Page 24 of Teddy Sinatra: Go Your Own Way
“But what would his going on vacation help? He needed time to think about it? I don’t get it.”
“He wanted to test me. He wanted to see if I was worth fighting for. But I proved I wasn’t.”
Nikki stared at Teddy. “What do you mean you proved it?”
A sadness came over Teddy’s face. “After the week I’ve had, I proved I wasn’t worth a damn, let alone worth fighting for. Rarsi can have me, is probably what he’s thinking now.”
This was some heavy news for Nikki to take. “Is that why neither one of you believed Rarsi was involved in what happened with our capos and our ships?”
Teddy nodded. “That and the fact that he’s a standup guy. He doesn’t play games. If he wants to take you down, he’ll tell you so.”
But Nikki was distressed. “Why did you keep all of that from me, Teddy? I thought we were partners in every aspect of our lives. Why couldn’t you have told me what was going on?”
“Because it’s a decision I have to make for myself. I wanted no interference.”
Nikki was offended. “Interference? What you decide with affect me too. And Kimmie!”
Teddy rubbed his forehead. “I know it will. You don’t think I know that? But Rarsi is right. Even Frankie tried to warn me before I went to work for Pop. Because me and him? We’re like oil and water. We never mixed and we never will.”
Nikki was afraid to ask it. “So does that mean you’re leaving Mick and going to work for Rarsi? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Teddy was afraid to say it. “Seems like,” he said. Then he looked at Nikki.
But Nikki didn’t know what to say either. Until she thought about it. “If you take over the Bengino syndicate, where does that leave me? It’s one thing for me to be the underboss of the Sinatra family because at least by marriage I’m a Sinatra. The Bengino family isn’t about to let me have anything near a leadership role in their organization, let alone be your underboss. There’s no way. If you make this move, where does that leave me, Teddy?”
It was a major question. One Teddy had been processing too. But he knew his answer wasn’t going to be a satisfactory one. But it was something he’d been thinking about for a long, long time. “You’ll either be the new boss of the Sinatra crime family,” he said, “or you’ll be my wife.”
Nikki stared at him with shock in her eyes. Did she hear what she thought she just heard? Was he giving her anultimatum?
“Did you sayor?” she asked him.
Teddy couldn’t believe he had said it either. But he had. And he meant it. “Yes,” he said to her, although he knew as soon as he said it that if she remained with Mick and he departed, the chances of their union surviving such a seismic separation would be a resounding zero.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Duke and Jackie were seated at the breakfast table picking around their food rather than eating it while Roz, in her bathrobe and seated at the table too, was drinking coffee. She normally didn’t get up this early, but she knew what went down last night had affected her children and she wanted to make sure they were okay. Especially Duke. He and Teddy were close. He was extremely distressed last night.
But tactfulness was never Roz’s best quality. “Quit peeping up at me,” she said to her son, “and just say what you want to say.”
“I wanna go see Teddy.”
Roz stared at him. “Why?”
“What do you mean why? You saw what Daddy did to him last night.”
“And I saw what he did to Daddy last night.”
“But he didn’t start it.”
“How the hell do you know that, Duke?” Roz didn’t give a nickel to any foolishness. Not even her own children’s. “You wasn’t in that office when it happened. Or are you just assuming something you have no business assuming?”
“That’s what I told him,” said Jackie. “He always blames Daddy.”
“Because I know how he is,” Duke replied. “Teddy works his butt off for him, but he never gives him any thanks whatsoever. He just dogs him out.”
“First of all,” said Roz, “nobody dogs out Teddy Sinatra, okay? So let’s put that fantasy to bed right now. And second of all, he started that shit last night. Did Daddy have harsh words for Ted? Yes he did. And he deserved it too. But he never laid a hand on him until he laid a hand on Daddy. Teddy started that shit and Mick finished it. So you pump your brakes with all of this blaming Daddy shit, you hear me, Duke? Pump your brakes.”
“I say both of them are at fault,” said Jackie. “Neither one of them can control themselves.”
