No Place Like Home

by Trina Crooks

  “You say what?”

  “I have never seen real snow. A little frost here and there but full fledge snow…no.” That was one item on my bucket list and now that I was going to New York I was hoping that I would be able to cross it off.

  Up ahead of us I could see my friends coming my way. All of them—Michael and Kira, Kenyon and Tanisha, and even Graham and Desiree. Kira immediately saw me and waved at me which caused the whole group to come our way. All except Desiree. She conveniently got in line to get an elephant ear.

  “Funny seeing you guys out here,” Kenyon said with a coy smile.

  “Everyone this is Antonio Randall. Antonio this is everyone. Introduce yourselves,” I said because I wasn’t ready for major introductions.

  “I have actually met a couple of these people,” Antonio mentioned.

  “I am going to be right back.” I left the group and went over to stand beside Desiree. “Hello.”

  “Hi.” She kept her focus on the person in front of her and I couldn't blame her. Whenever we were in the same vicinity it was always uncomfortable and I had finally reached my limit on this silliness which was mostly my own fault.

  “I came over to say that I don’t want this unnecessary tension to remain between us. There really isn’t a reason for it. And I want to apologize for making you feel uneasy whenever I am around.” Desiree looked at me with surprise. “Yeah. At first, I was hurt at the fact that Graham moved on and I hadn’t. Then it seemed as if you took my place in my group of friends.”

  “That was not my intention.”

  “I know. That was just my insecurity.” As we talked, we slowly made it to the front of the line. “So, I hope that we can maybe work on moving to a place of being acquaintances. And who knows maybe we can call ourselves actual friends one day,” I said as I bumped Desiree lightly on the arm which caused her to chuckle.

  “Yeah. Who knows?”

  *~~~*

  “I don’t know why I am paying rent over at my place this month because I seem to be over here all of the time,” Sonya fussed as she sat at his dining room table. Antonio had convinced her to wrap her Christmas gifts at his place just because he liked having her around. He helped her to tote out two bags worth of gifts, wrapping paper, scissors and the works from her place and over to his just so that he could be in her presence. And it seemed as though she liked him just as much because she was willing to do it.

  “I am very happy to have you over here.” Antonio came over to the table and sat down with her. “Is one of these my gifts?”

  “My presence is your gift,” she responded with a giggle.

  “You jest, but I do feel that way.” He reached out to touch her hand. “I am the happiest when you are around.”

  “I like hanging out with you too. Never thought I would actually say that.”

  “I’m winning you over slowly but surely.”

  “Do you have any more tape around here? I ran out.”

  Antonio shrugged. “I don’t know. Let me look.” He got up from the table and she did too. They searched drawers around the house until he gave up. “I am going to see if Gigi has some.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m learning that I have to call Gigi before I go over there. She is always keeping me out.”

  “Mm hmm,” Sonya responded with a knowing tone.

  “Why do I feel like you know something that I don’t know.”

  “I might.”

  Antonio put the phone to his side. “Tell me then. I want to know.”

  “I can’t.”

  He came to stand in front of her and a small smile crept on her lips. Antonio leaned down to kiss her cheek, right next to her ear and whispered. “Are keeping secrets from me?”

  Sonya sighed heavily. “I promised Gigi. I can’t tell you.”

  “Then I am going over there.” Antonio put on his shoes and quickly left the house with Sonya in tow.

  “Why don’t you just leave your grandmother alone?” She came to stand in front of him to block his way. Her hand was on his chest trying to hold him in place but he was not going to let that stop him today.

  “Are you going to tell me?”

  “No.”

  “Then I am going.” He tickled her which caused her to double over in laughter and then stepped around her. By the time she recovered he was on the porch knocking on the door. Gigi opened it, partially and looked at him.

  “May I help you?”

  “Sonya and I wanted to come over and visit with you.”

  “No Sonya didn’t. Don’t drag me into this.” Sonya scooted in front of him and pushed him back with her behind which was causing a very male reaction in him. Over the last couple of weeks their friendship had grown and Sonya was a lot more comfortable with him and Antonio was happy about that. But her standing this close to him was causing some problems. “Gigi, I tried to get him to stay home.”

  His grandmother sighed. “I guess I can’t keep this from him much longer. Come on in.” She opened the door wide and allowed them entrance. Antonio marveled at the fact that this was probably the first time he was actually seeing the living room. She stopped him in the kitchen the last time he came over. He tried to take in his surroundings when he noticed sitting on the couch was an older man who stood as they came near.

  “Hi Mr. Frazier,” Sonya said.

  “Hello darling.”

  “Antonio, I want to introduce you to Doug Frazier, my boyfriend.”

  Antonio was already in the process of extending his hand to the man when his grandmother finished her sentence. “Your what?”

  “My…well now my fiancé.” Gigi held up her ring finger and there sparkling brightly was a diamond ring.

  “Congratulations!” Sonya exclaimed while Antonio stood back in disbelief. Gigi’s fiancé? “Isn’t that great Antonio?”

  “Yes, great.” He stared at the tall slender man that was standing in front of him and tried to push a smile on his face. His grandmother was engaged. “Nice to meet you Mr. Frazier.”

  “Your grandmother has told me so much about you.”

  Antonio wanted to say that he didn’t know a damn thing about him but he was raised better than that. “Hopefully good things.”

  “Of course,” Gigi said as she came over and stood in front of her fiancé and gave him a kiss which made Antonio uncomfortable. Sonya must have noticed this so she hurried to get them out of there which he appreciated.

  “We are going to leave you two lovebirds to celebrate.” Sonya practically pushed him toward the door and they walked back to his place quickly. “Are you alright?”

  “Yes. It’s just weird. Just can’t imagine Gigi with anybody besides my grandfather but I do want her to be happy.”

  “Well Mr. Frazier is a sweet man. He has been a widower for over twenty years now and no one has caught his attention until Gigi came along.”

  “That’s great.” Antonio hoped that his grandmother shared her amazing news with the rest of the family before he made it back home to New York tomorrow because he didn’t want to be the bearer of this information.

  Chapter Eleven

  Today was the day I was going to see my future home. I liked that the situation was turning out this way because I was primarily getting a free trip to New York with a built-in tour guide to boot. It was going to be great to see the big city and most importantly I was going to get to see real snow. I threw some boots that I bought years ago, but had never worn, into my suitcase before I realized that I hadn’t informed my mother about this trip yet.

  “Hello,” my father Richard said. My parents were still one of the few people I knew that still had a house phone and preferred it over their cells.

  “Hey Dad. How are you?”

  “Doing good although my back hurts a little. I have an appointment tomorrow to see Dr. Anderson.”

  “That’s good.” Dr. Anderson was Kenyon’s father and the only family doctor in the town. I was just happy my father was actually going to get himsel
f checked out. He was stubborn and always waited too long to make an appointment and then proceeded to annoy my mother about his pain. “Is Mom home?”

  “Janet!”

  I located a couple of my heavier sweaters before my mother picked up the phone. “Hi honey.”

  “Hi there. I was calling you to let you know that I am going to New York for a few days, the longest a week. But I will definitely be home for Christmas.”

  “You’re going to New York?”

  “With Antonio.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know you two were that friendly.”

  “We aren’t really,” I said with a pause. “I honestly don’t know what is going on with us Mom. I do like him but he’s in a different league than me.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t go.”

  I closed my eyes and tried really hard not to get upset with my mother. I certainly understood her concern because I only met Antonio three weeks ago but I wished my mother could just be supportive. Especially since at one point she was practically pushing me toward him. This change of attitude was definitely surprising. “Mom, I am going. I am going to take this leap of faith and I wish you would just be happy for me.”

  My mother sighed heavily. “Well you are grown. Have a good time in New York. Call me when you land.”

  “I will.”

  “Love you honey.”

  “Love you too Mom.” I hung up the phone and finished packing. Antonio was going to be there to get me at any moment and I really didn’t want to keep him waiting. I did a final check of my home to make sure that all the doors were locked and appliances were off. Last night I told my neighbor Mrs. Lewis that I was leaving, so she agreed to keep an eye on the place.

  My doorbell rang and when I opened it Antonio was standing there with a big smile on his face. “I am so looking forward to showing you around New York. You are going to fall in love and be ready to move immediately.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Antonio grabbed my suitcase and took it out to his car and during the drive he rattled on about all things New York. “I promise. We are going to have an amazing time.”

  We pulled up to the small airport outside of Jasper and saw a tiny plane on the runway. I looked at him. “We aren’t getting on that, are we?”

  “Yes.”

  I shook my head. “Uh unh. I am not getting on that thing.”

  “How else did you think we were getting there? Come on.” Antonio exited the car and grabbed our suitcases that he handed to someone before he escorted me toward the plane. I was not the biggest fan of flying and that was on a regular commercial size airplane. This…

  “I don’t think I can do this.”

  Antonio reached out his hand to me. “It’s safe. I promise.”

  I realized that I would follow him into a fiery furnace if he asked so I chose to trust him and climbed onto the small aircraft. It was like a plane right from a television show—the kind that the rich and famous ride in. There were six leather chairs in the cabin and the wood grain decorating the space looked so lavish. I took a seat in a chair and Antonio sat right next to me across the small aisle.

  “We have everything you need on here. Food. Drinks. So, if you need anything just let Ariel know and she will get it for you.” That was the first time I noticed the petite and attractive woman.

  I got comfortable in my seat and remained quiet as the plane got ready to take off. Antonio grabbed my hand when the plane started to go up in the air and once it leveled off, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. “You are going to have to talk to me for this ride so that I don’t think about being up in the air.”

  “Riding on a plane is second nature for me. I will try to relax you. Do you want some wine?”

  “Yes please.” Antonio motioned for Ariel and after hearing what he wanted; she immediately went off to pour the glasses. “Is this the company private plane?”

  “No. We rent private planes. I have traveled enough with the company we rent from that I know most of the staff. There are times that I take commercial flights too.”

  I grabbed my wine glass and glanced out at the blue sky. Antonio kept my brain occupied with conversation and the three glasses of wine I drank kept me loose. It didn’t take long before the captain said we should prepare for landing. The plane eased to a stop and once I was able to exit, I immediately turned to hit Antonio on the arm.

  “Ow. What did I do?” he asked as we walked down the steps exiting the plane.

  “Where is my snow?”

  “I hear that it is in the forecast for tomorrow.”

  “It better be,” I threatened before a man came over to us.

  “I will get the bags Mr. Randall.”

  “Thanks Monty.”

  I stood back and realized that we were now in a totally different world. This was Antonio’s world where he was a big shot and important. Monty grabbed our bags and placed them in the trunk of a black limo before Antonio opened the door for us. I scooted in and took a deep breath.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I think I am in a dream. Private planes and limos. This is like from a movie.”

  Antonio was looking in his cell phone as he answered. “Yeah. This is my normal life. Such as this. I am not even in town three minutes and my father is already texting me.”

  “What does he want?” I looked out at the street while I talked. There was bumper to bumper traffic as we tried to get out of the airport. This was insane. There were more cars in this little section of the airport than in all of Jasper Springs combined probably.

  “Wants me to come into work. Why, I don’t know.”

  “If you need to go, I will be fine at your place.”

  Antonio sat his phone down and sighed. “No. I have you here and I will be giving you all of my attention.”

  The drive to his house was entertaining. Lots of people were walking outside in the freezing cold and the lights of Times Square were amazing. Antonio was pointing out everything to me as we drove until we finally reached a more residential neighborhood. “Are we almost to your house?”

  “Yes. It’s right here.”

  I saw a large townhouse in front of me and then looked back at Antonio with questions in my eyes. “This place looks rather large.”

  “It is.” He helped me to get out of the car while Monty brought our suitcases in. Once we were alone, I took the time to explore the first floor. There was a large sunken living room that was decorated with mainly black and red furniture choices. I did notice something missing though.

  “No Christmas tree?”

  “Well I didn’t plan on being here so no, no Christmas tree. But I would love to put one up with you if you like.”

  His kitchen was mostly white with stainless steel appliances and black small appliances scattered throughout. It was very clean and I could only assume he had maid service on a regular basis. He then led me up the steps to show me to my room. “This is your guest room?” It was massive.

  “Yes.” Antonio sat my suitcase down on my bed and then stood at the door. “When I bought this house, I was getting prepared for my future family. Great neighborhood, great school district. The house was perfect for my future so I snatched it up.”

  “Oh. Okay. And where is your room?”

  “Down the hall. Let’s go.”

  I followed behind him and just rolled my eyes when I saw his bedroom. “Really. This place is bigger than my whole house.”

  “Yeah it is spacious.”

  I made herself at home by taking the liberty to peruse his room; making my way into his master bathroom and then his walk-in closet. All of his clothes were on one side. “Why don’t you spread out?”

  Antonio came over to stand in front of me. “I meant it when I said I was ready to settle down. No matter what that magazine article said, I am looking for my wife. I am preparing for her.”

  “Oh,” I responded quietly as I let what he was saying to me sink in.

  *~~~*

  Antonio
left Sonya to get settled in so he went downstairs to look over the mail that had collected over the last three weeks. Mostly bills and junk mail were in the pile along with quite a few Christmas cards and invitations to parties. He didn’t really plan on going out to any parties this year so he just sat those to the side.

  “Hey.” Sonya came over to his dining room table and sat down. “Do you have dinner parties for 100 people on a regular basis? This is insane.”

  He smiled. His mother insisted he use every square inch of his dining room so she helped him to buy a table that seated twelve. “I have only had a couple of parties that used the table to the fullest. Otherwise it’s just sitting here collecting dust.”

  Sonya pushed around his mail while he watched. She finally whipped one up and opened her mouth with astonishment. “Amelia Lyons. The model! You know her?”

  “Mm hmm. I know a lot of models and singers and people like that. It’s no big deal.”

  “No big deal,” Sonya said softly with an unbelievable tone before she asked her next question. “What is on the agenda for today?”

  Antonio stood up. “I was thinking about a wonderful dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and then a carriage ride in Central Park.” The excitement on her face could not be hidden which made him happy.

  “That sounds great.”

  He took her to his favorite Italian restaurant which she enjoyed much to his delight. “We can go here as much as you like when you move to the city,” he said as he held her hand in the town car.

  “Yes, when I move. I’m definitely getting excited about that.”

  They pulled up to their next destination, got out of the taxi and walked over to the location where the carriages where waiting. Antonio paid the fare and then helped Sonya to get into the carriage.

  “Are you comfortable?” he asked her as he sat down next to her and pulled the blanket up over their legs.

  “Yes. I might need you to keep me warm but other than that I am comfortable.”

  “Hold on. Here we go,” the driver announced as they slowly started to move ahead. They remained quiet for a while because he wanted her to be able to take in the view and really enjoy the ride before he started talking her head off. Her hand that was underneath the blanket came to rest on his leg and she gave it a gentle squeeze.