All I Want for Christmas (6 page)

“Exactly,” Carlos replied
easily, as though they were just chatting.

Nedra wondered if she
imagined the undertone of dislike that seemed to color the woman’s
words. “The media always gives us good exposure.”

“Yes,” Judge Jacobs
clipped. “Well, I must get back to court. I have a status hearing
in ten minutes. I don’t like to keep people waiting. You’re welcome
to have dinner with us one Sunday, Ms. Wallace.”

“Thank you so much. Maybe
after the holidays,” Nedra replied. “What with work, volunteering
and family, the next two months are going to be brutal.”

“Of course. I’ll be sure to
remind Carlos. Goodbye, son.” Judge Jacobs waited for him to
respond.

“Bye, mother. Have a great day.” Carlos
pecked her cheek and winked at her.

Judge Jacobs smiled and
gave him a slight nod, before striding away. Security officers and
lawyers nodded respectfully at the imposing woman. She traded a few
friendly comments with the security staff and gave restrained
greetings to the lawyers. Then she disappeared around a corner that
led to the elevators.

“That was fun,” Nedra blurted out. “I’m
sorry. I just keep...”

“Will you relax? I know the
effect Mother has, or rather likes to have on people. Usually women
I date can’t wait to meet her. My parents stage two lavish holiday
parties at Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Lots of folks would love
to be invited.” Carlos’ smile stiffened.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll be busy,” Nedra said
quickly.

Carlos barked out a loud
laugh. “You don’t know the date yet. You want to stay far away from
my mother. I have to say I kinda like that,” he quipped.

“Will you stop?” Nedra
playfully slapped him on the shoulder. Then she lowered her voice.
“You do know that Rod supported your mother’s opponent in her last
election? And she reportedly gave help to Rod’s opponent when he
ran for constable. She and the mayor aren’t Rod Davidson
fans.”

“Yes, I do know, and you
pulled a nice punch in pointing out that Mother and the mayor
showed for a photo opp.” Carlos grinned impishly when Nedra blinked
at him.

“I didn’t exactly...”
Nedra’s voice trailed off and she avoided his gaze. “Carlos,
listen, I shouldn’t have gotten my back up with your mother. It’s
just, well, a few times she’s called the office and wasn’t exactly
cordial. I’m afraid I ran interference for Rod when he didn’t want
to talk to her.”

Carlos flinched. “Ouch. I’m
sure she doesn’t even remember that.”

Nedra gave him a skeptical look. “Judge
Jacobs not remember?”

“She isn’t small-minded.
That political stuff has nothing to do with you and me. Now smile
and think of how much fun we’re going to have on Saturday.” He gave
her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Will you meet me there or can I
pick you up?”

“You can come pick me up,”
Nedra replied, without thinking of the rule about new dates: no
trips to your home in the early stages. Not until you get to know
him and confirm he’s not a psycho.

“Good,” he replied, giving
her arm a squeeze. “Text me your address. Talk to you later
tonight.”

“Sure,” Nedra said, and
watched him stroll off with a smile plastered across her face. She
turned around and bumped into someone. “Sorry.”

Dwayne looked down at her.
“So caught up that you’re tripping over people, huh?”

“Hello, Dwayne. See you later. I have to get
back to the office,” Nedra said in a dry tone. She sighed inwardly
when Dwayne fell in step beside her.

“So you’re kicking it with
the judge’s favorite son?” he asked. “The mayor is running for the
legislature next year; the district fourteen senate seat. I hear
Rod is going to throw his name into the race.”

“My boss doesn’t discuss his political plans
with me.”

Nedra cursed the surge of
people who slowed her progress towards the elevators. Once they got
there, she pressed the button hard, as if that would speed one to
her.

Dwayne glanced around and lowered his voice.
“Judge Jacobs and her hubby are quietly supporting the mayor’s
bid.”

“Thanks for the update,
Dwayne, but none of that has anything to do with me.”

Nedra darted into the
elevator with a crowd that left no room for Dwayne. She waved
goodbye to him as the doors whisked shut.
Great. One more reason to keep things light with
Carlos.
They could enjoy each other and
never get to the ‘meet the parents’ stage, Nedra vowed. The last
thing she wanted was a monster-in-law. Then she thought of Carlos
and the way they’d talked so easily over dinner; of the way he
looked at her and really
saw
her. Life had played a little nasty joke on her
this time.

****

On Friday evening, Nedra
sat in her mother’s small den with her feet on the leather ottoman,
which matched the rest of the furniture. Darcie Lee Wallace would
have looked younger than her sixty years, but a permanent stamp of
dissatisfaction marked her brow with frown lines. Still her nut
brown skin had few wrinkles. She ate from a big bowl of popcorn in
her lap while Gaylynn fiddled with her mother’s Blu-ray
player.

Nedra’s older sister,
Jarae, was in her mother’s spare bedroom, setting up a movie and
the games console to keep her own and Gaylynn’s kids entertained.
She had two boys, while Gaylynn had a six-year-old boy and a
four-year-old girl.

Minutes later, Jarae
entered the den and flopped down on the loveseat. At five feet nine
and with nut brown skin like their mother, she had briefly been a
model in her teens. “Damn, those kids should be tired after being
at school all day and playing since they got in.” She let out a
deep breath.

“They’re young, with energy
to spare, baby. Get used to it. You got a good twenty years to go,”
Darcie Lee retorted. “I told y’all not to have those kids without a
husband. I learned my lesson young.”

“Now why did you get her
started, Jarae?” Gaylynn muttered. At thirty, she already matched
her mother’s constantly harried look. With cinnamon skin and
reddish brown hair, Gaylynn turned more than a few male
heads.

“You know Mama’s gonna
bring that up every chance she gets. I didn’t have to start her
off,” Jarae grunted. She was about to go on when her ten-year-old
son, Noah, and his nine-year-old brother, Christian, raced
in.

Darcie Lee glared at them.
“What did I tell y’all about running through my house?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said
Christian.

“Mama, can we have some
more Kool-Kid punch?” Noah waved an empty, plastic cup in the air.
His little brother raised his as well.

“Y’all can only have one
more cup. You’ll be up all night peeing,” Jarae shot back. She
stood up and stomped into the kitchen, fussing as she went. Moments
later, there was the pounding of feet and Jarae returned. “Kids eat
and drink like bottomless pits.”

“They’re growing boys. Just
wait until they’re teenagers. Then you’ll really have something to
complain about,” Darcie Lee replied, nodding. “Now, if you had two
incomes it would be a whole lot easier.”

“Look at it this way, Mama,
you didn’t have to chip in and pay for any weddings,” Nedra joked.
Then she sobered when Jarae stared daggers at her.

“I wouldn’t have paid for
weddings anyway. Name me one couple who stayed together, out of all
my friends who paid a lot of money for fancy weddings. Name one,”
Darcie Lee replied.

“Make up your mind, Mama,”
Gaylynn shot back. “You say we should have gotten married. Then you
turn around and say marriage is a waste.” She tucked her legs
beneath her on the sofa.

“I didn’t say it was a waste. I said most of
your generation doesn’t have the good sense to pick the right
person. Course I have to concede that you girls don’t have much to
choose from when it comes to men.” Darcie Lee gave a sharp nod.

“You and Mr. Jesse seem to
be rockin’ steady. When are y’all going to get married anyway?”
Jarae asked, and shot an amused look at her sisters. Jesse Franklin
had been their mother’s boyfriend for the last year.

“I’m talking about these
young men,” Darcie Lee snapped back. “My plans are none of your
business.”

“Well since we’re talking about men and going
to the altar, I don’t see why we can’t all be held to the same
standard,” Jarae replied.

“First of all, I don’t have
young kids to support, so I’m in no hurry. I’m not going to have
any more babies either. I don’t care what these other women are
doing, having babies in their fifties and sixties. That’s slap
crazy.” Darcie Lee shook her head. “Jesse and I have raised our
children. Now we can relax and take things slow.”

“I’m just checking. We
could start picking out your wedding dress and deciding on colors
for the bridesmaids.” Jarae pressed her lips together to keep from
laughing, and cut another glance at Gaylynn and Nedra.

“At least I have a decent
man with a
job
and who treats me with respect,” Darcie Lee replied and
raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jarae muttered.

Jarae’s last boyfriend had
turned out to be a true disaster. He called himself a music
producer. What he really did was sit around, pretending to be a big
shot and living off Jarae. After dating for six months, she had
allowed him to move in with her while his condo was being
“renovated”. The temporary arrangement turned permanent. Later,
Jarae learned that he’d been living with another woman who had
thrown him out. He was a habitual moocher, moving from one gravy
train to the next.

Nedra nudged Gaylynn secretly. “Let’s change
the subject fast.”

Her sister nodded. “Well,
at least Nedra has a hot prospect; a judge’s son.”

“No, you didn’t,” said
Nedra through clenched teeth. She squinted at Gaylynn, who shrugged
an apology and mouthed, “Sorry”.

“Say what?” Jarae stared at Nedra. Resentment
simmered in her light brown eyes. “Excuse us, Ms. Big Time
Connections.”

Darcie Lee put aside the
bowl of popcorn. “What judge and what’s the man’s name?”

“We’ve just been on a
couple of dates. It’s no big deal,” Nedra replied, jabbing her
elbow into Gaylynn’s side.

“Ouch! You didn’t say it
was a secret.” Gaylynn inched to the other end of the loveseat and
out of her sister’s reach.

“Nedra, why so hush hush?
Spill the details,” said Jarae, seeming to enjoy her
discomfort.

“We just met. We might not
even see each other for long.” Nedra picked up the remote and
turned on the movie.

“Stop,” Darcie Lee said and pointed a finger
at her. “I asked you a question Nedra Denise.”

“His name is Carlos Jacobs
and…”

“Yvonne Jacobs’ son? Humph, that’s going to
be interesting when you meet her. She can’t stand your boss,”
Darcie Lee said.

“And she’s not known for
being warm and cuddly either,” Gaylynn added. “My friend, Shae,
worked in her law firm before she got elected. She said the woman
is mean as hell when she’s in a bad mood, and she’s in a bad mood
ninety percent of the time.” She laughed and slapped the loveseat
cushion.

“I’ve already met her, but
only because we ran into each other at a meeting the other day. It
went just fine,” Nedra said. No need to mention that keeping the
time brief had helped. “But that doesn’t matter because, like I
said, we’ve only had a few dates.”

“You just met when?” Darcie Lee probed.

“Thanksgiving Day,” Nedra
replied and fidgeted with the remote.

“At the Holiday Hospitality
dinner. He volunteered,” Gaylynn explained. She broke off when
Nedra glared at her again.

“So you just met him a little over a week ago
and you’ve had ‘a few dates’ already? No wonder Gaylynn mentioned
him. Hmm.” Darcie Lee lapsed into thoughtful silence.

“Okay, let me get something
straight right now.” Nedra stood to emphasize her point. “I hardly
know the guy, okay? No, I’m not bringing him here to meet everyone.
So don’t make this a big deal. Now let’s watch the movie.” She sat
down again.

“I’ve got two daughters who
had kids too fast, and another one with a ticking biological clock
who can’t seem to make up her mind.”

Nedra gazed at Darcie Lee
steadily. “Drop. It. Mama.”

Her mother held up both
hands. “Okay, okay. I’m just saying, Nedra.”

“I’m happy. I have an exciting job, great
friends and an apartment I love.” Nedra took in a deep breath and
then let it out. “Let’s try to have a fun evening watching this
murder mystery.”

Darcie Lee picked up the
now half-empty bowl of popcorn. “Fine, I’ll get more popcorn and
soft drinks.”

“I’ll go check on the kids,” Gaylynn said and
shot from her seat before anyone could object.

Jarae smirked. “Another entertaining night
with the Wallace girls.”

“Oh shut it, Jarae,” Nedra tossed back.

Chapter 4

Saturday evening had turned
into a magical experience for Nedra. Carlos picked her up a half
hour before the jazz performance. The band dazzled the crowd with
smooth performances of the standards and a few modern compositions
of their own.