by Siera London
"Ava." A wave of relief crested in his chest at the sound of her voice. Aron continued on with his reason for calling without waiting for a greeting. "Sorry, I woke you. Let me put you on speaker while I grab my stuff and lock up. I'll need the use of your spare room to get cleaned up. I don't have time to drive out to my place."
As he talked, Aron dismantled his and Zari’s makeshift bed. He powered off the Christmas trees, collecting them in a pile on an empty shelf. The towels were folded before being stacked on a shelf. Surveying the entryway and windows for water damage; he found none. Good. The pharmacy had weathered the storm.
So engulfed in his plans to secure the store before he reached Zari, he missed the censure in Ava's tone.
"Wait...what?” Her rebuff took him by surprise.
“You heard me, “ she chided. “Why is the pharmacy number registering on my caller ID, Aron?"
“Ava,” he said her name with a drawn out breath, in hopes of ending the verbal chastisement he was receiving.
"Don't try and placate me, little brother. You should have been out of that store hours ago. It's not safe," she plowed on. "And furthermore, I wasn't asleep."
It was three hours after her ten-hour nursing shift had ended on the Shell Cove Medical pediatric unit. He knew she would've worked twenty-four hours straight if it ended with their family sharing a meal around the dinner table.
"I'm baking Granny Louise's favorite coconut lemon cake."
He could hear singing in the background. Ava’s house was Girl World Central for his sister and her best friends.
"Let me guess, Lina and Janna are with you." Two nurses that Ava had attended grade school and college with respectively. It was like having four older sisters instead of two.
"Aron, it's me Lina.”
Lina James’ singsong voice penetrated the line. The statuesque beauty was the diva and the hopeless romantic of the group.
“Round up four single men with all their teeth, hair, and shots and get over here," she called out.
When Aron found Zari he made a mental note to suggest she limit her contact with Ava's friends. And what did the three of them want with four men. Before his brain took him down that dark tunnel of possibilities, a familiar voice came through the speaker, bringing a grin to his face.
"Hey, baby brother."
Could he believe his own ears? Christmas truly was a season for miracles.
"Shaylah?" The shock of hearing his oldest sister’s voice held him momentarily speechless.
"It's me. I braved crazy DC metro traffic to get here before a search party arrived on my doorstep. The gift of me is the only thing I could afford this year."
His parents Andrew and Ariss Walters wouldn't be interested in any other gifts once Shaylah walked through the door. Her decision to leave the state of Florida didn't sit well with them.
"You surprised me, but this is even better with the two of you." Aron smiled for the first time at Zari's decision to run out on him. "I have a To Go order for Ava's kitchen."
"You're skipping out on our family dinner, again?"
Aron smiled at the range of octaves coming from the room of women on the other end. His parents would understand his choice when he brought Zari home.
"Yes, and Shaylah, I need you on the road to my place to grab a package I've been holding for the right time."
"Why do you need all this help, baby brother?"
Leave it to the doctoral candidate to research his motives. Sorting through keys on his flob, he located the stores master key. Pushing open the employee entrance, he stepped onto the crackled stone walkway, inhaling the humid air that permeated every nook and cranny.
"My Christmas gift went missing during the night," he grinned. "You're helping me get her back."
A scream erupted through the phone line, followed by femine chants and cheers. He doubted he'd hear any cheering when he arrived at the Okoros.
* * *
Zari was the biggest loser, again. Standing at the kitchen counter in her studio apartment, this Christmas was bleak as a funeral wake. Aron had told Zari he loved her and she'd repaid his love by sneaking out of his arms in the middle of the night. The numbness she felt at their break-up would have been welcomed. But she felt raw and exposed.
Was Aron awake? Had he discovered she was gone and washed his hands of her? Closing her eyes she pushed all the events of last night into a vault and locked the door. She loved Aron, but he couldn't be hers. If she were granted one Christmas wish it would be him.
Getting a doctor to Christmas dinner wasn't going to happen. She'd failed at love and at life. The only other doctor she knew was the youth pastor. Maybe, a man of the cloth was duty bound to help a member of the flock. Scrolling through her phone directory, the thread of hope shriveled on the vine when his number didn't appear. What now? She could call the church secretary to get his private cell. Zari called the number and crossed her fingers that the call would be answered.
"Merry Christmas Sister Melba, this is Zari. I wanted to invite Reverend Kenis to Christmas dinner and I needed his cell number." Pleased that not a hint of the desperation she felt peppered her speech, Zari was caught off guard by the woman's accusation.
"Oh no Ma'am, I'm not trying to lure a man of The Word into anything," Zari croaked out, surprised by the sanctified woman's attack. "What...no my sister would never seduce–."
Zari stopped short of saying the last word, too hurt at the memory of what her sister had done. Defeated, Zari wanted this call to end.
"Sorry to have bothered you, Mrs. Melba. Have a nice Christmas."
Zari hung up the phone without waiting to hear the reply. Her fingers trembled as she slid the phone back inside her purse. The final preparations for Christmas dinner started at noon. Her presence would be expected.
On autopilot, Zari grabbed her keys from the kitchen counter along with a solitary gold foil wrapped box. Pulling the box to her heart she shielded herself. A single tear tracked down her cheek. Memories of Aron's gentle caress and words of love invaded her thoughts. The life she wanted, the future she dreamed of sharing with a loving husband–gone. She cried in earnest, now. Would Aron ever forgive her? Would this town ever forget the past?
Chapter 7
The tight confines of Zari’s childhood bedroom, with its full sized peace symbol tie dyed bedspread, light pink walls plastered with NSYNC posters, and a faux fur rug was where she wanted to spend Christmas day. Maybe, she'd hide out in this room until her heart stopped aching. Her earlier decision to walk away from Aron flowed through her with the potency of a toxic residue. The wound to her heart felt fatal. The tears started and she lacked the strength to stop them.
The bedroom door swung open. Tabia’s signature floral fragrance permeated the room. Hints of freesia and frangipani invaded her nose. Her stomach roiled in revolt to the scent and the wearer.
"Hey sis, how long are you going to hang out in your room by yourself?
Zari stood in the center of the room, her back to the door, and brushed the tears from her eyes. Wiping her wet hands on her sleeves, she didn't acknowledge Tabia immediately. There was a lot of cooking to do this afternoon. Grand aunts, nieces, and cousins had descended on her mother's kitchen like a honeybee workforce. She should probably go downstairs and help. If only she could stop crying.
"I'll be out in a minute." The door closed and Tabia waltzed in, where she was uninvited.
"Go back to the kitchen, Tabia,” Zari snapped. “I don't feel like playing with you right now."
"So, you were with Aron all night?"
Her sister’s steady gaze said she already knew the answer.
"Yeah, and?"
Tabia’s eye’s softened. "What happened?”
“It’s none of your business,” Zari ground out.
“So, it’s another single and never-been-sexed Christmas for the Okoro sisterhood?"
"I got stuck at Baker's with my ex-boyfriend and I lost the bet. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
"No, it's not.
"
Zari turned and looked at her sister then.
"I want you to be happy again. Like before."
Studying her sister's face for any signs of playfulness, she saw a brief glimpse of the mature woman Tabia would one day become.
"Then you never should have kissed Aron," Zari yelled.
"I know” Tabia offered in a whisper. “I was a jealous butt wipe."
Zari regarded her sister. Tabia's cheek flamed hot with shame. Something Zari had never witnessed before this moment.
"You've known you would be with Aron since forever. I've never seen two people, outside of mommy and daddy, more committed to one another. I never thought you two would break-up because of what I...," she trailed off.
"No, you didn’t." Zari said brows furrowed. "You never considered that everyone would think you're a slut and I'm a fool? Or that Aron was sleeping with the both of us?" She paused for a second to catch her breath, deciding it was time to address the tension between them. "Yes, I agree you are an impulsive, reckless, intrusive butt wipe, and–."
"Dang Zari, it’s Christmas, show your sister some mercy...I get your message loud and clear. But, you don't have to carry the burden of what I did. Who cares what this town thinks of us. I'm sorry I ruined everything between you and Aron. You two belong together."
Zari sighed then.
"You didn't ruin everything. I did that all by myself. Twice."
"Aron loves you. Call and tell him how you feel. You can fix this, Zari."
"He knows how I feel, but...I still walked away from him."
"Why would you do something that stupid? You love him."
Zari did love Aron, but she was scared to death of hurting him again. More than she and her family already had.
"I do love him."
"And he loves you," Tabia said exacerbated, "stop making this so hard, and love the man back."
"I feel so foolish, Tabia."
"Yeah, that's modis operadi for you. Try a page from my book."
Zari felt Tabia's fuller hand engulfed hers. It reminded Zari of years gone by. Always competing, but also loving one another.
"And what would that be?" Zari asked, searching Tabia's smiling eyes.
"Be happy. Go get what you want, girl."
Zari thought on her sister's words. Could she have Aron after everything that had happened between them? Would he believe she loved him? Should she try to convince him? Yes, came a small voice from deep inside her heart.
Mentally grabbing her courage by the shoulder, Zari shook her she warrior awake. She had work to do. Aron was hers and she was going to get him back.
* * *
Remembering the Okoros' started cooking Christmas dinner at high noon, Aron arrived at half past two o'clock. The sweat gathered above his brow had little to do with the comfortable cool of seventy-seven degrees Tropical Storm Sebastian had ushered in. How appropriate he thought. He hoped to avoid a Christmas showdown, but after Zari's confession, he wasn't leaving without her back in his life–in a permanent capacity. Hopefully, there would be enough pots on the stove to keep the other women preoccupied while he and Zari talked. He rang the doorbell at Mrs. Okoro's for the second time, taking in the updated colors and contours of the remodeled Spanish colonial.
The porch was large enough to hold one wrought armchair and an iron scrollwork table. Strings of clear Christmas lights framed the large oak paneled door which had no peephole. Thank goodness, he thought. He heard the scruff of feet against the wooden floorboards. The door swung wide and Aron dropped his gaze to the woman's features whose so reminded him of Zari. Nutmeg and cinnamon spice scents flowed from the interior of the house and wrapped him in the comforting smells of Christmas and family. Tabia Okoro wore a green wrap dress that should have been embroidered with a parental guidance sticker. Momentary shock held them both in stasis on opposite sides of the door.
"Aron? I don't believe it. You came."
Well, she'd better get used to it, because he wasn't going anywhere without Zari. Before he could react, Tabia launched herself at him. With both of his hands holding baskets, thank goodness his feet were well planted as the incredible flying woman slammed into the core of his body. The force knocked the wind from his lungs. How was he going to get Tabia off of him without injuring them both?
"Tabia...who's at the door?"
His entire body stiffened at the gaiety in Zari's voice. Would she be happy that he had pursued her to her parent's house? Before he could contemplate the answer, the most disturbing sensation had his mind screaming in rebellion. The feel of unwanted lips pressed against his cheek. This could not be happening again. Please God, don't let Zari see us together like this. The hairs at the back of his neck went static straight. His eyes shot over Tabia's shoulder into the narrowed eyes of Zari and her mother. A gasp, followed by a very loud, Oh My God rang out.
"Aron," the tone in Zari's voice gave no hint to what she was feeling. At the sound of Zari's voice, her sister removed her lips from his face. The pounding in his chest was deafening. He had to try and explain this, but first he needed Tabia to remove her arms from around his neck.
In a low voice meant for Tabia's ear only, "With all seriousness, if Zari tries to walk away from me because of your foolishness, there's going to be swirling blue lights surrounding your house. I am not leaving without her." Instead of being affronted, the crazed woman actually smiled at him.
"Tabia, I have no idea why you have your lips on Aron again, but back away from him." Zari's voice was gentle, but there was no missing the warning in between each word.
"What?" Tabia’s response was delivered on a breathy sigh.
Each of his hands held a basket of fresh baked yeast rolls, compliment of his sister, Ava. "I'm so happy to see you, Aron." She stroked her hands up and down his arms. The gesture confirming her words, but he felt anything but happy. Everything about this moment was wrong. A growl rent the air, before Aron realized the sound had come from a forward moving Zari. Her eyes were trained on her sister and it didn't look good for either of them. An arm shot out, pinning Zari in place, while a simultaneous mother's summons filled the porch.
"Tabia," came a stern voice that could only be cultivated with years of childrearing, "you’ve done enough. Get away from your sister's...from Aron."
Abruptly her hands fell away. It felt as if he'd been freed from the jaws of life. Aron released the breath he had been holding, thankful no one was hurling accusations at him.
"But mommy–,"
"But nothing." Her mother closed the distance between them, grabbed hold of Tabia's hand, and pulled her back towards the open door.
"But Mommy, I fixed Aron and Zari." Those words brought everyone to an abrupt halt. All eyes fell on a giggling Tabia.
"Zari stand down," Mrs. Okoro said with a pointed stare, before releasing Tabia's hand. Then she rounded on Tabia, "And to you missy, I don't know how you fixed anything if your wayward lips were on Zari's Aron." Then she turned her attention back to him. "Aron, hand me those rolls. Ava is an angel to make these for us," she said reaching for both baskets, "and come in this house. I don't want no swirling blue lights joining our red and green ones, Mister."
He didn't know if Ava's rolls had bid him entry, but it was a gift he readily accepted.
After placing the rolls in a warm oven, Mrs. Okoro spun on her heel, "you girls explain to me what is going on before everyone arrives for dinner."
Aron flinched when Zari shook her head no.
"Aron and I need to talk," Zari said.
"Well, I want to hear what your sister has to say for herself." Mrs. Okoro had her hands on her hips, never a good sign in his opinion. The Okoro women regarded each other, each resistant to the wants of the other, an obvious standoff.
"I don't care, mommy. Effective immediately you, Tabia, and this town have zero influence when it comes to me and Aron.” Zari’s determined gaze landed on him, her hand extended. The last thing Aron saw was both Tabia and Mrs. Okoro mouths agape as Z
ari captured his hands tugging him in the opposite direction. He liked this bolder version of Zari, but was this the calm before the storm was raging in his direction?
* * *
Zari lead Aron into her father's study to finish their discussion away from bionic ears. The house practically hummed with the clanging of Christmas dinner preparations. Even with the door closed, Zari could hear the whirl of mixer blades and the ding of kitchen timers. She sank back in the chocolate leather couch, propped her feet on her dad's oak coffee table, and let the coolness of the material chill her heated insides. She tried not to stare, but she was here with Aron. The man that made her heart sing, her stomach dip, and her mind reel. He had come for her. The door opened, her mother entered with two mugs in her hand. The sugary scent of apple cider filled the room.
"You two make yourselves comfortable. I'll be in the kitchen trying my best not to tear a piece of your sister's hide for interfering."
"Don't be too hard on her, mommy. I dropped Tabia on her head more than once when you weren't looking."
"Ha...I should be so lucky that a few head knocks would explain away your sister's antics."
Aron passed one mug to her before settling in close. Zari and Aron’s bodies touched from shoulder to knee. The heady combination of male spice and apple cider had her insides steaming more than the liquid in her cup. Taking a sip, she closed her eyes, while the sweetness warmed a path down her insides.
"You comfortable?" The smile in his voice brought a grin to hers.
She contemplated his question. "Yeah, I am. You?"
"Not quite."
That pulled her up short. She looked on as Aron shifted uncomfortably. This song and dance was familiar to her.
"Stay here." She placed her mug on the table top and stood. Before she could take a step Aron came to his feet blocking her path.
"Where are you going?"
Aron reached for her hand, the pad of his thumb making small circles on her skin had her stomach dipping.
