Davey Jones's Locker

 Another day in court....I stood by and watched as my wife, Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her niece, Attorney Beverly West walked out of court...They had been representing the hospitality workers union for close to a month...The investigating I did was not as exciting as a murder investigation..It was pretty routine stuff and the arguments held in front of a six man jury of six men, one black and five white was not the most exciting trial...but one that my wife in her passion for justice and her little niece made exciting somehow...

Olivia walked out looking happy and confident....Beverly walked out behind her...looking perky, which was usual for her...

 I smiled upon seeing them both.....

"Well? You guys win?" I asked...

"Yes we did hubby...We got the union everything they asked for..." said Olivia.....

"Plus some...I'm just glad that case is over..."laughed Beverly.....

To our surprise... a very pregnant Attorney Celeste Tate waddled into the lobby...

"Hey Livy, Bev....I caught the tail end of your act in court....You guys are like Batman and Robin...Truly Dynamic.." said Celeste..

 "Hey girl....aren't you due like uh right now?" I asked..She was in her ninth month of pregnancy...

"Heyy Donnie Ray...Yess...I am due soon..Doctors say it could be any day now."said Celeste.

"You shouldn't be out in the street Celeste...Come on, let me take you home.." said Olivia...

"Girl I've got cabin fever...I couldn't spend another moment laying up in the house..." said Celeste.....

"Where is Soloman?" asked Olivia...

"He's in court....Not here...Over in Cherry Hill ,with a client...I was lonely and bored Livy..Look at me Livy..the man still can't keep his hands off of me...Kissing me every morning for minutes..not just a peck and rubbing my boobs which are just too damn big now."said Celeste...

''And you're complaining? The man is crazy about you Celeste..." said Olivia...

"Yeah he is...He paid for the nursery, wouldn't let me pay for anything...and he asked me if I wouldn't mind getting married a few days after the baby is born...I told him no..that we were going to wait until I was back in shape.. Oh and he agreed to all the terms of the pre nup and he signed without a problem..said he didn't care..."said Celeste ,who passed Olivia the signed papers..

"Wow...Money isn't really his motivation is it?" said Olivia...

"Of course ,being fair,I left him a nice settlement just in case ,heaven forbid...it doesn't work out."she said..

"Oh don't think like that girl...I think Soloman is crazy about you....All he wants is you."said Olivia..

"I know Livy...He doesn't let me do anything...He does everything..."she said.

"Enjoy it girl.."said Olivia..

"I'm trying to.." said Celeste.

"Look..I'll buy us lunch and I'll drive you home...I'll stay with you until Soloman gets home....Donnie Ray, you don't mind do you??..I know we had plans today but-" said Olivia..

"It's okay..Go be with your girl...but before you go..Can I have a word with you in uh private?"I asked,motioning her towards the Judges chambers which was now empty...

Once inside ,Olivia looked at me...

"Huh? What is it?" she asked...

I pulled her toward me and kissed her passionately for about five minutes...

She giggled...

"Is that all you wanted?" she asked..

"No but it'll have to do for now.....Tonight you owe me more.." I said....She laughed out loud.....

"Don't I always take care of you?" she asked...

"Yes you do...I have no complaints.."I said..

"That's right....you don't."she said and placed a kiss on me so sensual I nearly lost my mind...

"Ummmmmm,I'll see you later." she said softly and smiled...and left to go back to the lobby....I was breathless and speechless...

II-

When I returned to the lobby...Beverly was on her phone...She was finishing up her conversation....She looked at me..

"Where you been?" she asked..

''Around...What you got going on this afternoon Shortcake?" I asked...

"Nelson is taking me to Davey Jones's Locker...That new Seafood Bistro that just opened up..."said Beverly.

"Wowwwww! Nelson is moving up the ladder isn't he??...I read about that joint...The Chef /Owner is a real well known dude...He's on television all the time..His name escapes me....oh Yeah, Vince Halibut..and that's not a cheap joint...Workin for Robert Foxworth has done wonders for him...improved his profile ,got him a new loft and improved his taste in fine dining establishments...be sure to tell him that I am very impressed."I joked..

"Look at you D.R. I never pegged you for a foodie." said Beverly smiling...

"Bev, I'm from New Orleans...Music and Food are in my genetic make up." I said.

"Point taken....One of our former clients's daughter is also a chef there...Ralph Scallion....His daughter,Raquel cooks there.....She's his Sui Chef." said Beverly...

"You know her?" I asked.

"Yeah..Auntay and I have known Raquel since she was a little girl...We all grew up in the same West Philadelphia neighborhood...Auntay is just a few years younger than Raquel's mother,Rowena, Ralph Scallion's baby mama... We love Rock...That's what we have always called her..I introduced Nelson to her when she was still working at Bottom of the C."said Beverly...

''Well have a good time...tell me about the food."I said...

"What are you going to do the rest of the afternoon?" asked Beverly....

"I'm headed to Josies for a couple of cold ones and then home until your Auntay comes back." I said.

"I'll drop you off at your car....and then I've got to get dressed...We'll bring you back a doggie bag" she said.

"Awwww thanks Shortcake."I said and kissed her cheek....

III-

"Wouldn't it be funny it it started raining tonight?" asked Attorney Nelson East as he escorted his girlfriend, Attorney Beverly West to the Marina where the new Seafood Bistro, "Davey Jones Locker" was located..

"That's not even funny Nelson...Do you know how much I had to pay Bernadette Charles to do my hair???"said Beverly...

"Ohh...I thought you woke up like that.....Sexy and flawless.." laughed Nelson...

"Ouuuuuu, that was a nice compliment...Are you tryin to get some tonight?" she joked..

''Why yes....I was." he laughed..

Beverly pulled Nelson close to her and kissed him passionately for a few minutes...He rubbed her sides and her hips and eventually pulled her closer to him...

"Awwwwww that was sooo sweet...it worked...you just might get lucky." she moaned in between soft kisses...

She giggled after awhile and eased out of his strong embrace...

"If we don't stop it...we are going to wind up missing our meal..." she said.

"I don't mind missing it.." said Nelson in between another long and passionate kiss..

"Ummmmmmmmmmmm,Come on baby...We'll have plenty of time for that...I am spending the night with you at your place after dinner.."said Beverly...

Finally,Nelson released her..

"Damn girl...you've made me lose all interest in eating that meal."said Nelson...

Beverly giggled...

"Awwww...Calm those hormones down player and let's eat...I'm starving." she said.

Nelson checked to make sure he had his wallet...He did..He wasn't about to come out on a date without his wallet as he did on his first date with Beverly a few years ago..

He smiled and they walked inside the Tony Bistro...

A waiter walked over to them ...

"Do you have reservations?" he asked..

"Yes...East...Nelson East.."said Nelson..

"Ahhh yes...Two for dinner correct?"

"Yes.."said Nelson..

"Follow me." he said and led them to their table..

"Nelson,this place is beautiful."said Beverly as they took their seat....

"Yeah...I can't believe how bright it is in here." said Nelson  eyeing the DJ. in the booth..

The booth was a sort of aqua neon....rather than a turntable or even CD's...This modern DJ had a Laptop and had it programmed with the latest in Hip Hop, Neo Soula and Deep House..The clientele was Doctors,Lawyers,Investment Bankers....all young, all high rollers...

"Damn Bev...Me and you are just two kids from West Philly...You ever imagine us in a room full of doctors and lawyers in a place like this?" said Nelson.

"Nelson honey...WE ARE LAWYERS!!!....And we no longer work for the Public Defenders office...You are an associate of a very prominent African -American Litigator and I'm a partner in a very successful law firm..We've made it babes...You and me...I'm a long way from sleeping in a bunk bed in my Auntay's bedroom." said Beverly...

"You and Liv shared a bedroom?" asked Nelson...

"From the time I was born until I was about 16...Then I went to live with my mom for about two years...That didn't work out and I was right back with my grand-parents and my favorite aunt...but by then she was in her own place...I only saw her on the weekends...She came home to do her laundry and get food, but she also came home to see me too...See how I was doing in school, with the boys et al." said Beverly, smiling sheepishly...

"Damn you two are more like ...like sisters than Aunt and Niece...but I guess you hear that a lot. huh?" said Nelson...

''Yeah, a lot..Auntay...Aunt Olivia is my best friend..."she said...

A waitress took their orders and their food was brought out promptly....

"Ummmmmm, Nelson...this food is delicious and the music is bangin....I gotta tell Auntay and D.R. about this place.."said Beverly...

"Where is Raquel Scallion?, She said she'd be working tonight."said Nelson....."You are right..this food is bangin...I wonder if she cooked it?" he said...

His eyes scanned the establishment...He spotted the head chef...Vince Halibit slipping out of one of the back rooms...He was fixing his pants, pulling his fly up....He was fixing his hair and straightening his shirt...He looked around and vanished out of another side door...

A few minutes later...Beverly spotted Raquel...The Sui Chef...

"Heyyy Raquel, Heyyy Girl....Come here..."called Beverly ,Smiling...

But something was different about Raquel.. The half African-American-Half Latina daughter of Chef and lothario Ralph Scallion had followed her father into the cooking profession..graduating with honors from the Culinary Institute....She had worked with her father for three years and then went off on her own when a chance came to work with hot celebrity chef, Vincenzo Halibit, when he opened his new Seafood Bistro...Davey Jones's Locker in our city...

Raquel's hair was all over the place, her blouse had two buttons missing,exposing her hot pink bra...and she had a black eye and a bruise on the side of her face...

"Oh uh Hi Bev...Hi Nelson...Glad you all uh could uh come out....How uh was everything?" she asked.....

"Rock....what's goin on girl?  You alright?" asked Beverly...

Roquel smiled nervously...

"Yeah..yeah..sure...uh it's just uh allergies...Uh I'm not on shift tonight..Uh maybe you all could uh come back, uh ruh some other time." said Roquel...

"Rock...you have a black eye and a fresh bruise on your cheek...and look at your blouse...two buttons were popped off...That's not allergies...Did somebody hit you?" asked Beverly...

Roquel was shaking like a leaf...

Even Nelson noticed it...

''Come on...Let's go to the ladies room...Nelson honey...I'll be back."said Beverly...

They went to the ladies room where Beverly took a wet towel and washed Roquel's face...She applied some make up to cover the bruise the best she could...but before she did that she used her phone to snap photos of Roquel...

"What are you doin Bev..I told you that this aint nothin but allergies.." said Roquel...

"Rock...Don't tell that lie again..I'm a lawyer...and I've seen this..You were assaulted.."said Beverly..

"I was raped Bev....I was raped?" said Roquel....

IV-

Soloman Foster was pulling into his block ,just as I was parking my car...

"Hey Donnie Ray, Livy over here?" he asked.

"Yeah,I came to pick her up..."I said...

Soloman had two dozen roses and what looked like , toys and pampers for his soon to be born baby..

As he entered his abode....Celeste shook her head...

"Oh My God...More flowers?? More toys...Soloman...this is too much." she said.

He kissed her softly...

"Okay..Okay..Okay...I won't buy another thing...I promise.."he said...

I had never seen him so happy,so content...

Olivia laughed with glee...

"Oh Celeste stop fussing at the man and enjoy this...This is a special moment.." she said.

"Yeah...I agree with my wife..."I said laughing..."

Olivia's phone rang just then....She looked at it...

"It's Bev....It's a text...." she said...

after the text...photos of a bruised Roquel Scallion was sent to her phone...

"Oh My....It's Roquel...."Olivia said...

"Ralph Scallion's daughter...She's quite a cook....I hear she's working for celebrity chef, Vincenzo Halibit. at his new spot...Davey Jones's Locker..." said Celeste..

"That's where Beverly and Nelson are tonight.."I said.

"Young Beverly and her fella are ballin now..Wait until I see her." said Soloman Foster laughing..

"Donnie Ray...Take me there...Bev says Roquel has been raped." said Olivia...

"WHAT??" I said.

"Oh My God...At the restaraunt??" said Celeste...

"Wow...Always somethin huh?" said Olivia...

"You're askin ME that Liv?" said Soloman as we all stood there in shock!

(TO BE CONTINUED)