Affair at Crackerbox Palace 🖤 A Dhani Harrison Fanfiction

chapter 5: richie, or ringo?

(Dhani's POV)

I moved stealthily down the main hallway of the house. My brown eyes peered over my shoulder now and then to make sure I wasn't being followed, either by someone in a position above me or by Beth. I was still shaken up from the... arousing events of that morning. It had been my first sexual encounter, after all.

I came to a halt when I heard the faint sound of Richie and his guests talking in one of the living rooms. Ah, there they are. I put my ear up to the wall, hoping to overhear some sort of clue as to where and when they were going to want lunch.

"You two wanna eat out back? We should enjoy the end of summer weather before it gets shoddy and gray again," I heard Richie asking his guests. Okay, so I'll be serving them on the back patio, I noted.

"Sure thing, Rich," Ray said.

"So how was your flight?

"Good, nothing really of note, except for the five magnificent martinis I downed," Ray's wife Dorothy said. They all then laughed.

Hey wait a minute, they're American. Their voices sounded like the ones I used to hear when I'd go to California with Mum -- back when Mum and Dad were still married, that is. I rarely got to see her in the past year or so they'd been separated. "Rich, where's Barb?" She asked.

"Oh, she's just getting ready upstairs," Richie explained. "You know, doing her eyeshadow, mascara, heh. I did that earlier this morning."

The guests chuckled at that one too. Come on, that wasn't even funny. Typical Americans and their need to please and be polite. "Say, Rich, was that a new butler we just met? What happened to Dave?" Ray inquired.

"Oh, that would've been Dhani," Richie explained. "Dave wanted a little help with the butler tasks ever since I promoted him to head of the staff."

"He looks strangely familiar."

What? How would I look familiar to these random middle-aged American people? I had never met them before, and I knew that one for sure. Then I remembered my Beatle-dad genetics. There's no way it's that obvious, though, I thought.

They fell quiet for a minute before Richie spoke up.

"Listen Ray, Dorothy, there's something I need to tell you."

My heart began to flutter inside my chest. Richie's tone of voice was suddenly serious. I tried to focus my ears as well as I could to ensure I wouldn't miss a word. Is this about me?...

"You guys know, you know very well that I was a part of the Be-"

He was interrupted by Dorothy. "Hey Barb, there you are!"

"Hi Dorothy, Hi Ray!" Barb said. Oh, come on!

"Oh, finally!" Richie exclaimed, seemingly forgetting what he was about to say before her arrival.

"What were you about to say, Richie?" Ray asked.

"Oh, nothing," Richie said dismissively. "I've already forgotten. Let's go out back and have some lunch, eh?"

"Yay!" Dorothy cheered.

I moved swiftly down the long hallway towards the back patio so I'd be ready to take their orders to the chef. And so I didn't get caught eavesdropping on their conversation, too. I wondered what Richie was going to say back there. He sounded so filled with concern, but I guess it couldn't have been that important if he just let it go like that.

Once I got to the back patio, I waited by the door. After a few moments, the group came laughing and chatting through the door as I opened it for them. "Thanks, Dhani," Ray chuckled.