Nina's Got a Secret (5 page)

Larry took Nina into the huge master bedroom on the first floor. The king-size sleigh bed looked like a twin bed in the massive room. A sofa and coffee table aligned one wall and a dining table with two chairs occupied the other wall. The room was almost the size of the one-bedroom apartment Nina had just moved out of in New Orleans.

Connected to the master bedroom was the master bath. The huge bathtub was larger than her old bed and the shower with multiple showerheads looked like something out of a magazine.
The walk-in closet had enough space to accommodate every piece of clothing she'd ever owned in her life. Nina was at a loss for words.

Larry took Nina and the kids upstairs and showed them the huge media room with its 60-inch plasma television mounted on the wall, pool table, and theater seating.

“You know we're going to have to host a few parties as I court prospective clients,” Larry said.

“I know, that should be fun,” Nina replied with excitement. She was eager to meet and mingle with Larry's celebrity associates.

The tour continued as Larry showed her the numerous bathrooms and other nooks and crannies throughout the upper floor. The balcony that lined the hallway looked down into the massive first-floor family room.

“Okay, girls, now it's time to check out your room,” Larry said.

Precious started cheering and jumping with excitement as she anxiously awaited her stepfather's presentation.

Larry took them down the hall, opened the door, and smiled with pride. The shock on the faces of the women in his life was all he needed to see. Even Chrissy, who rarely showed any excitement, smiled with glee.

The room was adorned with a mural of both girls on the walls and toys galore. Positioned on each side of the room were two large queen-size beds. On one bed, there was a pillow with the name Chrissy embroidered on it and on the other bed the name Precious was embroidered on a pillow.

Precious immediately ran into the room and started playing with the life-size dollhouse. Chrissy gravitated toward the teddy bears that sat in the corner.

“The girls seem to like the room, baby; what about you?”

Nina mustered up a slight smile, but was visibly disturbed.

“What's wrong, baby?”

“Nothing's wrong. This room is beautiful, but I just figured the girls would have their own bedrooms.”

“I thought about converting one of the guest rooms into Chrissy's room, but I decided not to.”

“Why not?”

“I figured this would be a great opportunity for the girls to bond. They can play together and become closer. Besides, I don't like the idea of Chrissy sleeping in one of the other rooms alone because those rooms are too far down the hall. I'm accustomed to having her near me. Since you and I will be on the first floor, putting Precious and Chrissy in the same room for a while seemed like a logical solution. After all, they're only eight years old. By the looks of it, they couldn't care less. I think they will enjoy being roommates, at least for now.”

Nina didn't respond. She just stood there looking at the decorations and watched the girls play.

“Baby, what's wrong?” Larry asked again.

“I understand what you're saying, Larry, but Precious and I shared a room in that small apartment for years. I've always wanted her to have her own room so that she could have her own space. I wish you would have discussed this with me before you decided to make them share a room.”

Larry was clearly surprised by Nina's reaction. The issue seemed somewhat trivial to him, but he could see that it was a source of consternation for Nina.

“Okay, Nina, I hear you. I didn't mean to violate; I just didn't think it was that big of an issue. I'll call the interior decorator and have her come over on Monday and convert one of the guest rooms into a child's room.”

Larry was about to ask Nina what she thought about Precious
moving into one of the smaller guest rooms, so that Chrissy could be closer to the staircase. That location would make it easier for him to reach her should he need to run up and check on her. Needless to say, the question instantly became irrelevant. Before he could part his lips, Nina had already made the decision for him.

“Precious, guess what?!”

“What, Mommy?”

“This is going to be your bedroom. Larry is going to move Chrissy into one of the other rooms and this is going to be your bedroom.”

“Why, Mommy? I want Chrissy to be in here with me so that we can play together,” Precious replied as she looked at her mom and then glanced at her new stepsister who sat in the corner cuddling a teddy bear, totally oblivious to what was transpiring.

“You can still play with Chrissy, but this is going to be your bedroom. Remember when I told you a few weeks ago you were going to have your own room?”

“Yes.”

“Well, sweetheart, now you do. This is your new bedroom in your new house. Do you like it?”

“I love it!” Precious replied, and then ran and sat next to Chrissy and started playing with the teddy bears.

Larry looked at the kids and then at his new wife. He didn't like what he'd just witnessed, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions. Nina's actions seemed somewhat self-centered and her lack of concern about how this change made him feel was bothersome. Still, he decided to chalk this up as an isolated incident. After all, she and Precious really had been living in rather cramped quarters; therefore, he could understand her desire to give Precious a room of her own.

Nina turned and looked at Larry and started talking as if the discussion about the bedroom had never happened.

“I want to go for a ride in my new car.”

“Okay, let's all change clothes and we can go down to the beach. There's a little city up the road called Seaside. We can go check out the beach over there and grab something to eat at one of the restaurants.”

The view of the ocean from Highway 1 was like something out of a movie. Waves splashed against the huge boulders that lined the California coastline. Sea otters could be seen floating on their backs, basking in the sun, as families watched, laughed, and played volleyball together.

Nina wasn't accustomed to such picturesque scenery while living in the city of New Orleans. Her hometown was still trying to recover from the savage beating it took from Hurricane Katrina three years earlier. Now that she was living in California, life as she knew it had taken a permanent change for the better, and she was enjoying every moment of it.

After spending a few hours on the beach and then an hour or so at Fisherman's Wharf and the aquarium in Monterey, they were all exhausted.

Larry drove the family home. After everyone washed the day's activities off of them and put on their pajamas, it was time to tuck the girls into bed.

“It's time to get in the bed, baby. You can finish playing with your new toys tomorrow,” Nina told Precious.

“Okay,” Precious replied. “Mommy, can Larry come in the room to tuck me in, too?”

“Okay,” Nina responded. She was a little surprised at her daughter's suggestion, but happy that Precious felt that comfortable with Larry.

“Larry, honey, come in here for a second, please.”

A few moments later, Larry came into the bedroom holding Chrissy's hand.

“What's up? I was helping Chrissy brush her teeth so she can get ready for bed.”

“There's a little girl here who wants you to help tuck her in,” Nina said as she glanced at Precious.

“Oh really,” Larry replied with a huge grin.

“Yep, so I guess you should do the honors this evening.”

“I'd be glad to,” Larry replied as he sat on the edge of Precious' bed. “Little Ms. Precious, I'm so happy that you are now my stepdaughter and a part of my family. I want you to know that I love you and will do all I can to make you happy.”

“Thank you, Mr. Larry. I love you, too.”

“First, sweetheart, I want you to stop callin' me
Mr. Larry
. I'm your stepfather now. You and I will be living together, and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me. I want you to feel like you can talk to me about anything. I want you to know I'm here for you.”

“What do you want me to call you?”

“I don't know. What do you want to call me?”

“Can I call you Daddy?” Precious asked in the type of innocent voice that would bring even the strongest man to his knees.

Larry was caught off-guard by the question. He and Nina had never discussed the issue before. Precious had never known her real father because he had died before she could walk. A silence fell over the room. Larry looked up at Nina and noticed the apprehensive look on her face. There was a look of sadness in Nina's eyes, a clear sign of the unresolved emotions loitering in her soul.

Larry was a pretty astute businessman, but his skills were limited when it came to handling the complexities of a woman's emotions. Still, even Larry, with his minimum
game,
knew that there were
certain unwritten rules that men were required to follow. As it pertains to this topic, he'd been in enough barbershops and pool halls to know that it's never cool for a man to allow another man's child to refer to him as
daddy
or
father
unless the child's biological father is deceased; he's had a heart-to-heart discussion with the biological father and the man has verbally acknowledged that he doesn't mind; or the biological father hasn't provided any emotional and/or financial support to the child.

Any barbershop psychologist, wino on the corner, or know-it-all uncle will tell you that a man who ignores this unwritten code deserves to get his ass whipped; and since receiving an ass whipping wasn't high on Larry's bucket list, Larry really would have preferred to change the topic at that moment. Unfortunately for him, the purity in Precious' eyes was more powerful than a sedative, or his fear of catching a beat down.

Larry responded, “Yes, baby girl, you can call me Daddy if you want to. Now close your eyes and go to sleep. We're going to tuck your sister in the bed now.”

The smile on Precious' face was larger than the one she had displayed when her little eyes had first witnessed the room full of toys.

“Good night,” Precious said and then kissed Larry on the cheek.

“Now it's your turn, Chrissy. We're going to tuck you in,” Larry said as he pried a teddy bear out of Chrissy's hand, walked her over to her bed, and helped her get underneath the covers.

“Baby, would you do the honors?” Larry asked as he turned to look at Nina.

Much to Larry's surprise and chagrin, Nina wasn't standing there. He assumed she'd stepped out for a moment to use the bathroom, so he waited and gently rubbed Chrissy's forehead. After five minutes passed, he realized Nina wasn't coming back,
so he tucked his beautiful daughter in and wished her a good night's sleep.

“You are my world, Chrissy,” Larry whispered into her ear. “Everything I do, I do for you. Daddy loves you and will always be here for you.”

Although her handicap prevented her from verbalizing her feelings, Chrissy and Larry had developed a bond, a sort of cerebral connection. Whenever they spoke to each other at night, Chrissy would take her index finger and touch Larry's nose as a symbol of understanding.

She placed her index finger on his nose and started to smile. Larry's eyes welled as he looked at his daughter and mumbled, “Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with this child.”

Once Chrissy was settled in, Larry turned off the lights and headed downstairs. As he neared the bottom of the staircase, he could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. It didn't take much deduction for Larry to conclude that Nina was on the phone talking to Val.

Larry gently crept down the stairs and positioned himself around the corner away from Nina's sight, but close enough that he could hear every word she said.

“Girl, it is off the chain! I've never seen anything as beautiful as Monterey Bay.”

“Does Precious like living out there? How does she feel about the new house?”

“Precious is in love with the house, but we almost had a problem.”

“What's her problem? Sounds like y'all livin' ten times better than y'all lived when you were here in this raggedy-ass city.”

“I didn't have a problem with Precious; I thought I was gonna have a problem with Larry. I had to give him the look. Val, this house is huge. We have five bedrooms in here, and he had the
nerve to want to make those girls share a bedroom. Now I ask you, does that make sense?”

“No, not really. Why does he want them to share a room?”

“He said he felt more comfortable with the girls sharing a room together. He didn't want Chrissy to sleep alone.”

“Girl, I know you didn't like that. But, I can understand his concern. He probably wants them to sleep together so that Chrissy won't be scared. Sometimes it makes kids with autism feel more comfortable when they share a room with someone else. What was your response?”

“What do you think I said? I told him that I didn't agree. This house is too damn big to have those kids cramped into one room.”

“You have a point, but the last time I checked, it was his money that bought that big-ass house.”

“Val, have you forgotten who you're talking to? I'm the one with the coochie. I'm gonna get what I want. Girl, I got his ass on the coochie point system.”

“Coochie what? What in the hell is the coochie point system?”

“You don't know about the coochie point system?”

“Nah, what's that?”

“It's really very simple. Every time he does something that pleases me, he gets five coochie points. It takes thirty coochie points for him to earn some of this coochie. But every time he pisses me off, I subtract five coochie points.”

“So how many points does he get for buying you a new house?”