Meet The Behrt-Lehmans

It took Lenny a solid 45 minutes to decide which one of the dresses to wear. The jade dress made the green in her eyes pop and it had a certain novelty to it that made Lenny feel like royalty. But the drooping back and seductive slit of the pink dress made her feel like a vixen. A rich one. 

All dressed and made up in simple, glowing makeup and with her hair sleek in a low bun, Lenny is now at the lavish gates which serve as the entrance to where the dinner party is already in procession - the Le fascino. Once at the gate, security personnel descends from the security gate and approaches the open driver’s window of her car.

“Hello Ma’am. How may I help you?”, he asks with a southern drawl. For a second, Lenny isn’t sure if she’s got the right place because there was no signage or anything to indicate that this was ‘the Le Fascino’. It looked like private property - like a billionaire’s home. 

“I’m here for the charity dinner party? Hosted by the Behrt-Lehman’s”, she says and then it occurs to her that maybe this might be their home. 

“Name?”, he asks and produces a small tablet that Lenny didn’t notice earlier.

“Lenny Monroe”, he nods in response that she’s not sure what he does next but the gates automatically begin to open and he waves her off and heads back to where he came from. 

She proceeds to drive in. It feels like a sheer abomination to bring this car into a place that is evidently trying to mimic heaven. The long, narrow road is covered in gold-colored tar and encompassed by fountains, and evergreen forestry and even the air past the gate seems a little different. It’s like she’s entered into another dimension. She can see that main building ahead but, right before that, she’s stopped by another set of uniformed men that she mistakes for security. 

She looks up at him a little bit confused when he walks up to her window. He notices the confusion in her eyes and points to the little tag on his shirt. It reads - valet. She mouths ‘oh’ in slight embarrassment. It occurs to her that even though she had been to multiple company events that offered valet parking, she had never been a guest; just staff so she had never used the service.

She makes sure all her valuable items including her phone, credit card, and spare cash are in her purse and does a final check to confirm there was nothing valuable lying around. Once she’s done, she heads out of the car and allows the young man to get in and she watches as he slowly cruises off to the parking garage that seems to be underground. 

The building is only a few steps away and she takes a deep sigh as she confronts its majesticness. She’s welcomed at the entrance of the house with Polished wood floors and a graceful banister that curves up toward a soaring second floor. Unsure of which floor to head to, she tries to call Dash’s phone but it rings with no answer. She follows her gut and heads to the second floor. 

Once she steps into the hall, it all hits her at once. The lights, the mellow jazz, the dazzlingly dressed people, the mild chatter happening in small clusters of people and the velvet drapes framing the windows; rendered the ambiance of an intimate gathering. Tables of 6 and tables of 8 scattered all around and filled with elites; a few standing around in friendly chatter and tens of servers migrating from one place to another with trays of champagne, caviar, and oyster. 

A few people closer to the entrance turn to her when she walks in but, unlike she’s used to, they only linger for a few seconds and then look away. These people, these elites; have class. They do not stare, they do not murmur even though they see you and perhaps they’re all thinking the same thing - she doesn’t belong here. 

A tray passes by her right view and she’s quick to grab a flute of champagne off it as she takes a sip while her eyes scan the area in search of a familiar face. A feeling creeps over her and makes her think what if Dash isn’t here and she has to spend the entire night pretending to be interested in whichever one of these men approaches her? Now she’s wishing she chose the green dress.

Just as the flute of champagne is leaving her lips, she sees him walk in from an exit she’s not sure where to. His gaze initially looks full of rage but directed in no particular direction and he looks like the opposite of what she was expecting. Although he’s dressed sharply in a black suit tailored just for him, his hair looks more disheveled; a little like it looked at the funeral, his shirt is unbuttoned at the collar and his eyes look darker than she remembers. 

In an instant, his eyes locate her even without trying and the rage she initially saw suddenly falters away and seems to be replaced with some kind of relief. 

He strides towards her, the hands that were once fidgeting with his collar button fall to his side and it sounds sincere when he says;

“You look beautiful. You were right this color suits you” if four eyes looked at Lenny when she first walked in, now twenty were looking. His arms go around her waist and he leans in slowly to drop a kiss on her cheek. Her cheeks are on fire, her whole body is on fire. He does this like he’s done it a thousand times before. It’s when he leans away that she sees it clearly; the fresh bruise right above his left cheekbone. It catches her off guard and her gaze stays fixed on the bruise and then her gaze involuntarily shifts to his cheekbones and then his lips. When his eyes catch hers there’s a realization in them that she’s seen something she’s not supposed to speak on. 

“Are you okay?”, she asks but, her semi-whispered question is swallowed by his statement which comes with action;

“Let’s go meet my family. They’re already seated”, he says as he offers his hand for her to take it. There’s this look on his face like even if he’s right here beside her walking hand in hand, his mind is a million miles away. 

At the Behrt-Lehman family table, the atmosphere seems a little less cheerful than the rest of the party atmosphere. Arthur, Dash’s father is lost in thought and his eyes drift off into the drink in his hand while the rest of the table engages in starter conversations. When Dash and Lenny arrive at the table, all eyes dart to them. The look on their faces is that of subtle surprise; letting Lenny know Dash didn’t inform them of her attendance. 

“Surprised to see you back”, Darius is the first one to speak as Dash and Lenny take their seats. It’s a table of 8 and the only face Lenny recognizes is Darius and Arthur. The seat on Lenny’s right is empty. She wonders who is meant to be in it. 

“The night is still young”, Dash replies evasively to Darius and he shifts his attention to everyone else;

“Before you all die from curiosity, this is my girlfriend; Lenny. Lenny, I’m sure you already know my brother, Darius. This is Penelope, his wife. That’s uncle Angelo, Carmen, Brad and finally, the absolutely ravishing Aunt Sofia”, Dash does a very quick introduction, and everyone exchanges their pleasantries with Lenny except Darius who looks displeased. 

“Lenny? That’s an interesting name”, Aunt Sofia asks inquisitively.

“It’s short for Melanie but, everyone calls me Lenny”, she replies politely. Dash does his best to hide his surprise at that revelation. 

“Ah. You’d pardon me then, I’d be one of the few who refer to you as Melanie. It’s such a lovely name. Feminine”, 

“I tune out for 5 seconds and you skip me in the introductions huh?”, Arthur says. For a man who looks as dangerous as sin, his voice and demeanor are lighthearted. 

“5 seconds? Arthur, you’ve been eye-fucking that glass of champagne for a solid 20 minutes”, Uncle Angelo jokes and follows it up with a deep rumble of laughter. 

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”, Arthur ignores Angelo and speaks to Lenny. 

“Her name is Lenny”.

“Let the girl speak, son”, 

“It’s Lenny, sir. And I don’t mind that he speaks on my behalf”, she says and places her hands on Dash’s hand. Just like with his face, when she looks down, she can see clearly that his knuckles are badly bruised. She wants to ask what happened but, she’s certain everyone else knows and she’s the only one in the dark. 

Her response takes Arthur aback but his shock quickly fades away into a smile. He gives Dash a knowing look but doesn't say anything further.

A young man of no more than 22 years of age arrives at the table and proceeds to seat in the empty seat beside Lenny. She recognizes him as the last Behrt-Lehman boy. They all look unmistakably similar with firm cheekbones and hollow cheeks but, they have a few distinct features. Dustin, the youngest of them, has a lighter shade of black hair and it’s in a much curlier texture, his eyes are a bit lighter as well. Darius’ hair is cut very low and accompanied by a pair of surly, brown eyes and a trim beard. But, it is Dash that took the darker end of everything. His hair is completely jet black, his eyes such a dark shade of brown that they sometimes looked black and his stare is just as potentially dangerous as his father’s. 

“Look who’s finally decided to grace us with his presence”, it’s Carmen who speaks this time and her voice is light as a feather which is the contrast to her sharp features; bright red hair, and overly green eyes that resembled contact lenses, and high cheekbones. Dustin gives an apologetic smile and that’s when he notices the unfamiliar face at the table. His eyes dart immediately to Dash and they share a wordless conversation in a second. He extends his hands to shake her;

“I’ve heard so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you”, Lenny shakes his hand and she’s pretty sure he has never heard a word about her before but, is playing along. 

The event is in the procession but it almost feels as though their table is in isolation from all of it. Throughout the dinner, Aunt Sofia asks Lenny the usual questions about what she does for a living, and when she reveals that she works for their company, Darius finally realizes that he recognizes her. She asks Dash and Lenny how they met. They stick to the script and say they met at a mutual friend’s birthday party and they’ve been together for 5 months now. 

Lenny also learns some extra things about the family. Aunt Sofia is Arthur’s younger sister and she and Sienna were best friends. Uncle Angelo is Arthur’s oldest friend and business partner. Carmen is Uncle Angelo’s daughter and the relatively quiet guy beside her is her husband; Brad. Lenny is having a good time and like the rest of the guests, she’s listening to the beautiful rendition of ‘An angel amongst us’ being played in honor of Sienna. The violin and harp blend to make perfect harmony and everyone can feel a spiritual experience; like Sienna is here with them. Just then, Lenny’s phone rings and she’s very quick to mute it but, the caller ID throws her completely off-guard. Christian. Why was he calling her? She turns her phone face down in case he calls again and she returns her attention to the music. Once it concludes, they all clap softly and resume intra-table conversations. Arthur tells many stories about his youth with Sienna and even though he is completely devastated by her loss, he wants today to be a cheerful day because that’s what she would have wanted. 

It’s 9 PM now and most people are done eating, the closing remarks have been given and a few people begin to take their leave. 

“I’m glad we could all be here to celebrate the life of Sienna like this. The family was the most important thing to her. This is what she would have wanted and I want to spend the rest of my days celebrating until I get to be reunited with her”, Arthur addresses the whole table with a toast. He had chosen to leave the officiating of the party to professionals and had spent the night only interacting with the table and those who came to approach him. 

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Lenny. You are a delightful young woman, I hope to see more of you”, he adds and she’s all smiling when she thanks him for his compliment. In that split second, she forgot that this is all an act. She’s not a delightful young woman, she’s here for the money. 

“One last thing, before you all leave; I know you all can’t wait to run out of here - Leonard is getting eloped or some shit next week, and as much as I can’t stand the guy, he’s family so one of you has to go and represent us. We also have some unconcluded business there. Dash, I believe this is right up your alley?”, Dash nods in response to his Father. Lenny has zero ideas who Leonard is or what the hell Arthur is talking about but, everyone else seems to. 

Dash is the one who finally says their goodbyes and he and Lenny take their leave from the table. Once they are outside, Lenny sighs relief, it’s like she’s been holding her breath the whole time they were in there. They both chuckle lightly and in disbelief at what they had just done. This fake marriage thing is in motion now; it’s real. 

“Wow. I can’t believe we really did it”, she says and continues; “Your family is…..”, 

“Go on, say it”, he teases;

“Really down to earth. I wasn’t expecting that at all”, 

“Yeah, they are a lot nicer than they look”. They fall silent for a few seconds and Dash uses the opportunity to alert a valet to bring her car around when she remembers the question she’s been dying to ask all night.

“Dash. what happened to your face?”, the question sounds imposing once the words leave her lips.

“What?”, 

“I’m not sure what I missed before I came but, there’s a bruise on your face and your knuckles too. What happened?”, his demeanor changes and his jaw tightens in protest. The tension in the air is cut when her phone begins to ring again. Like before, she’s quick to mute the call and put the phone back in her purse while she waits for Dash to respond to her question. 

“Who’s Christian?”, 

“What?”, 

“It’s the second time he’s called tonight. Who is he?”, 

“Don’t deflect the attention from your bruises okay? You don’t need to know who Christian is”, 

“Why don’t I need to know?”, 

“Because it’s none of your business”, the second the phrase comes out of her mouth, she realizes she’s been baited;

“Exactly, Lenny. It’s none of my business. The whole point of this agreement is that I don’t want to be in anyone else’s business and I don’t want them in mine”, his words cut right through her and he maintains rigid eye contact with her while he speaks and somehow that makes it hurt even more. 

“Got it”, her tone is passive aggressive if anything, and before he can say anything else, the valet shows up;

“Ma’am, we’ve been unable to start your car”, he says. She asks him to lead her to it in total confidence that she’d be able to start the car because she’s used to all the engine troubles but, in the end, it always worked. Dash follows behind her silently. When they get to her car, she cranks open the bonnet and touches a few things, and then attempts to start the engine but, it fails to start. She’s relentless and trying all the car tricks she’s learned over time but, Dash can tell that this isn’t going to work. She’s still adamantly trying to fix it when he interrupts;

“I’ve called a tow truck to pick it up and take it to the mechanic. Let me take you home”, 

“No, thanks”, she’s in the driver’s seat punching the brakes and turning on the ignition for the 20th time.

“C’mon Lenny, it’s late. You’d have the car brought to your house by tomorrow. Let’s go”, she ignores him and continues to fondle different parts of the car in an attempt to get it to work. He approaches her and puts his palm out;

“Let’s go”, he holds her gaze and adds; “Please”. She surrenders and hands the keys over to him. He gives instructions to the valet concerning the tow truck that will be coming soon and he leaves the keys with them then he and Lenny head to his car. 

Lenny was expecting Dash to be leaving in a chauffeured limo as she had observed in the past that that was how most of the people in his class move around the city. But to her surprise, he came in his private car. Unlike the cars Lenny is used to, this one screams luxury and looks like he just got it yesterday. She’s not sure what make it is but, the sculptured ornament on the hood of the car lets her know it’s a Rolls-Royce. They get in and begin their quiet drive to her place; the only words spoken so far were her address when he was putting in the location on the map. 

They’re about 20 minutes away from her place when Dash breaks the silence;

“You hungry?”, 

“We’re coming from a dinner”, she responds. Even though she’s still upset she’s decided to behave like an adult after all Dash was right. They don’t need to be getting into each other’s business. 

“Believe it or not, I’m still hungry. Plus, I saw you, you barely ate anything”, he’s slowing down a little bit and Lenny notices they’re close to a chipotle. 

“Yeah, I guess I’m a little hungry too”, he takes her cue and heads for chipotle. 

They head in and look completely out of place with Dash still in his Tuxedo although the jacket is unbuttoned and makes the look a little more casual and Lenny in her sparkling pink dress. Her hair is out of the bun now and hangs loosely down her back. They make their order and take a seat to wait for their food. They are seated opposite each other with the round table between them and Dash drums the tips of his fingers on the table compulsively.

“Christian is the father of my child, Hannah. We haven’t been in contact since before she was born. She’s six”, Lenny blurts out. Dash might want to keep all his business to himself but, Christian’s call is shaking her up and she just needed to get it out.

“Why are you telling me this?”, he asks calmly almost exasperated. 

“You asked”. Dash leans back in his seat and against his better judgment, he reveals what happened to his face;

“Darius and I had a little disagreement. That’s what this is. It’s not a big deal”, he points at the fading bruise on his face. Her eyes drop to his knuckles and he sighs as he continues;

“These are self-inflicted", he admits as he folds his hands together. She’s about to speak but, he does first;

“Please, don’t ask any more questions. The less you know the better”, he runs his hand through his hair to push it away from his face but, a few locks still come tumbling down his forehead. The only question Lenny wants to ask is are you okay?