No Place Like Home

by Trina Crooks

  “You know you can kiss me without your little toy.”

  “That’s music to my ears,” he responded as he threw the mistletoe to the side and grabbed her into his arms. Antonio then laid a gentle kiss on her waiting lips once again.

  Chapter Nine

  Morning came way too fast because last night Antonio walked Dominick through some troubleshooting issues that were taking place with the opening. He could hear the concern in Dominick’s voice so Antonio told him what to do and then sent him some information in his email that would be helpful today. The store was not as ready as everyone thought it should be and now Dom was running around like a crazy man getting everything done. Better Dominick, than him, Antonio thought as he rolled over in his big bed.

  The doorbell rang and his eyes moved to the clock on the bedside table to see that it was almost nine in the morning. Way too early for anyone to be on his doorstep but he pushed back his cover, pulled on a T-shirt with his pajama pants and hustled to the door. For all he knew Gigi could be needing something. When he peeped out of the curtain he groaned when he saw who was standing there.

  “Hello Evelyn,” Antonio said when he opened the door.

  “Good morning Antonio. I came to bring you breakfast.” He noticed the box in her hands and reached for it.

  “What is this?”

  “Croissants and bagels. And an invitation to the Christmas tree lighting downtown.”

  He stood there and looked at her because he was trying to figure out how to let her down gently. Just a few days ago she invited him to dinner and he had to say no to that also. She was coming on strong but he had to let her know this was not going to go anywhere. “I am going with Sonya, but thanks for the invite.”

  “Should have known. You have been spending a lot of time with her.”

  “I like her a lot.”

  Evelyn’s eyes looked sad but he hoped that she would finally understand where he was coming from. She nodded and backed away before she turned and skipped back down the porch steps. Antonio closed the door, took a quick shower, and then grabbed the breakfast items to take to Sonya’s office. As soon as he entered, he noticed she was not alone. He forgot she was training someone to take over for her.

  “Hello. What are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry. I come bearing food and good tidings.”

  “Oh really,” Sonya commented while the young lady with her giggled incessantly.

  “That was cute. Good tidings.”

  Sonya rolled her eyes. “Antonio, this is Regina. Regina, Antonio.”

  “It is so nice to meet you. Everyone has been talking about you since you’ve arrived.”

  He sat down across from them and smiled. “Yeah. I have been the talk of the town.”

  “What’s in this box?”

  “Breakfast was delivered by an admirer who then invited me to some tree lighting event. You didn’t tell me about that.”

  Regina spoke up before Sonya could. “Oh, it’s a big deal here. We all bring an ornament to put on the tree and we enjoy the festivities downtown. You really have to go.”

  Sonya kept her eye on Antonio for a moment before she turned to Regina. “How about we call it a day so we can get ready for this evening?”

  “Okay. See you downtown,” Regina responded while she grabbed her coat and exited the building leaving the two of them alone.

  “You know we don’t have to go to the tree lighting if you don’t want to,” Antonio commented as he spread cream cheese on one of the bagels.

  “Of course, I want to go and you are going too. That event brings the whole Christmas season to an official start.”

  Antonio hung out at Sonya’s office for another hour before she left to go home and said she would be by to pick him up at four. Antonio took that small amount of time to do some work from his laptop. His father emailed him some questions about some of the store openings coming up soon and when he didn’t get back to him fast enough, they video conferenced for an hour. By the time that was over he had just enough time to change clothes and wait for Sonya to come and pick him up. But four came and went so he called her.

  “Did you need me to come and get you?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “You know I do. I don’t know why you let me say that to you,” she fussed jokingly before hanging up the phone. Antonio jumped into his own car, swung by to pick up Sonya and then she directed him to where she wanted him to park. Once he stepped out and reached Weller Street, the main street downtown, he couldn’t believe what he saw.

  “This is a big deal I take it,” he said. The street was bustling with people. All of them joyous, all of them with packages in their hands. Christmas music could be heard playing all over the street and since the street was blocked off for these festivities, Santa was set up in the middle of road with a long line of kids ready to meet him. It was all a special sight.

  “Yes. Lots of people do a lot of their shopping today. But we only have to shop for our ornament.”

  “We need an ornament?” They began walking down the street and dodged hundreds of people until they made it to Assortments and Such. The store was filled with an arrangement of items but one whole side was set aside for just tree ornaments.

  “For the tree lighting, everyone that wants to brings some sort of ornament or tinsel; anything they feel like they want to put on the tree.”

  “This just confirms that I am in a small town.” Antonio stood close to Sonya, almost right behind her to conserve space as they looked at the variety. She smelled so good and he found himself paying more attention to her than what they came in here for.

  “Which one do you like?”

  “I like the big one right there,” he said as he pointed at a blue and silver bulb.

  Sonya nodded her agreement. “I like that too. Let’s get two of them and place them close together.”

  So, they did. They purchased them and found a great place on the extraordinarily large tree to place it before they had to find a place to wait. The actual lighting was not going to happen until seven.

  “You want to get some hot chocolate? The Coffee Bean has great hot chocolate and maybe there might still be a place to sit in there,” Sonya mentioned.

  “Sounds great to me.”

  They hurried to the storefront and found it bustling with customers. The place was so packed that all they could do was order their hot chocolates and exit out into the chilly weather. Today was one of the coldest days he’d experienced since Antonio arrived in Jasper and he was feeling slightly underdressed for it. He did have on a light jacket with his long sleeve shirt but he didn’t have a hat, gloves or anything else which would have been appreciated at the moment.

  “Let’s go sit over here,” Sonya commented as she pointed at an empty bench but as they approached an older woman sat down leaving just one place for them.

  “You can sit on my lap. That way we can keep each other warm.” He sat down and Sonya joined him immediately. “This is nice.”

  “I swear the whole town comes alive at this time of year. Just right out of a movie.” She smiled so brightly as she admired her town and Antonio found himself appreciating it too. He was so happy that he followed his grandmother here which made him wonder where she was. This seems like something she would enjoy participating in.

  “I wonder where Gigi is.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she didn’t want to be out here in the chilly weather. This is the coldest it’s been in a while.”

  “You telling me,” Antonio said as he leaned into her, trying to get more of her body heat.

  She laughed as she looked at him. “I certainly was not prepared for this change in the weather. Put your hands in my pockets to keep them warm.”

  “Oh, don’t mind if I do.” He handed her his cup of hot chocolate and made himself at home in her coat.

  “Sonya, is that you?” a woman asked as she passed them on the street.

  “Maxine! Hey girl. Are you here for Christmas?”

&
nbsp; “Yes. I finally was able to break away and come home for Christmas before my mother killed me.”

  “I know she is happy to have you home. I’m sorry, I would get up and give you a hug but someone needs my pockets to keep his hands warm.” Antonio hadn’t been paying too much attention to them as they talked but now, he lifted his head from resting on Sonya’s shoulder to see Maxine. Once she saw his face, she immediately smiled a bit brighter.

  “Antonio Randall. Everyone has mentioned you being here. I never thought I would actually see you myself.”

  “Antonio, this is an old friend Maxine. Max, Antonio.”

  “Nice to meet you Maxine.”

  “You too.”

  Someone started speaking over the loud speaker calling everyone to come closer so they stood up and joined the crowd surrounding the tree and waited. There was a small speech given about the length of this tradition and how much it means to the town. Antonio listened as the man spoke for a little while before there was a countdown to the lighting.

  “5-4-3-2-1!”

  The lights shined brightly in the night sky and while everyone clapped their happiness, Antonio felt the real sense of love of their community that he couldn’t say he felt for his. This was an unbelievable thing to witness and something he wished he could be a part of for the rest of his life.

  *~~~*

  I arrived on Kira’s doorstep with a box of Christmas cookies in my hand for her. We hadn’t spent a lot of alone time together so I wanted to see her and catch up a little bit. I also wanted to tell her I felt a little left out of her life because she was always with the crew.

  “Cookies!” My friend grabbed the Tupperware from my hand before she really acknowledged me which made me laugh.

  “Thanks for having me over.”

  “Are you kidding girl? If you don’t get your butt in here,” Kira fussed as I stepped into her home. It was all decorated for Christmas, much more elaborate than I’d done this year. The bannister was wrapped with red felt ribbon and the tree she put up was probably the biggest that Michael could find on the tree lot. “Do you want anything to drink? Some wine? Some hot chocolate?”

  I sat down on the couch and thought about it. “Uh. Wine if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “I will be right back.”

  Kira exited the room and I decided to be my nosy self by checking out all of the pictures she had the fireplace mantle. There was a variety of photos of everyone in our normal crew along with several pictures of Michael and Kira together. I then took in all of the extra decorations she placed on the tables. Miniature Santa and his reindeer, along with a whole village of Christmas houses.

  “Here you go,” Kira said when she handed me my glass.

  “You went all out this year. There isn’t a surface that isn’t touched.”

  “Yeah. I am just so happy with life that I think it’s spewed out all over the house. Michael keeps telling me I have to reign it in.” Kira sat down with me on the couch with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies that I just brought over and she set it down between us.

  “I am happy for you. Very happy.”

  “What brings you by? Not that you have to have a reason but you sounded so mysterious on the phone.”

  I paused to take a deep breath because how do you tell your best friend that you feel neglected without sounding like some immature teenager? So instead of leading with that, I led with another topic. “Mr. Carter wants to sell me the bakery.”

  “What! That would be great. You love baking and you are so much nicer than Mr. Carter so that business would boom.”

  I just smiled because most of the town thought that Mr. Carter was mean but I just thought he was misunderstood and a little rough around the edges. “I know, but I am determined to get out of here. My life needs changes K and I just don’t think I am going to get what I want here. I plan on moving to New York in the new year.”

  My friend just stared at me before she drank some of her milk. “Do you think you are cut out for the big city?”

  “What is that supposed to mean? You went to LA and nobody questioned it.”

  “Remember when we went to Houston some years back for a concert. I swear you were going to have a nervous breakdown in the arena.”

  There was some truth to that. I couldn’t believe the amount of people in this one place, all running into me and most of them without smiles on their faces. I just felt like I was in the middle of chaos and was half tempted to tell Kira to take me home. “In my defense I was twenty years old and I didn’t travel much as a child.”

  “You don’t travel much now. I just don’t think you will like it.” I could tell that my friend was telling me her sincere thoughts but I didn’t care to really hear them right now.

  “You left Kira…”

  “And I came back. There’s no place like home, you know.”

  I rolled my eyes and smiled. “Okay Dorothy.”

  She laughed and changed the subject. “I saw you at the tree lighting with your new friend. You two looked cozy.”

  “I am just going with the flow,” I answered while I shrugged. “I know this is probably not going to go anywhere but I might as well have a little fun.” I drank more of my wine and then had second thoughts about bringing up my jealousy issues. It was not really something to discuss; I was just going to have to get over it all by myself.

  Chapter Ten

  “I am having so much fun,” Antonio said as he walked alongside me. We arrived at the winter carnival just an hour ago and already he managed to win me two large stuffed animals that I had to take back to the car and I was now toting a small lion. Every game he stepped up to he excelled at and if he kept going on at this rate, I was going to have a house full of animals. But I was happy that he was having a good time.

  “I’m happy you are. This is always a lot of fun. You want to get on any rides?”

  “No. I’d rather get something to eat. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a corndog?”

  We walked over to a corndog stand and both got one of those, some curly fries and then found a lemonade shakeup. I was looking for someplace to sit down when Felicia crossed our path. “Hello Antonio,” she said flirtatiously. I rolled my eyes.

  “I suppose I am not standing here,” I said sarcastically.

  “Oh Sonya, I didn’t see you standing there.”

  “Of course, you didn’t.”

  “Hello Felicia,” Antonio spoke up to say.

  She gave him a bright smile. “I am happy to see you out enjoying our little carnival.”

  “Any time I spend with Sonya is always enjoyable.” Antonio stood close to me, wrapping his arm around my waist which upset Felicia. She backed away a bit and then walked off slowly. “I don’t think she wants to talk to me anymore.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “No. I don’t think she does.”

  We sat down to eat our food. “I have not been to a carnival in ages. Probably since I was about ten.”

  “Do they not have them in your area?”

  “They do but I just don't go. Partly because I don’t have anyone interested in going with me, I guess. The women I normally date are kind of on the I-don't-want-to-get-dirty side of the tracks. Not saying that you want to get dirty. But you are just different, if you know what I mean.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  I popped a fry into my mouth when my cell phone began buzzing in my back pocket. I checked the screen to find it was my mother that was calling. I was not in the mood to talk to her so I immediately put it back in my pocket and looked at Antonio. He was checking out the carnival, taking in all of the sights with an expression of awe on his face. Ever since we arrived, he had been like a kid in a candy store. I reached out to touch his hand. “I am happy that you are having a good time.”

  “Me too. I see why you didn’t want to miss this.”

  My cell started vibrating again and when I pulled it out, it was my mother again. “What the hell does she want?�
� I asked as I stared at the screen.

  “Just answer it. It might be important.”

  “Hey Mama. Is everything alright?”

  “Yes. I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the carnival tonight. We usually go on Friday.”

  I closed my eyes because normally I did attend the carnival with my mother on Fridays and then came back with Laya on Saturday. Since Antonio was here, I instinctively asked him because I was enjoying the time we were spending together. “I am already here with Antonio.”

  “Oh.” I could hear the sadness in my mother’s voice.

  “I’m sorry Mom. I totally forgot about this being our night.” Antonio turned to me with concern.

  “It’s fine. Just didn’t think you would forget about me because some man was being nice to you. Have fun.” I hung up abruptly and I couldn’t help but feel bad.

  “What was that all about?”

  “I usually come to the fair with my mother.”

  Antonio was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke. “You seem to spend a lot of time with your mother. I feel like I am encroaching on some of her time.”

  “I do hang out with her a lot because she doesn’t have any friends. She is friendly to people but doesn’t have that core girlfriend that she hits the town with.” Well not anymore, I thought. “And now that you are in town and I happen to be spending a fair amount of time with you, she is being left in the lurch.”

  “What about your father?”

  “He doesn’t like to do much. More of a homebody.” I stood up, grabbed our empty food containers and threw them in the trash. “I don’t want to talk about this all night. We are here to have fun.”

  “All right.”

  “Let’s go play in the snow.” I pointed to an area where they always had a large amount of fake snow to play in. That was always the highlight of the whole carnival experience.

  “That over there is not snow. I am insulted that you would actually think I would want anything to do with that.”

  I smiled. “Well that is the closest I have come to snow.” What I said must have really taken him off guard because he stopped right where he was.