All I Want for Christmas (10 page)

“
Girls mature faster than
boys.” Nedra sipped the last of her hot chocolate, which was now
barely warm.

“Dang, you’re full of good
news for ‘the old man’, aren’t you?” Carlos pulled a hand over his
face in mock despair.

“Okay, relax,” she said
with a laugh. “You’ve got time to prepare. You’ll have to keep up
with trends so you’ll know what to watch out for.”

“You sound like an expert.
I bet you’d make a terrific mother, by the way.” He winked at
her.

Nedra blinked hard at his
words and choked up, but tried to keep her tone light. She didn’t
want to sound like one of those ‘my biological clock is ticking’
females. Men ran away screaming from those single
ladies.

“Thank you,” she said quietly and cleared her
throat. “Okay, what do we do next?”

“Let’s see.” Carlos pulled
out his smartphone and touched the screen. “Here is the schedule of
events. We can go through the Joyeux Noel Tunnel of Lights on the
grounds of the Old State Capital. Or we can go to the old
Governor’s Mansion and see how it would have been decorated back in
the 1930s. They’ll have carolers in period dress in another half
hour once the band stops blasting jams. Or...”

Nedra peered at his phone.
“Wow. It’s hard to choose.”

“Let’s see the lights and
then walk over to see the mansion. Okay?” Carlos suggested, leaning
against her.

“I like that plan, because
you know I never get tired of Christmas lights,” she replied with a
delighted grin.

“Exactly why I suggested we do both. I like
seeing the happiness on your face when you’re looking at them.”
Carlos gave her a quick kiss and grabbed her by the hand. “So let
the fun continue.”

Nedra felt a rush of bliss
as he pulled her close against his body while they strolled the
half block to the Tunnel of Lights display. Her heart soared as she
replayed his words in her head. Carlos considered her preferences
and wanted to please her. He didn’t mind holding her hand in public
or being close to her. According to her self-help relationship
books, he showed all of the signs that his feelings were genuine.
He didn’t act as if being with her was optional.

For the rest of the evening
they talked, laughed and even joined in the singing of holiday
songs. Later they went to Nedra’s apartment after picking up a
late-night snack. Wrapped in a blanket on her sofa, they watched a
movie until their closeness became too much of a
temptation.

Making love to Carlos
satisfied Nedra physically and emotionally. She felt sure he’d
kissed and licked every inch of her body before entering her. His
long, deliberate strokes pushed her over the edge until nothing
else existed except intense pleasure. Afterwards, she didn’t get
that sinking feeling of mild regret as her lover hustled into his
clothes to leave. Carlos stayed right by Nedra’s side, talking for
hours until they both drifted off to sleep.

“So this is what it feels
like,” Nedra said as sleep tugged at her eyelids. She snuggled
closer to Carlos.

“Hmm?” he asked without
opening his eyes.

“A perfect fit,” Nedra
whispered and yawned.

After a few seconds of silence, Carlos sighed
and kissed her forehead. “Yeah.”

****

On Monday morning, Carlos
was in the office of his shop located in the better part of town.
Though Mid-City had its share of crime, unlike Easy Town, there
were no daily shootings or robberies. He went through the
spreadsheets, looking at his cash flow and expenses, and frowned at
the results. The shop in Easy Town had taken a sales hit and
business had gone down by thirty percent. Carlos grunted and stared
at the figures. His business partner and friend, Brian Gaines,
walked into the office and dropped into a chair.

“The look on your face
doesn’t signal good news, bru,” said Brian. He took out his
smartphone and glanced at it.

“The Easy Town shop is off; way off, man.”
Carlos clicked the wireless mouse to sync with his tablet. He’d be
up late looking at the figures again at home.

“Having your business
surrounded by six police cars will do that, bru,” Brian replied
with a grunt. He put his phone back in the case clipped to his
belt.

“Not to mention video of an
employee and two customers taking the perp walk in handcuffs
downtown,” Carlos added.

“Yeah, and shown on all
three local TV stations. At least the reporters weren’t in the
‘hood the day the cops showed up at our store and our names weren’t
mentioned.”

“Damn. This happened at the worst time.”
Carlos went back to studying the spreadsheet.

Brian shrugged. “Dude,
there ain’t a good time for being at the center of a criminal
investigation, but at least your mama kept us both out of jail.
Whew, that was close.”

“I’m sorry I got you into
this, man. I wouldn’t blame you if you walked away. I’ve been seven
different kinds of dumb
–
again.” Carlos
shook his head.

“I told you not to keep
sweatin’ it,” Brian replied. “What our customers choose to do is
not your responsibility.”

“As my expensive lawyer
argued so well,” Carlos added with a twinge of guilt.

He had a very clear idea
that his best customers were not law-abiding citizens with good
jobs. They rolled up with lots of cash, talking rough and looking
even rougher. Of course, his attorney had made the point that he
hadn’t stereotyped young black men, but Carlos knew the deal; so
did his employees. Brian had even hired a couple from the
neighborhood to act as unofficial bouncers. Six of the guys who
came to the shop had a tendency to get into tense stand-offs.
Carlos and Brian guessed they had beefs on the street. Several of
the guys brought their equally tough-talking girlfriends inside.
The women were just as likely to brawl; place and time didn’t
matter. They’d even curse in front of children and old
people.

“We let things get out of hand, Brian. No, I
let things get out of hand.” Carlos tapped a fist on his the
surface of his desk.

“What were you supposed to
do, refuse to take their money? It was good money, too,” Brian
added with regret in his voice. “We expanded to selling rims, fancy
hood ornaments and interior fix-ups. It was sweet.”

Carlos shook his head.
“Yeah, and all that fixing up included hiding money, drugs and
drug-cooking equipment.”

“Let’s look on the bright
side. We didn’t go to
jail
. We can always work on bouncing
back, and your mother managed to keep a lid on more
News at Eleven
stories.
It’s good to have connected parents and friends in high places.”
Brian pointed a forefinger at Carlos and stood up. “Listen, our
strategy has worked. Getting a security service for the last six
months and doing flyers were great ideas. People are starting to
feel comfortable coming back. Remember when sales were down fifty
percent?”

Carlos heaved a sigh.
“You’re right. Things could have gone much worse.”

“Sales are slowly coming out of the hole, but
it’s going to take time.”

“Yeah,” replied Carlos,
trying to see the bright side that Brian presented.

Brian’s phone played the
latest hit R&B song. He took the phone out of his hip case and
glanced at the screen. “Here’s another text from Keosha. Damn it,
now what? Humph, more money. Big shock.”

“You know, I could advance
you on the next distribution of profits before the quarterly
accounting period,” Carlos offered, without asking if his colleague
had caught up on his child-support payments.

“Nah, I got it handled. She
just wants to yank my chain ‘cause she knows I’ve got a new
girlfriend. She has more ways of coming up with what the kid needs
than she has hair in her weave.” Brian snorted and
scowled.

“New girlfriend, huh?”
Carlos asked. “You’ve got two baby mamas and two kids already.” He
held up a palm when Brian shot a heated glance at him. “I’m not
judging, just sayin’.”

“I know, bru. Brittany is
starting to drop hints about us living together and leaving bridal
catalogues lying around. I’m thinking I need to move on.” Brian
lifted an eyebrow at Carlos. “Better stay alert for when your new
lady starts in on you.”

“
Nedra doesn’t play games
and no dropping of hints. We’re on the same page.”

Brian grunted. “You better
listen to your friend.
All
women play games, especially when it comes to
hooking a man who owns his own business.”

“Not Nedra. I’m not going to run from her. We
feel... right.” Carlos shrugged at his effort to find the right
words without sounding corny.

“Oh no, bru, don’t tell me
the ultimate player is whipped. Wake up, dude, you’ve been
hypnotized or something.” Brian barked a loud laugh.

“Runnin’ from woman to
woman is old, man. They’re all starting to blend together, just
different color weaves and low-cut tops. I want somebody I can talk
things over with; somebody I don’t mind introducing to my kid.”
Carlos stood up. “We’re closing in on forty. Five years to
go.”

“Quit talkin’ crazy. Look,
you’re being sucked in by the holidays and all those mushy
Christmas commercials. You know, families sitting around the tree
eating sugar cookies and opening presents. Don’t fall for it.”
Brian waved a hand at him. “After New Year’s Day you’ll snap out of
it.”

“I don’t think so, man. I
don’t think so.” Carlos smiled at the memory of being in Nedra’s
arms and feeling at home. “I didn’t even have sense enough to know
I was lonely,” he added softly.

Brian had gone back to checking e-mails on
his phone. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing; I’m just
looking forward to the holidays. For one thing, I get Carly for
Christmas this year.” Carlos had managed to shake off the bad mood
caused by looking at the spreadsheets.

“So you’re playing the
family man? Whatever floats your boat, bru.” Brian shook his head.
He put his phone away again and looked up. “So, Miss Nedra Wallace
is cool about the whole unpleasantness with the cops? She doesn’t
mind about the community service and everything? That’s one special
lady.”

Carlos rubbed his chin hard. His smile
vanished and he cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah.”

Brian cocked his head to
one side. “She does know, right?”

“We’re just getting to know each other and…”
Carlos shrugged.

“Bru, this is me you’re talking to. You
haven’t brought it up because you don’t know how she’ll take it.”
Brian’s eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. “Wait a minute.
Her boss is running for office against the mayor.”

“So?” asked Carlos,
avoiding his gaze.

Brian laughed.
“So!”

“Look, if things go to the
next level…”

“You’re talking about
introducing her to your kid and the three of you being all cozy
this Christmas. The next level is y’all making up the wedding
invitation list. That is not a conversation you want to have at
your engagement party.” Brian slapped his thigh and fell against
the chair laughing.

Carlos stared at him with a stony expression
on his face. “Don’t give up your day job to become a comedian. I
know what I’m doing.”

Brian finally stopped
laughing and sat up straight. “You right, bru, the last thing you
need is for that story to be put on blast. Your mama has an
election next year and her pal, the mayor, could take a major
political hit. Constable Davidson would love to use that
against
both
of
them.”

“Nedra wouldn’t tell her boss anything we
discuss,” Carlos stated.

“Yeah, but better safe than sorry,” replied
Brian, standing. “I agree with you.”

“I didn’t say…”

“I better get out of here; don’t want to be
late for my meeting with Cool Tools Inc. We can really enhance our
business by partnering with them. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Brian walked around the desk and slapped Carlos on the back. “Keep
your head up, partner. We’re going to be better than ever.”

“Sure, yeah.” Carlos watched Brian leave. His
‘holiday happy’ mood had not lasted long. The spreadsheet seemed to
mock him again.

Chapter 7

Three days later, Nedra attended a press
conference called by a coalition of local law enforcement agencies.
The Baton Rouge police chief, the East Baton Rouge sheriff and
Nedra’s boss were about to announce a new crime initiative. They
had all gotten together to apply for a federal grant to fund a
program to reduce crime in some of the worst neighborhoods.

Nedra was happy to be out of range of the
four media cameras pointed at the podium. Constable Davidson stood
in his dress uniform, chatting with the police chief and sheriff.
All three were smiling and relaxed. The mayor stood apart from them
with a stiff expression as he spoke to several parish council
members. Reporters focused their attention on the whole group,
watching their every gesture, expression and interaction; they knew
of the animosity between the mayor and the constable.

Mayor Bates, known for being touchy and
pugnacious, had used subtle means to sabotage the grant application
process. Not because he didn’t think it was a good idea, but
because it wasn’t his idea. Rod and the other law-enforcement
leaders would be getting the credit, so face time with the media
only annoyed him more. Because of the election, the mayor knew that
blocking a crime-fighting effort would be bad for his image. Nedra
watched as he finally joined the other three men. Nodding to them,
he said a few words.