No Place Like Home

by Trina Crooks

  A group of construction workers came in the door and Laya’s eyes were focused on them. “I met a couple of those guys last week. I wonder how long they are going to be in town?”

  “Aren’t they the guys building the townhouses on Parker Street. They should be here in town for I think for another month. As long as they don’t run into any problems.”

  “That one with the baseball hat on is kind of cute,” Laya said as she stared over in their direction again. I just shook my head. She was no longer paying attention to us hanging out and was focused on her next prey. “Do you think I should go over there and say hello?”

  “You invited me out to dinner.” Our food arrived just as I got the statement out of my mouth.

  “It will only take a second. I will be right back.” Laya slid out and as soon as she approached Mr. Baseball Cap and they started laughing, I knew she was not going to be back. I pulled my cell phone out and texted Kira to see if she was busy. Might as well take my food over there and visit with her. As I got the waitress to bring me a box, Kira wrote me back that they were having dinner at Graham and Desiree’s house and I just rolled my eyes. She was always with them. I boxed my food up and exited the bar so that I could eat my food in the comfort of my own home.

  I changed into my pajamas and found a good movie to watch before I grabbed my wings to take a bite. But of course, my cell phone rang out interrupting me. I thought it might be Laya who might have just realized that I left but Antonio’s name came up on the screen. I chose to ignore it. A message popped up shortly after and I couldn’t help but listen to it.

  Hey Sonya. I was calling because you’ve been on my mind. I hope I get a chance to see you soon. Take care.

  I smiled and then took a deep breath. Staying away from Antonio was getting harder because just like I’d been on his mind, he had definitely been on mine.

  Chapter Eight

  “So, what do you do after you type in the price amount a customer is willing to spend,” I said to Regina, the woman I hired to take over for me. She was Mrs. Perkins granddaughter and only twenty years old. This was her first job and her inexperience was definitely showing. Everything I told her to do made her nervous.

  “Um…” Regina looked around on the computer for anything to help her and I tried hard to keep calm. It was her first day so I needed to have more patience but we’d been at this for four hours and she was no further along than she was when she walked in this morning.

  “You push that execute button.”

  “Oh yeah!” she exclaimed with a smile and did as I told her. The houses in the price range we selected popped up on the screen and I went over more details of what to look for. She nodded her head with the deer in headlights expression and I knew she was not retaining anything that was coming out of my mouth.

  “Well we will just pick this back up tomorrow.” Regina was working only half days to start, thank God, and it was time for her to leave. She packed up her things quickly and raced out of the door. I was determined to make her work because I didn’t have enough time to train anyone else. She was it.

  I opened up my filing cabinet so that I could make sure that my January renters were all set up properly. Some of the winter transports waited until after the holidays before they migrated on down to Jasper Springs. The usual visitors already had their housing picks set aside but I got three calls for new people who wanted to give Jasper Springs a try this winter. I had to check over the openings and give these new customers a call back today to let them know what was still available. But before I could get started the door swung open and in waltzed Gigi.

  “Hello Gigi. What brings you by? Are you having problems at the rental house?”

  “Mm hmm. The fact that Antonio is right next door to it.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why don’t you want to be next door neighbors with your own grandson?”

  “You know why.”

  “You still haven’t told him about Mr. Frazier?” That was Gigi’s boyfriend for the last three years. They took a liking to each other and were now a major item in Jasper Springs. I was surprised that Antonio hadn’t found out yet.

  “No.” Gigi sat down in the chair across from me with frustration. “I don’t know how he will take it knowing that his grandmother is in love with a man that is not his grandfather.”

  “I know I don’t know Antonio that well but I think your happiness is important to him.”

  “It is, but this is different.”

  “Ok. So, where do I come in?”

  “Well my lovely grandson has become quite smitten with you. I was hoping you could occupy him a little more.”

  I smiled. “Oh really. And how do you suggest I do that?”

  “Just hang out with him more. Take him to the movies or invite him over to dinner. Anything to keep him from knocking on my door.”

  “I guess I can help you with that but if I keep spending time with Antonio, he is going to think that I like him.”

  “Like you don’t like him already,” Gigi said with an upraised eyebrow.

  “Well I like him as a person….”

  “And that is it?” Gigi leaned forward waiting for my answer.

  “Well…Gigi…”

  “Mm hmm. You like him.”

  “He is pleasant to be around,” I answered. That sounded like a safe answer.

  “Alright. I am depending on you Sonya.”

  “I got your back. I will call him as soon as you leave to set up something.”

  “Great. Doug is supposed to come over tonight for dinner and I don’t want an uninvited visitor coming to my door.”

  We both stood and walked toward the door. “But Gigi how do you explain the extra car in the driveway?”

  “I pull his into the garage with mine. Most times it doesn’t leave until morning.”

  “Gigi!” I couldn’t believe she said that and was trying desperately to keep that mental picture from coming into my brain but I was happy that there was still hope for love even at a senior age.

  “Bye Sonya!”

  “Bye.” I closed the door and immediately went to pick up my phone. It was almost three and I wanted to catch Antonio before he made any plans for the evening. The phone rang three times before he picked up.

  “Hello.” He sounded like he was asleep and the huskiness of his voice was doing things to me. Calm down Sonya.

  “This is Sonya.”

  “I know who it is.”

  “Did I wake you?”

  “Mm hmm but it’s fine. How’s your day going gorgeous?”

  He always asked me about my day which was a quality I liked in him. “Oh, it’s going wonderful as always. The reason for my call is to see what you are doing later for dinner.”

  “Having dinner with you, I hope.”

  “Well I am ready to take you up on the Italian food and I want you to make it.”

  “I will do that.” He was starting to sound more awake now. “Any preference?”

  “No. I am pretty open to whatever. See you later, around five.” I hung up the phone and tried to pretend that I was just spending time with Antonio because Gigi asked her too. As the days went by, I knew that was not the case at all.

  *~~~*

  Antonio hung up the phone and immediately ran to his bedroom to find something more presentable to wear. Sonya would be over in a couple of hours and he wanted to make sure he pulled out all of the stops for her. He ran to the florist and bought a dozen roses and then to the bakery to get a chocolate cake and those two errands took him over an hour. By the time he was pulling into his driveway Sonya’s car was parked out front.

  “I thought you forgot that I was coming over.”

  He shook his head. “I could never forget about you.”

  “Do you need help?”

  “These flowers are for you so you can hold those.”

  “You didn’t have to get me any flowers.” He watched as she admired them before he answered.

  “I wanted to.
Come on inside.”

  He opened the door for her and let her in first before he followed. “I hope you like lasagna. I thought I would try my hand at that tonight.” Sonya turned to him with her hand on her hip. She was so incredibly cute when she did that. Not to mention she looked so beautiful in the mocha brown sweater dress she was wearing. It was hugging her body in all of the right places.

  “You invite a girl over and you don’t know how to make the meal you are preparing?”

  “That is the power of the internet. You can find anything there. How hard can it be?”

  “Alright. Famous last words,” she said before she turned to walk away. Her attention turned to the Christmas tree that he purchased the day before and had not been able to decorate. “Are you going to keep this thing bare? This is a sad sight.”

  “No. I thought maybe we could do that together after dinner. If that’s alright.”

  “Sounds good.” Sonya then went toward the living room and was almost seated before Antonio spoke up.

  “Uh, where are you going? I thought you might want to help cook dinner with me. Make sure I don’t poison you with my lack of skills.”

  “I guess I can.” Sonya went over to the sink to wash her hands and then came to stand next to him. “What’s first?”

  They stood there cooking side by side. Sonya told him about her day at work that sounded really slow and he informed her that he did a little bit of work himself before he took a nap that afternoon. Then his cell phone dinged with a text from his mother. He hadn’t talked to her since he arrived in Jasper Springs. “This is my mother. I gotta take this.”

  “Of course.”

  Are you near your computer?

  I can be.

  I want to talk to you face to face

  Antonio grabbed his laptop and sat down and waited for his mother’s call to ring through. It didn’t take long before her beautiful face came up on the computer screen.

  “Hey Mama.”

  “There you are. I have missed that face.”

  “I miss you too. How are you and Dad doing?”

  “We’re good. Your father is working too hard of course but I am definitely fine.”

  “That’s great.” He glanced over at Sonya who was finishing up the meat sauce. She looked like she belonged in his kitchen and it felt good to have her here. He guessed he must have been staring too long because his mother called his name to get his attention.

  “Who do you keep looking at?”

  “Sonya. A friend I made here in Jasper.”

  “Making friends already?”

  “Yes.” Antonio glanced at her again. “Sonya come meet my mom.” She came and sat next to him on the couch and he loved the way they looked in the tiny box together. His mother smiled brightly.

  “She is pretty son.”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Randall.”

  “Nice to meet you too. I thought Antonio was not going to last a week down there but I see why he is now.” Sonya looked at him before smiling at his mother again.

  “I don’t know if I have anything to do with it.”

  “I know my son. And you do have something to do with it, Sonya,” she answered.

  “Mommmm!” Antonio replied with a chuckle.

  “What are you guys doing over there?”

  “He is supposed to be making me dinner but he has left me to do all of the cooking.”

  “Has he? Antonio you can’t ask a girl over for dinner and then make her cook.”

  “Tell him Mama Randall!” Sonya said as she shoved him with her shoulder playfully. “Let me go check on the food. Nice talking to you.”

  “You too honey,” his mother managed to get out before Sonya left. She looked at him with her mama eyes and then grinned. “I like her.”

  “I do too.”

  “I can tell. Bring her to the Christmas party.”

  Antonio leaned back on the couch for a second because he knew his mother was not going to like what he said next. “I didn’t plan on coming back for it.”

  “Of course you are coming back. We can’t have the party without you.”

  “Fine. I can come back but she probably won’t come with me. She refuses to date me,” he whispered.

  “Why not?”

  “Because of my playboy status,” he answered with a shrug.

  “I knew that would catch up with you one day. A woman of worth cares about that. These little floozies you have dated just want to be seen on your arm. They don’t care about you dating multiple woman. Try to convince her. I want to see her in person.”

  “Alright. I’ll see what I can do. Let me get into the kitchen to give her a hand and I will see you soon.”

  “Okay. Love you.”

  “I love you too.” Antonio pushed down the top of his laptop and then came into the kitchen. “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be sorry about talking to your mother. You two look like you have a great relationship.”

  Antonio nodded. He could talk to his mother about anything. She was always there for him no matter how hard it was for him to say or how embarrassing a topic, Clara Randall was always there for him. “We do.”

  “That’s a great quality in a man. A man that loves and respects his mother will more than likely love and respect the woman he chooses to be in his life.”

  “Mm hmm. That’s true.” They worked together on the meal silently for a moment. Sonya was putting garlic spread on the Italian bread when Antonio decided to ask the big question. “Do you want to come to New York to attend my family Christmas party with me. It’s next week.”

  Sonya placed the pan with the bread in the stove and then turned to him. “I don’t know.”

  “You are planning to move to New York in the new year so this will give you a chance to see it before you make the big move. I can be your tour guide for your future home.” She smiled.

  “I didn’t think about that. Well I do shut down the rental business at the end of the week. But I want to go to the carnival on Friday. Will you go with me to that?”

  “Are you asking me out on a date Miss Cummings?” He hoped like hell she would say yes. He wanted their little friendship to move past friendship. Even after just a week of knowing her he already felt strongly for her.

  “Well a friend of mine said I should be more open to whatever this may be.”

  “What friend is this. I like them already.”

  “Kenyon, an old school friend.”

  Antonio got closer to her, invading her space but instead of moving away from him like she usually did, she stood there and looked up into his eyes. “So, are you asking me on a carnival date?”

  “Yes I am. And I would love to go with you to New York too.”

  “That’s great.” He picked her up and sat her on the kitchen counter so that he could give her a kiss. Antonio stepped in between her open legs and she laid her head back against the upper kitchen cabinets. Their mouths connected and he had to grip the countertop in order to steady himself. He had kissed many women in his time but kissing Sonya was by far the best. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her and then opened her mouth slightly to invite him inside. Antonio let his tongue wander in slowly and gingerly, tasting a sweetness that he never thought he could get enough of. He scooted her bottom to the edge of the counter so that they were pelvis to pelvis and heard the most passionate moan escape her lips. And then the timer for the food went off causing them to separate from each other slowly and reluctantly.

  “Saved by the bell,” she whispered.

  “Damn bell,” he fussed which caused her to laugh ferociously. He couldn’t help but laugh his damn self.

  They got all of the food from the oven and he had to admit the lasagna looked very appetizing. He just hoped that it tasted as good as it looked. They sat down and he watched as Sonya dug her fork into the cheesy goodness which was followed with a contented sigh after the first bite. “You did goo
d.”

  “We did good. We are a great team.”

  Sonya just smiled and they kept on eating with their conversation geared toward his stay here in Jasper. “Are you enjoying Jasper? I know you are used to the city that never sleeps so the slowness of our little town might be boring you.”

  He shook his head. “Actually, I am finding this way of life very refreshing. There are many days that I wish I could give it all up and find some small town to make my new home. The life I live can be stressful sometimes.”

  “Oh. I didn’t realize.”

  Antonio set down his fork after his last bite and sat back in the chair. “I have a good life, don’t get me wrong, it’s just sometimes I wouldn’t mind a little more peace. Jasper Springs seems like the sort of place you could really live a simpler life. A great place to raise a family.”

  Sonya grabbed his empty plate and moved toward the kitchen. “It is. But I think you would bore of it quickly.”

  He didn’t reply back because he didn’t know if she was not totally right about that. All he’d known was the fast pace of New York and just because he wanted slow didn’t mean he would actually like it once he got it. They both met in the living room and began applying the decorations to the tree while he played Christmas music from his cell phone. Every time he placed a bulb on the tree, Sonya moved it, stating he was putting them too close together. “How long has it been since you’ve decorated a tree?”

  “A while.” Antonio eventually let her take more of the lead and he just found himself enjoying the view.

  “You are supposed to be helping me mister.”

  “I am so happy I came here so that I could meet you,” he blurted out. “You are a rare find and just being here around you is making this Christmas season the best one I’ve ever had. I really like you Sonya.”

  “I like you too.”

  He eased closer to her with the mistletoe he bought in his hand which made her laugh. “You do?”