Simone (The Ciprianos of Kellington Book 2) Read online

  “Can you see if they can get me a blanket? It’s cold in here.” Her voice trembled.

  He started to rub her arms up and down furiously to try and get her warm, “Yeah, it is a bit nippy in here, I’ll try to make sure they get you what you need. I know it is always cold in these cells. I hate that you’re cold and that you are so stressed by all of this. Did you eat already?”

  “Yeah, they gave me a sandwich and some cookies and a juice.”

  “Well, so much for a full course meal, huh? I promise that when you get out I’ll take you for breakfast, all right? Try and get you some rest.”

  “Thank you, Simple Simon.”

  “You’re welcome, Deedlebug.” Simone winked, hitting the door to let them know to let him out. Once out, she saw him pointing toward her while the officer nodded and walked away. Giving her another wave, Delia watched him leave her once again, all alone, but hopefully, not for long.

  * * * *

  Delia never got any sleep during the night for the shouts from other inmates along with the slamming of doors made her feel uneasy. Thinking back to all that had happened to her that day, she reflected that she had never been pulled over, much less arrested, for anything in her life. Now she had been in jail. Yeah, this was something to tell her children about, that is, if she ever decided to have children. How could she think about children now that her dreams of a future with Rodger were dashed?

  Sitting up on the mattress, she felt a sharp pain in her side from sleeping on that non supportive mattress. God, she couldn’t wait to get home, take a long hot shower and go straight to bed…for a week. Slowly getting up she moved around the cell a bit to try and get the kink in her side out. Bending down to touch her toes, then back up to bend from side to side a bit, she knew that after a couple of minutes of this that the pain would go away. She peeked through the small rectangular window of the door to see if anybody was coming by or anything. But no, no one was coming down the hall. She looked up overhead at the only window that brought in any sunlight to the cell. She guessed they had it there so that people wouldn’t go insane, missing the outside. All she could do was wait for Simone to come and pick her up.

  She wondered what her brother must be thinking of her now that he had a sister who had been put into jail. Delia knew that he would probably lecture her up and down about what she had done. Either that or he would more than likely laugh at the situation. She just knew that once she got out, she would never find herself in this situation ever again. Delia couldn’t stop remembering the smug look Mrs. Smith had on her face when she told her how she didn’t think she was rich enough much less had any class. This was coming from the same woman who, from what Rodger had told her, had lived in an old rundown shack in the back woods of Alabama and would work in the fields along with her family at times to get enough money to make for food. She’d never even finished school, only making it as far as the eighth grade before dropping out. All of this and she thought that Delia had no class whatsoever. Just because Rodger’s mother had a husband who was a self-made millionaire and bought her lovely things didn’t mean a thing. She was still the same woman regardless of her status in life.

  And then there was Rodger, the man who she’d thought loved her just as much as she loved him. She thought about the days when they use to talk about their future endeavors together, like how he always wanted to work with kids and get a community center opened right there in Kellington. He had always talked about having children, maybe two or three and how much he had wanted to have them with her. He’d told her that he didn’t care what his parents thought for he was going to make a future for them both. Now Delia realized that those were all lies and within that short amount of time she had been in that jail cell, she came to realize that she didn’t mean that much to him. That maybe his mother was right that she was just being used by him to satisfy his lustful needs. He had really pulled the wool over her eyes after all these years. Was she so blinded by love that she hadn’t realized what was happening? She must have been, she thought, because all she could ever think of during the time they were together was how much they meant to each other. Never would she have thought that two years of love on her part wasn’t even shared by the man she’d thought loved her back.

  Once she got out of here, she thought, she was going to make sure that things were right in her life. She knew that things would be better for her, heck; she was going to be an aunt soon, which she still couldn’t believe.

  Aunt Delia, can you believe that? She thought, and it made her smile, bringing a small bit of joy into life at that moment.

  * * * *

  All Simone had wanted to do the night before was get home, take a shower and get a drink of Scotch. Even though he knew that Delia was safe in her own cell, he was still worried about her well-being. Bless her for having to deal with so much in such a short amount of time, all he knew was that he would help her along the way no matter what it took. Delia was his match and they were meant to be together forever. He didn’t care how long it would take now for her to recover, just as long as he was there for her.

  Simone didn’t get any sleep either for he had been worried for most of the night about Delia. Poor thing, he thought. She probably has been sick with worry. Washing his face in the bathroom sink, he looked at himself in the mirror. He decided that once he had gotten his clothes on, he would call in at work and just close up the office for the day. When he walked into his office to grab some paperwork he needed, the phone rang, nearly scaring him to death. “Hello?”

  “Hey man, how’s everything going?” Andrew asked.

  “Doing good here, I was getting ready to get your sis out of jail.” Simone yawned while rubbing his eyes once more.

  “You sound tired as hell, man, did you get any sleep?”

  “Not really. I was too worried sick about Delia being in jail.”

  “Man, I hear ya. I was tossing and turning myself. But at least you’ll get her out today and then she’ll be home.”

  “That’s right. I’ll have her call you when she gets out, all right.”

  “Again, bro, I want to say thanks for all of this.”

  “You know I would do anything for Delia.”

  “I know you would man, and whatever happens during this time, bro, I give you my consent because I know you are going to pursue her at all costs, now.”

  Simone chuckled, “I appreciate it but I’m going to keep things slow. She’s had a major breakup with this guy. I don’t want her to feel like she’s in open waters and I’m the shark getting ready to grab hold of her. I’ll just let things build up once more and when she’s ready I’ll be more than ready for her. Call you soon.”

  Heading out of the door, he found the air was crisp and clean and seemed to wake him up a bit. It was a great relief to him because Lord knows that he needed a wake-me-up. First thing before he picked Delia up, he was going to get them both some coffee.

  After refueling with a nice hot cup of coffee along with making the call to Beverly about not coming into work, Simone headed to the jail. He knew it wasn’t going to be a problem because he had called Anthony ahead of time and confirmed that things had already been turned in so it was just a matter of a couple of minutes before she got out. When he walked inside he went to the visitation desk and thankfully they told him that it would be about ten more minutes. Sitting down in one of the chairs, he continued drinking his coffee before realizing he was almost done. The front door opened and he saw Rodger heading straight for the visitation desk.

  “Excuse me ma’am, was a Ms. Delia Whitney already released?”

  Simone walked over toward the young man, who was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black T-shirt. “Excuse me sir, I’m her lawyer and no, she hasn’t been released. Why are you here?”

  The man looked him up and down before he responded. “I need to talk with Delia, if you don’t mind.”

  “Well, I do mind because I honestly think it was crazy for you to bring yourself here in the first
place. What do you have to talk with her about, anyway?”

  “I wanted to apologize to her for all that I had put her through. I didn’t mean any of what I said to her at the restaurant. This whole thing was my parents’ doing because my dad is dying. My mom never did like Delia as much as I loved her.”

  Simone looked at the guy and even though Rodger was telling him all of this, he honestly didn’t believe a word he was saying. He heard the door opening and looked over to see Delia walking around the corner. The look on her face was that of complete shock when she saw Rodger. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I came to apologize to you about what happened at the restaurant, Delia. I didn’t mean for it to go this way.”

  Simone watched as Delia walked past Rodger to smile sweetly at him which made him smile even more broadly. She quickly hugged him, and his arms welcomed her into his embrace.

  “Delia, please listen?” Rodger demanded.

  “No, you listen. I want you out of my life since you want to side with your parents. Why don’t you go and buy yourself a new girlfriend. Did you think that after the shit you pulled the other day that I was going to leave here and just fall back into your arms and your bullshit lies? You have another thing coming if you think I’m that fucking stupid. Go on and live the life that your mother decided to choose Rodger, just leave me out of it.” Looking back at Simone, she put her arm around his and said, “Let’s get out of here, because I’m starving.”

  They decided to go to a restaurant in Bristol for breakfast. She was tired but so hungry for some real food. She ordered a stack of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream along with some sausage. They both sat in the booth in silence for a while, sipping on their coffees every so often, giving out a sigh here and there. “You look tired.” She had been looking into his eyes off and on while they sat across from each other. He looked the way she felt at that moment, emotionally drained and physically tired.

  “I am tired. I didn’t get a lick of sleep last night, worried sick about you being in there all night.”

  “Neither did I. Lord knows that mattress wasn’t good for my back at all. It’ll feel so good to eat, get my car and head on home so I can get clean. But I do want to thank you for doing this all for me.”

  He took one of her hands, slowly rubbing along her knuckles with his thumb. “You know what I have already told you, I would do anything for you Delia. I was just shocked to hear that you had been put in jail. I was reeling that these people would do anything this low to you. I would never let anyone hurt you or cause you pain and suffering. I would shelter you from that as much as I could so that I can see that pretty smile of yours on your face every single day of your life.”

  Delia didn’t know what to say when she heard him talk like that. The look in his eyes reminded her of the way he used to look at her when they were young. It was a look that she’d never thought she would ever see again.

  “All right, here are your strawberry pancakes with whipped cream, ma’am.” The older woman set down the warm plate of pancakes with fluffy mounds of whipped cream and juicy red strawberries all over. “Here is your steak and eggs, sir, as well as toast.” Delia eyed the huge T-bone steak that looked so good along with the sunny-side up eggs. Now she wished she had gotten the steak instead. “Let me get your sausage and I’ll refill both your coffees.”

  Once she started to eat those pancakes, a satisfied feeling came over her as she smiled while the sweetness of the syrup mingled with everything else. She saw Simone eyeballing her pancakes. “Want a taste?” Digging her fork to cut him off a piece, she added a piece of strawberry along with some cream. Reaching over she watched him open his mouth, taking a bite of it, the fork sliding from between his full lips. He smiled while slowly chewing what was in his mouth. “That was good. Here, taste this steak, it’s amazing.” He cut into the steak and let her take a bite from his fork as she chewed on the meat.

  “I should have gotten the steak.” Delia chewed the steak even more before swallowing it down. “Now, that’s what a steak should taste like.”

  “Say, why we don’t do this. How about we split our food and we’ll share.” Simone suggested. Soon the couple found themselves sharing their meals and enjoying the time they were spending together. But while Delia ate, thoughts of all that had happened to her up until this point began stewing in her mind.

  After they ate, they headed out to get her car from impound. Thankfully, it wasn’t too expensive even though Simone paid for it. “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?” he asked her after handing her a pair of keys. They walked through the parking lot as she saw her car sandwiched between a rundown looking Nissan and a brand new Land Rover.

  “Well I plan on going home to take a shower and go to sleep. What about you?”

  “Probably do the same exact thing myself. Just call me when you are done with your nap. Are we still on for Saturday?”

  “Of course we are still on for Saturday if you want to still go with me.”

  “Well, that’s a silly question because you know I want to.” Simone chuckled.

  “Well, for some strange reason, Andrew doesn’t want me going with you. We ended up in the biggest fight I think we’ve ever had and I still don’t have an answer for it. So, maybe you can tell me why he was acting this way?”

  “Maybe Saturday I’ll let you know everything.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise I’ll tell you everything on Saturday.” He held her in his arms for a moment. “You call me when you get home and make sure you call Andrew up as well.”

  She could see him watching her as she got into her car, turned it on and slowly pulled out from between the cars and he waved as he saw her leave the parking lot.

  Chapter Nine

  When she saw the ‘Welcome to Kellington’ sign, Delia breathed out a huge sigh of relief for she was finally home and near familiar surroundings. Even though she needed to get home, she had to try and go by the shop to see Jaslyn. She headed straight toward the shop, getting a parking spot nearby. Once out of the car Delia was thankful that the place wasn’t closed. “Hello! Is anybody here?”

  Seeing Jaslyn coming from around the back, Delia smiled when she saw her friend running toward her to hug her. “Oh my God, you’re safe and sound at last!” Jaslyn said tearfully. They looked at each other while wiping the tears away.

  “I’ve got to call Andrew.” Heading toward the desk, she dialed her brother’s number. After the second ring she heard him say, “Hello?”

  “Hey there, bro, I’m out.”

  The deep sigh of relief on his end told her how happy her brother was to hear her voice, “Thank God, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, I was headed home but I came by the shop to see about Jaslyn. I’m going to be at home for the rest of the day to sleep. I didn’t get very much while I was in that cell.”

  “Oh, I bet. Just go on home, get some rest and give me a call when you are up to it.”

  “Before I get off, there is something that I have to ask you.”

  “Sure, what is it, sis?”

  “It’s about Simone, Andrew. I want to know the truth about why you acted so funny about us going to the movies? I think I have the right to know, don’t you?”

  It was completely silent on his end and at first Delia thought that maybe he had either hung up or dropped the phone. “Andrew!”

  “Listen, Delia,” she heard him sigh deeply along with a frustrated moan before he continued, “I’ll tell you the truth, but you may want to sit down for this.”

  Going toward one of the tables, she grabbed a chair and sat down, “All right, I’m sitting down.”

  “Before I came over to see you this past weekend, I went over to see Simone. When I had told him about us having a baby, I kind of joked with him about whether or not he had found himself a girl. We even joked about how neat it would be to see some Cipriano babies around. He told me that he hadn’t found a girl but he had be
en thinking of one. He went on to tell me that he had been thinking about this girl for months. He told me he couldn’t get her off his mind to save his life. That’s when I asked if he was still in love with you.”

  It felt like her heart had completely stopped. She was at a complete loss for words and even Jaslyn could tell that something was wrong. Delia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was news that she honestly hadn’t thought she would ever hear. “He was what?”

  “Delia, sweetheart, Simone has been in love with you for years, now. I wouldn’t lie to you by telling you all of this but it’s true. He told me he didn’t know that you had been with Rodger until he saw you that night at the party. I told him to just be happy for you while you two were together but I knew he was very much in love with you, regardless. I talked with Renzo about it and he was concerned about it too because we all wanted you to be happy with Rodger. Simone would just have to get over you and move on. But sis, I swear he’s madly in love with you and still has been ever since we were kids.”

  Delia couldn’t believe what in the hell she was hearing. After all this time, could it be true? Her first true love was in love with her…still after all this time? “I’ve got to go, Andrew. I love you.” Handing Jaslyn the phone, she took her purse and headed out the front door in a complete daze. Why hadn’t he told her how he felt about her from the beginning? Getting back into her car, she drove home, still perplexed by all that she’d just heard.

  Simone Cipriano was in love with her.

  After taking her shower and grabbing herself a cup of tea, she sat down on her bed, contemplating the fact that the man she had loved since they were kids was in love with her. Delia went into her closet, pulling the small chain so the light bulb shone brightly. She moved some shoeboxes she had on the shelf and felt around for what she was looking for. A smile brightened her face when she realized that what she was looking for was still there. Pulling back, she had in her hand the infamous leather-bound diary from her youth. It was something that she had never gotten rid of, for even though she had written in diaries for most of her life, this particular one was special to her. She remembered writing page after page in her diary about him. It wasn’t that she couldn’t get a date or anything but it was just that Delia wanted Simone and only Simone. Surprisingly, despite her being a thick chick, she always had the eye of most of the guys in school. It was the one whose eyes she wanted on her body who never bothered to look her way. Simone was always too busy with sports or the other girls pining for his attention. The only time she did get a chance was after football games or whenever he was around Andrew, those were the only times she was able to have fun with him. She got the chance to know the real Simone, the laid-back Simone who loved going with her to watch old movies at the theatre, who would often help her in the kitchen when she made desserts for the bake sales at school. Those were the days when it was fun between them.