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“Oh, you two are such jokers,” She gives us both hugs and kisses. “Wish me luck. I won’t need it.”
She waves and leaves us standing at the bar.
“Man, that girl sure has some cojones.” Michelle turns to me, her warm brown eyes twinkling. “Do you suppose we’ll hear wedding bells soon? Do you think the guy with Harrison is available?”
I laugh, but in truth, part of me is extremely envious of Sherri for being so bold. I would never do what she did, no matter what I knew about Harrison. The Irish Mafia connection alone is enough to make me stay clear of men like him, no matter how handsome or wealthy they might be. Even if Harrison made his own fortune outside his family, he is still loyal to them.
We turn to our drinks and watch as Sherri goes back to Harrison. When the group rises and gets ready to leave, they pass us once more and it’s like we’re invisible.
“Well, I guess the show is over,” Michelle says and grabs her handbag. “I have to get up and go for a run before I write my last exam, so this is me, leaving.”
“I have a shift tomorrow, too.”
We leave the club, making our way to the subway. As we arrive at the stairs to the subway, I glance to the street and see Sherri drive by in a stretch limo with Harrison O'Connor sitting beside her in the back seat. They are holding glasses of champagne. She glances out her window and waves to Michelle and me.
We wave back and then watch the limo disappear into the night.
Michelle and I take the subway home, parting ways when I take the train to the Upper West Side, where I live with my grandfather and younger half-brother, Sean, from my mother’s new husband.
I arrive in time to say goodnight to Gramps, who just arrived back from his shift at the bar.
“Hey, Natalia.” He gives me a smile as he locks the door behind me. “How was your night out? It’s pretty early.”
“Good,” I say and remove my shoes, then go to the kitchen for a drink of water. “Michelle and I had a drink while Sherri flirted. Same old same old. We decided to come home early. Michelle has an exam to study for. I have work tomorrow. Sherri met some rich guy. She plans on making him her boyfriend.”
Gramps laughs. He knows Sherri pretty well. “Oh, she does, does she? Who’s the lucky guy?”
I raise my eyebrows suggestively. “Harrison O'Connor.”
He hangs his jacket on the hanger. “You meantheHarrison O'Connor? Of the O’Connor Clan?”
“The very one,” I say with a sigh.
“Honey, let me tell you something. He’s not just some guy. He’s got a personal fortune and is from the notorious O’Connor crime family of Irish Mafia.”
“There’s an Irish Mafia?” I ask, winking at him. “What — do they sell bootleg Irish Whiskey and sing O’ Danny Boy?” I laugh and go to the stairs leading to the second floor and my bedroom.
Gramps gives me a look of mock affront. “The Irish Mafia is real but now they partner with the Russians against the Italians. How does Sherri plan to hook him? He’s wealthy and while Sherri is cute, I can’t see it. His kind date heiresses and celebrities.”
“She says she knows his secret and that it’s a shoo-in.” I lean over the banister. “She introduced herself and he invited her to go to an exclusive party with him, so whatever the secret is, it must be pretty good. I saw her driving off with him and his friends in this stretch limo.”
“Hmm,” Gramps says and switches on the light in the front entry. “I hope she knows what she’s doing. I’d say he’s a dangerous guy, given what I know of his family.”
A sense of unease fills me. Gramps was NYPD Vice before he retired and opened a bar. “You don’t think she’s in any danger, do you?”
He shakes his head. “To just hop in some rich guy’s limo the first night she meets him…”
“I know, but that’s Sherri. She’s got lady balls.”
Gramps laughs out loud at that. “You kids today…”
We say goodnight and I go up the stairs while Gramps lets the dog out back for a pee before closing things up for the night.
I take the hallway to my room at the back of the second floor and walk past my mother’s bedroom. It’s been five years since she and my father were killed in a crash on the interstate north of the city. Gramps moved in with me and my younger brother, Sean, to take care of us, not wanting me to be fully responsible for Sean on my own.
I was glad he did, because I was busy finishing my undergrad, but now Sean is old enough to look after himself and I want my own apartment. Even if it’s just a studio with a fold out sofa bed, I’ll be happy.
Michelle and I talked about getting a place when she finishes her finals and gets a job, but that is just talk until we both actually earns some more money.
