Daughter of a Don

Exciting News

              When Jenna’s flight arrived in New York she wasn’t in any particular hurry to get off the plane. She knew that either the housekeeper or one of her father’s men would be there waiting for her. Her father never picked her up himself. She would rather that Ms. Kessler picked her up over any of her father’s men. But it was hard to tell which would come for her. A small part of her hoped it would be her father. Normally she wouldn’t even entertain the idea, but since he had told her he had news, she hoped that maybe he would. The more she thought about the idea of her father’s news the more she got nervous. She felt like she had a swarm of butterflies in her belly by the time she got to the luggage pick up area. After she grabbed her suitcase she went to the lobby and she saw Ms. Kessler waiting for her, which was no surprise. She really didn’t figure that her father would come. Just the same she was happy to see Ms. Kessler. She welcomed Jenna home with a warm smile as she always did. On the trip back to the house Jenna tried to pick Ms. Kessler for information about the “exciting news” her father had but Ms. Kessler told her that she would need to talk to her father about that, and didn’t give her even a stitch of information. Again, that didn’t really surprise Jenna as all of the staff was generally closed lip with anything that went on at the house. It was common practice for the staff and Jenna assumed it was under the order of her father.

                Once they arrived at the house Jenna and Ms. Kessler got out and went inside and Jenna went to her room to put her things away. Ms. Kessler told her that she would call for her when lunch was ready. Since Jenna no longer had a nanny, Ms. Kessler generally filled in with cooking duties as well as the upkeep of the house. Jenna didn’t mind that because she had always liked Ms. Kessler’s cooking. Jenna had even been lucky enough for her to teach her how to cook somethings on her own, which came in handy when Ms. Kessler wasn’t around, which wasn’t all that often, but it was still nice. Jenna looked around the house and yard when she had first gotten there but she didn’t see any sign of her father. She guessed he was out on business. His “business” took up most of his time, so Jenna wasn’t surprised. She wasn’t sure why she had been nervous about getting news because it may be days before she would find out what it was, if she saw her father long enough to find out at all. Jenna ate her lunch once Ms. Kessler called for her and then went back to her room and decided to watch T.V. for a bit. She had gotten through almost an entire movie when she heard the gate open and a car pull into the driveway. Jenna peaked out through the curtains to see who it was. She saw her Thomas, one of the men that worked for her father get out of the driver’s seat and go around and open the back door for her father to get out. Then they both walked into the house. Jenna wondered if that would mean he would talk to her soon, but several hours passed and she had dinner and watched T.V. some more but he never came, and she decided to go to bed. She guessed the news would wait for another day.

                The next couple of days came and went and still no news. But she had seen a few things that were unusual. She had seen some boxes of things being brought in through the service entrance. Normally that wouldn’t peak Jenna’s interest but there were a lot of boxes and Jenna had caught a glimpse of a woman leaving the house one night. She had never seen her before. She had no idea who she was. Jenna could only think that she was dressed like a cheap hooker. But her father had never taken part in any thing like that before that she had known of. Once of her father’s men drove her out of the driveway and to where ever she was going. Something else that was odd was that Ms. Kessler had told Jenna that she would not go to the East wing of the house. Jenna typically had free range of the house except for her father’s office, of course.  Jenna thought about venturing to that end of the house anyway but then decided against it. She knew she would be in a lot of trouble if she disobeyed anything that her father had said. Later that night after Jenna thought ever one except the guards were in bed she crept as close to the East wing of the house as she dared go. When she got close, she thought she heard something, but she hadn’t been quite sure what it was. So, she listened harder. Some time passed before she heard it again, but then she did. And it sounded like a baby crying. What on earth? Why would there be a baby in the house? She crept back to her room and shut the door. She went to bed with a million questions floating around in her head.

                 The next day after breakfast, her father called for her. She went to his office as he requested, which was rare. He typically would make like he was trying to spend time with her and sit and eat dinner with her or something like that. He would only stay long enough to tell her what he needed to and then he would leave her on her own again. But this seemed different. The butterflies returned and she didn’t know what to expect. She knew she hadn’t one anything tat she should be in trouble for, but she couldn’t help but be paranoid that she had. Her father had that affect on people, including her. But Jenna squared her shoulders and stood tall when she entered and tried not to let any of her nervousness show. She was getting older and she didn’t want her father to see her as a child anymore. She wanted him to know that she was mature enough to make decisions on her own, and to understand that she could keep a secret if needed. She would never betray her father, not just because she would be afraid to, but because she loved him. Once she got inside his office, he told his guards to go outside the room and shut the door and he gestured for Jenna to take the seat across from him. So, she did. He started off by telling her that he knew she wasn’t a little girl anymore and he knew she was capable of understanding and reacting to what he needed to tell her appropriately. That made Jenna even more concerned about what the news might be. She didn’t just have butterflies in her stomach any longer, she could feel them fluttering around by her heart now too.  He continued …”Jenna, I have remarried and you now have a baby brother, his name is Vinny and he is 6 months old. He is my biological child. His mother, Veronica and him, have moved into the east wing of the house. I expect that when you meet them you will do your best to welcome them and show them respect.” Jenna was glad she was sitting down because the news made her queasy. It didn’t take her father long to excuse her and never once did he ask her opinion, not that she had expected anything different, but she had hoped for better.

                All night Jenna kept thinking about what he had told her. It was difficult for her t process fully because as long as she could remember it had always been just her and her father. He had mistresses that came and went but there was never anything serious and they never lasted long. She wondered what was different about Veronica. Had it purely been because she had given birth to Vinny that her father kept her around. Jenna wondered if this meant that her father would spend even less time with her, and she wondered if Vinny would be treated differently than her. Did her father love him more? If so, what would happen to her? She knew that her father had told her that it was “exciting news” but she didn’t see it as that. She saw it more as unwanted news. But she guessed she would try to make the best of it since she didn’t really have any other choice. And by make the best of it she meant that she would avoid them like the plague. She had no desire to get close to either of them in any way, and given that they were taking over the east wing of the house and hadn’t went out of their way to meet her she guessed they weren’t exactly excited about meeting her.