel must see them on a regular basis. You should give her a uniform”
Salomi rolled her eyes,”Darla. Your overreacting. Gabriel is perfectly fine with my breasts. He doesn’t need to look at Heidi’s and hers are big, I do agree, but its not what you think”
“How do you know? Men cant be trusted you know. How often is he in the house alone with her?”
“Not often, Im always here when he is around. Hes not around often, you should know”Salomi said, speaking of Leon
“I know. That’s why I know hes cheating on me. I know hes been seeing someone else”
“How do you know? Have you seen him?”
“No…I have my suspicions. I know he is. Hes always out partying late at night. Always has a meeting, a rehearsal, a ball that he has to attend. Why does he have to go to all of them but not Gabriel?”
“Because Gabriel isn’t a party animal like he is. You know that, that’s always been his reputation even before he met you. Isnt that what turned you onto him?”
“That’s besides the point. I wouldn’t trust Heidi around Leon with her breasts flapping in the wind like the grand ole flag-“
“Darla, stop. Maybe it’s the fact that you don’t trust Leon. You two obviously need to have a sit down-“
“Oh that’s smart”Darla scoffed,” ‘Oh hello Leon, how was your day? Oh by the way, are you courting someone else?’”she mocked a fake conversation.”Yes that would go over well”
“Well the only way to find out is if you ask-“
“Your so naïve Salomi. He wont admit to it. Why would he?”
“Because Leon is a gentleman and he should be honest with you”
“Well men arent always honest-“
“Women arent always honest!”
“That’s besides the point. I cant ask him. The only way Im going to find out is to follow him or plan something. You have to help me”
“I don’t have to do anything”Salomi said with a sigh as she laid on her bed. The room was silent then and she looked at Darla and her expression was serious.”You cant be serious”
“Yes I am. Gabriel’s around him all the time, you can simply ask what Leon is up to. What his schedule is, where the party is. We can go there, incognito and catch him in the act”
“Darla, you cant possibly think that you can be incognito with that blond bob of yours. Its like the sun, you can see it shining down the street”Salomi said
“Im serious Salomi. This isn’t fun and games”Darla said. “Its been plaguing me for weeks, I have to know”
“There has to be a better way to find out”Salomi said,”Darla, you have trust issues, which is normal, it seems that everyone has someone on the side these days. But not everyone is like that. You just need to talk to him. One on one. Have dinner or something”
Darla scoffed again,”‘Oh huney, heres your favorite meatloaf…with a side of potatoes. Oh by the way, have you been petting someone else?’ “she said, mocking another conversation.
“Well how else are you going to do it? Im not going to help you. This could get you in trouble you know. It could get me in trouble and possibly get Gabriel in trouble with Leon. You do realize that without Leon, Gabriel and I wouldn’t be living here, we would still be living with Dorothy. I owe him everything. Leon isn’t only just a partner but hes a great friend”Salomi said
“Oh so you wont help me because you don’t want to lose your precious luxurious apartment and your big breasted housekeeper from Switzerland!?”Darla exclaimed, getting very upset and loud
“Shhh!”Salomi said,”Shes from Holland by the way and you know it isn’t about that. Sneaking around will get us into trouble! How would you feel if he suspected the same thing about you?”
“Hes the one sneaking around not me! I would never sneak around…and if I did I wouldn’t give him any reason to suspect”Darla said
“That sounds a little hypocritical don’t you think?”Salomi asked her
“You make me sick! Just because you and Gabriel have the perfect relationship, doesn’t mean you can judge me!”
“Darla Im not judging you. Im just telling you that theres another way-“Salomi tried to explain but Darla was already out the door. “Darla come back!”she shouted after her, but she didn’t turn around and she slammed the door behind her. Salomi realized that Darla left her pocket book and picked it up and ran outside. But by then, Darla’s car was speeding down the street and no one could stop her. Very upset, Salomi walked back inside and slammed the door behind her. “How dare she walk out on me like that” she said to herself as she walked back into the bedroom and threw Darla’s purse on the chair in front of her vanity.”The peroxide must have gotten to her head-“she said and then stopped when she saw something familiar had fallen out of Darla’s purse. Coke. It was a pretty big bag. Darla seemed to be doing it more herself than selling it but it didn’t matter since her rum row with Leon was going so well, not to mention Leon and Gabriel’s shows. She stared at the substance, her hands were shaking since she was so upset and in a swift motion she opened the bag scooped up a pile with her fingernail and snorted it. She shook her head, blinked and took a few deep breaths. Its been a year since she told Darla that she wouldn’t touch it..and there she was. It wasn’t that bad, its not like she was addicted. She was upset. She scooped another small portion with her fingernail and snorted it in her other nostril and then swallowed the last portion. She closed the bag back up and put it back in Darla’s purse.
“I never should have touched it. Shit”she said. All of a sudden she was paranoid, nervous, she couldn’t keep still. “I cant keep still. I need to calm down”she said to herself. She went to the liquor cabinet and poured herself some gin. The New York Times raved that gin was the national drink nowadays. She drank it quickly and paced around the room and finally turned on the new radio that she and Gabriel purchased. “Trouble” was playing.
“I got trouble, trouble trouble. Always knocking at my door. Yes Im a whole lot of trouble baby. Like a kid in a candy store. Im nothing but trouble baby. Yes since the day that I was born”Salomi sang along as she whirled around the room. She was excited all of a sudden, she wanted to go out. But Darla probably hated her now. She wanted Gabriel to come back home, she hated being alone like this. She drank some more gin and placed the glass down on her vanity. She looked at her bed and it seemed as if it were calling her, she walked toward the bed and stumbled.
“Alright miss?”Heidi said urgently. She came out of nowhere and helped Salomi up.
Salomi struggled to get up and unfortunately her eyes locked on Heidi’s breasts. They were big. She didn’t notice them before. They were probably bigger than hers and that was saying something since Darla always teased about how big hers were. Has Gabriel looked at them? Really? She looked at Heidi with disdain and snatched her arm away from her,”Im alright!”she said harshly. Heidi jumped back. “Go do something with yourself. Go fix me some bread, I need to soak up this booze”she snapped and Heidi immediately left the room. And immediately Salomi felt terrible. She didn’t have to yell at her like that. She laid down on her bed and before Heidi could finish preparing the food. Salomi passed out.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Salomi opened her eyes to find Gabriel laying next to her, stroking her hair, humming a song she didn’t know. She jumped back a little bit and he laughed,”Well good morning sleepy head”
“What time is it?”she asked
“A little past midnight”he said. “Heidi said that you were out for a long time”
“Oh?”
“You got into that gin didn’t you?”Gabriel asked her as he got up
“Yes I did”
“So what did Darla say now to upset you?”
“What? How did you know?”
“Heidi told me. She said that you two were arguing and then Darla left. Then you drank, asked her to make some food and when she was done you were passed out. Now what did I tell you about drowning your sorrows with alcohol?”
“Im sorry Gabe. I really didn’t mean it”Salomi said
“Its fine. Whenever you two fight, it upsets you. What was it about?”he asked her.
Salomi couldn’t tell him. If he knew that Darla suspected Leon of being unfaithful, that could ruin their act, it may be awkward. “I don’t remember”she said as she shook her head
“It probably wasn’t important then. You were probably arguing about whether the carpet is white or beige. I think its beige”he said as he kissed her on the head and he called for Heidi,”Can you bring that tray back up please? The princess has awoken”he told her. He turned to her,”How bad is your hangover”
“Pretty bad”Salomi said. Her head and stomach hurt and she was so tired but she was antsy, she couldn’t stay still. She knew the Coke had a large part of it. She felt really bad now. A year ago, she promised that she wouldn’t touch the stuff again. She wanted to tell him but she didn’t need another argument today. It was only one time anyway. Innocent. She looked and saw that the pocketbook was gone. “Where is it?”she asked
“Where is what?”Gabriel asked as Heidi brought in some bread and water
“Darla’s pocketbook, she left it here”
“I don’t think so sweetheart”Gabriel said,”I didn’t see one when I came in here”
“Darla come”Heidi piped in. They both looked at her. “She come for bag. She kiss miss on the head. She left”she explained. She left the part out that Darla called her a whore and buttoned up her blouse for her before she walked out. She didn’t understand what it meant at first but now she knew.
“She kissed you on the head? How sweet”Gabriel said.”It must have been nothing since she has forgotten about it”he said to Salomi.”Thank you Heidi”he said to her with a smile. Heidi nodded and walked out. Salomi started to eat the bread and put more butter on it. She was starving. “Well now that you are awake and ok…I have some news for you”
“Good news I hope?”Salomi asked
“Yes good news”Gabriel said,”Leon and I are taking our act on the road. Its official. We start rehearsing next week. And guess what else? We will be spending the first two weeks on Long Island performing and guess who invited us to one of his infamous parties?”
“President Hoover?”Salomi asked, with her mouth full
“Close enough. Jay Gatsby. You know, the mysterious millionaire with ‘the best social events in the East’”he said quoting an article in the paper. “He wants to hold a party at his mansion, in our honor”
“That’s great”Salomi said.
“I want you to come Salomi-“
“I know I will come, I mean its Gatsby. I wouldn’t miss a party of his for anything!”
“No I want you to tour with me. Your done with school. I want to tour the whole east coast with you. I don’t want you to leave my side. We can travel together just like we always dreamed. We can make up on all the lost time. Leon will probably bring Darla along as well. It will be the four of us. Like its always been.It’ll be like the four Musketeers. And when we are busy, you two can keep yourselves busy.It will be one of the best vacations we have ever been on.”he said,”I mean we haven’t left the whole state of New York since…”then he stopped. That was a wrong thing to say. The last time they left was 2 ½ years ago when they went to California, met Salomi’s evil grandparents and then she lost the baby when she fell off the train. He sighed. She had a blank look on her face,”Im sorry”he said as he kissed her.”This will be much better than that. I promise. It will be like a pre honeymoon before we even get married”he said as he massaged the hand with the engagement ring on it. He noticed it was quite small.”Will you come?”he finally asked her.
Salomi nodded. This was what she dreamed. Traveling with the three of them, there was nothing she wanted more. And if Leon brought Darla, that would certainly make her suspicions go away. He would definitely keep her by his side.
*_______________________________*