It took a while, but my father asked the question we’d all been thinking. “Who’s the father?”
Paris stared at him, looking genuinely taken aback by his question. I guess she thought her announcement was going to be cause for celebration, but judging from my father’s growing anger, the news definitely didn’t make him feel all warm and fuzzy.
“Who’s the goddamn father?” he asked, louder this time.
Rio chimed in like a comedian at a game show. He placed his fist near his mouth like he was holding a microphone. “Now, that’s the million-dollar question. Who is Paris’s baby daddy? Well, behind door number one there’s the newly elected congressman’s dead son, Trevor.”
Whom, I suspect, she killed, I thought.
“And behind door number two there’s the West Coast pharmaceutical distributor’s dead son, Miguel.”
Whom, I might add, she definitely killed.
“Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. We’ll find out in about six months who the winners are, but for the record, my money’s on the Mexican.”
Rio was about to continue his comedy routine, until Pops, Momma, and Paris all said, “Shut up, Rio!” in unison.
“Paris, my office now!” LC stomped off toward the house without waiting for a response.
Momma, on the other hand, was still staring at Paris like she’d brought home the Plague. “You heard your father. Now, get-”
“Junior!” Mariah spotted my brother and ran over to him. He lifted her up with one arm, kissing her cheek as he handed her the present he held in his other hand.
My mother pointed at the house, making sure Paris was headed in that direction, and then walked over to Junior. He placed Mariah down so she could open her present then walked about twenty feet away from the group with my mother. I’d stopped paying attention to them and was gossiping about Paris’s pregnancy with Rio, London, and Harris when my mother called my name.
I gave Junior a pound. “Hey there, bro, where you been?”
His mood seemed grim. “I was down in Philly taking care of something for Momma.”
“And?”
“Orlando, I don’t know how to tell you this....”
He just stopped speaking, and my mother had to continue for him. “We’ve found Vinnie Dash.”
I turned my attention back to Junior. “That’s great. Wait until Pop hears this. Did you take care of him?”
“Couldn’t. He’s got too much protection. If I took him out, it would bring a lot of heat down on us that we don’t need.”
“Protection? Who’s backing him?” I asked. Vinnie was a man with no home. There had to be a couple hundred guys out there looking for him—and that was just the Italians.
“Ma, that doesn’t make any sense. Who the hell would protect him? He’s got all kinds of money on his head.”
My mother handed me a picture as she spoke. “He’s being protected by the Jamaicans... and the mother of your unborn child. It seems Miss Ruby gets around.”
I looked down at the photo of Ruby, her belly round with my child, all hugged up with Vinnie Dash. Son of a bitch!
To be continued in The Family Business 2: Extended Family.
Discussion questions
1. Who would you have chosen to lead the family?
2. If you could be any member of the family, who would it be? Whose personality is most like yours?
3. When did you realize the Duncans were more than meets the eye?
4. Did you like the idea of Chippy naming her children after cities she wanted to visit?
5. What were your thoughts about Paris and London’s relationship?
6. Orlando once paid Maria $10,000 for night of pleasure. Do you think a night with anyone is worth that much money?
7. What did you think of Orlando and his relationship with Ruby?
8. Was Junior stupid for not wanting a larger leadership role?
9. Was LC homophobic? Did he treat Rio differently than his other children?
10. Was Paris misunderstood, or a true black widow?
11. How long did it take you to figure out the secret behind LC’s car?