The Christmas Wish

by Vanessa Miller

  “It is time to choose,” the Lord told her. “Will you stay and have love and peace with Jarod or will you go back and help your friends?”

  Trinity felt as though she were bleeding inside, because the pain of her final decision caused her heart to ache so terribly that it was as if it were being ripped out of her body.

  Chapter 6

  Yawning and stretching as her eyes fluttered open, Trinity adjusted her focus and then groaned like a wounded lion as she realized that she was back in her penthouse apartment. She hoped to God that she hadn’t chosen wrong once again.

  She jumped off of the sofa she had been laying on and ran over to the window. It was dark, but that was all Trinity knew. She picked up her phone and called down to the bellhop. The moment he answered, Trinity asked, “What day is it?”

  “Is this a joke, Ms. Thomas?”

  Her heart sank at the sound of her last name. For a little while she had been Mrs. Harland and had loved the thought of being married to Jarod. But she wasn’t in dreamland anymore and even though reality bites, Trinity didn’t have time to dwell on that. She came back to help her friends. She only prayed that she wasn’t too late. “I’m serious, Joe,” she said to the bellman, “I really need to know the date.”

  “December 24th.”

  “Oh thank God!” She hung up with Joe after thanking him for giving her such good news. She then rushed into the bathroom, changed her clothes and brushed her teeth. While brushing her teeth, Trinity could taste the alcohol on her breath. She didn’t like the taste at all and made up her mind right then and there to never allow alcohol to touch her lips again.

  Trinity went into the kitchen, opened her wine cooler and empty the contents of every rum, gin, vodka and tequila bottle she had. The clock on her microwave told her it was ten o’clock. She had to get moving. Because if she remembered correctly, the CNN anchorman said that Tara’s body had been found at her home on Christmas morning. Tara normally went clubbing for a few hours then came back to her place and really got the party started with drugs and alcohol freely flowing like Christmas presents.

  Tara had been ticked to the max with her early that day, so Trinity doubted that Tara would be in a listening mood if she went to her house alone. Trinity needed Theresa’s and Tina’s help, even though she basically told them she didn’t need anything from them during their last meeting.

  Trinity went to Theresa’s house first. The doorbell chimed loudly at Theresa’s 2.5–million-dollar, six-bedroom home. Theresa had paid cash for the almost six-thousand-square–foot, mini mansion. So, even if they didn’t get any of their money back from their manager, her kids would always have a home.

  Theresa had always been smart with her money. Just not so smart about the men she brought into her life. After about thirty seconds, no one came to the door, Trinity became impatient and started pounding on the door.

  “I’m coming,” Theresa hollered from a distance.

  “Hurry.”

  “I know you are not rushing me,” Theresa said as she held the door close to her side.

  “Look, I know you have every reason to be mad at me, but I really need to…”

  The door opened wider as little Mike, Theresa’s first child squeezed in next to his mom. This was the child that Theresa had planned to abort, which would have ultimately cost her her life. Trinity stooped down and hugged him like she’d been away for way too long.

  “Auntie Trinity, you’re hurting me,” Mikey told her.

  She let him go and stepped back. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s just that I’m so happy to see you.”

  “What are you talking about? You see him all the time. He was just over to your house last weekend,” Theresa said, the annoyance ringing loud and clear in her voice.

  “Just because I saw him last weekend doesn’t mean that I don’t miss him.” Trinity tickled Mikey as she reminded Theresa, “I did, after all, hang out with you all night long in that hospital while you gave birth to him.”

  Rolling her eyes heavenward, Theresa said, “And then you went on stage drunk and ruined all of our careers.”

  “I was wrong for that,” Trinity admitted. “All I can do is apologize and try to make it up to all of you, but I really need your help tonight.”

  “You’re actually apologizing.” Smirking, Theresa needled, “You must be sober or something.”

  “Yes,” Trinity declared. “I’m sober and I will never… with the Lord’s help, I will never touch alcohol again.” She lifted a hand heavenward as she made this declaration.

  Theresa stepped back and opened her door wide enough for Trinity to enter. “Then by all means, come in and tell me what you need.”

  Theresa escorted Trinity to the sitting room and then told Mikey, “You go play with your brother and sister. Auntie Trinity and I have some grown folks’ business to discuss.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” Mikey trotted off without any back talk.

  The thing about it was, all Theresa’s children were well behaved like that. She might be a single mother, but she wasn’t raising a bunch of untrained animals to be loosed on an unsuspecting world.

  “You’ve got five minutes,” she told Trinity the moment they were behind closed doors. “I am not going to let you spoil Christmas Eve with my children.”

  “I’m sorry about this, but you can’t spend this night at home with the kids. We have something important to do so I need you to call your nanny and get her over here.”

  “My nanny is already here. She’s been helping me with the cookies, and the popcorn and now we’re watching a movie, so I can’t interrupt my life for you… not anymore.” Theresa stood her ground.

  Trinity knew right off that she would not get Theresa out of the house unless she could convince her that Tara’s life was truly in jeopardy. “Sit down. I have something to tell you. I know this is going to sound crazy. But I need you to open your heart and listen to me.”

  As she sat down, Theresa said, “It probably doesn’t sound any crazier than the one about you getting sloppy drunk and ruining our careers.”

  Their careers had been on a downward spiral because all four of the members of the group had made poor decisions and acted inappropriately most of the time. But Trinity wasn’t going to argue the point. She started off her tale by saying, “I wished upon a falling star…”

  “If this was meant to be a joke, it’s a bad one,” Theresa told Trinity when she’d finished her story.

  “I’m not joking.”

  “So, you’re telling me that if you had gotten your wish, I’d be dead right now?”

  “Look, I don’t know if God showed me a vision, or if I dreamed it all, but nothing ever felt as real as what I experienced tonight.”

  “And Tina is a murderer and a jailbird?”

  “If you hadn’t been there that night. She would have let Drake burn up in that house.” Trinity nodded.

  “I never thought she would actually go through with it. I rode over there with her because I thought she was going to get in a fight with him and I wanted to help her. But when I saw the fire and then she ran back to the car, screaming at me to pull off, I just couldn’t do it.”

  “Tina owes you a world of thanks,” Trinity told her.

  “She would have done it. You’re right. I will never forget how crazy she looked that night. And all because she was angry at a man she doesn’t even think about anymore. She has moved on and is truly in love with a good guy now.”

  “God showed me that it was no mistake that we were placed into each other’s lives. And now we’ve got to go and help Tara… please, Theresa. I can’t do this without you.”

  “Let me get my coat.” Theresa didn’t feel like arguing anymore. If what Trinity was saying was true, Tara was about to overdose. She first went to the movie room and kissed each of her children. “Mommy loves you all, and I’m so thankful to have each and every one of you,” she told them before coming back downstairs.

  “Have you been crying?” Trinity asked as the
y walked to the door.

  “Girl, just the thought of not having my babies has got me all choked up.”

  Putting a hand on her shoulder, Trinity told her, “I’m glad I was here for you.”

  “Yeah, me too. Now let’s go get Tina so we can save the day for Tara.”

  But Tina wasn’t as understanding as Theresa. She was still angry about Trinity calling her a firebug.

  “If you want me to apologize, then I’ll do it. I’m very sorry for how I treated you earlier. But this really isn’t about you right now.”

  “That’s right, Tina,” Theresa chimed in. “If I hadn’t been with you that night you went all cuckoo, you’d be in prison. I helped you, and now we’re asking that you come with us so we can help Tara.”

  “I’m no longer a part of this group. As a matter of fact I was told that I wasn’t needed in the first place. So, keep that thought in mind as you back out of my driveway.”

  Trinity looked at her watch. It was already 11:30 p.m. “I’m sorry you feel that way, but we’ve got to go. I wish you much success in your career. I think you’re going to be a superstar.” Trinity walked away with Theresa following her as they headed back to the car. She meant every word she said to Tina. Just as Tara had said, the girl had talent and she prayed it would take her all the way to the top. But this was truly where they parted ways, because Trinity knew one thing for sure… she wouldn’t be competing with anyone on an R & B stage ever again.

  Chapter 7

  When she and Theresa arrived at Tara’s home they were elated to discover that Tara wasn’t home yet. Trinity used her key to enter the home and they started looking around for Tara’s stash.

  “She’s going to take that key once she figures out what we did; you know that, don’t you?” Theresa said as they rummaged through the kitchen cabinets.

  “If we can get her into rehab tonight, it will be worth it, even if she never speaks to me again.”

  “Nothing in here.” Theresa closed the last cabinet. “But the more I think about it, I doubt that Tara would want the housekeeper to find her stash.”

  “You’re right.” Trinity snapped her finger. “It’s in her bedroom. She has a safe in the walk-in closet.”

  They rushed up the stairs and found the safe in the closet. They pulled it out and placed it on Tara’s king sized bed. “Do you have the key to open it?” Theresa asked.

  “Oh yeah, Tara not only gave me the key to her house, but to her safe filled with drugs also.”

  Theresa shrugged. “I figured that since both of you have habits, she might have felt comfortable giving you this key too.”

  “I don’t have a habit,” Trinity declared. “I already told you that I quit drinking.”

  “We’ll believe it when we see it.”

  They both became startled by the voice behind them. Their heads swiveled around to see Tina standing in the doorway. “Why’d you sneak up on us like that?”

  “I didn’t sneak. The front door was open. When I didn’t see you two downstairs I came up here to find you… Where’s Tara?”

  “She’s not back yet. We’re trying to get our hands on her stash before she gets home, but we can’t open this safe,” Trinity told her and then said, “Maybe I should go outside and get one of those big rocks Tara has in her flower bed, and just pound it until it opens.”

  Walking over to the bed, Tina asked, “What kind of safe is it?”

  “It has a key lock,” Theresa answered.

  Tina pulled a bobby pin out of her hair. “Move back. Let me see what I can do.” Tina went to work on the lock. Within sixty seconds she had the safe open, and then put the pin back in her hair like this was something she did every day.

  “So, you’re a firebug and a burglar. Girl, I’m scared of you,” Trinity said, jokingly.

  “You better be. I grew up with a bunch of cousins who made their living on the wrong side of the law. To tell you the truth, joining the Four Ts probably stopped me from ending up in prison, like so many of my family members.”

  “You have no idea,” Theresa said, thinking about the story that Trinity told her earlier that evening.

  “I’m being serious,” Tina told them. “I know I’m not the nicest person to be around most of the time, but I am grateful for the opportunity I received with this group. That’s why I decided to come here tonight to help Tara.”

  “We know you want to help Tara just as much as we do,” Theresa said.

  “Let me finish,” Tina said. “I also came here because I want to be honest with all of you: I have been in talks with a record label to go solo. And I really want my shot.”

  “Singing without you kind of makes me nervous, but if it makes you happy, then go for it,” Theresa told her friend.

  Trinity added, “I already told you that I think you’re going to be a superstar… take your shot. We’ll all be rooting for you.”

  The women hugged each other, and then Tina said, “Now let’s see what this drug head has in her safe.”

  As they pulled the contents of her safe out, they noticed that she had very little money, and a whole bunch of pills, weed, cocaine and little crystals that Tina said was crack.

  “The girl is on crack too? She’s doing too much,” Theresa said.

  “Way too much,” Trinity agreed.

  The front door opened and they heard Tara entering her home with a loud and boisterous entourage. The music was being blasted through all the speakers in the home. People were dancing, laughing and drinking.

  “Let’s go shut this party down,” Tina said.

  The three women went downstairs armed with the drugs they had confiscated from Tara’s safe. Trinity shut off the music. Tina started pouring all the alcohol down the kitchen sink, while Theresa loudly declared, “This is a dry house. So, if you came here to do anything but play a friendly game of cards, I suggest you move the party someplace else.”

  Tara’s eyes were bloodshot. Her head looked heavy on her shoulders as she turned to face her home invaders. “What is going on here? Why are you all in my home?” She stalked over to Tina and pulled a bottle of beer out of her hand. “Hey, I paid for these drinks. You can’t just throw them down the drain like that.”

  “You want to bet?” Tina grabbed another bottle and kept pouring.

  “I’m calling the cops,” Tara told them, and then picked up the phone.

  “Do that. I’d love to tell them about this little drug party you’re throwing and about what we found in your safe,” Trinity warned.

  At the mention of the police, Tara’s entourage started picking up their coats and grabbing extra bottles of beer as they beat it to the door. “Call us when the fun police leave, Tara,” one of them said.

  “Yeah, I thought your group members were cooler than this,” another added.

  Theresa held open the door for them, and then slammed it as the last groupie stumbled out the door. “You really need to choose better friends,” Theresa told Tara as she turned back to the group.

  “Don’t you judge me. None of you have room to judge me. Just get out of my house.” Tara bumped against a chair in the living room and then fell into it.

  “We’re not leaving you to die by yourself tonight,” Tina told her.

  “What’s all this talk about dying? I was just having a little fun… trying to unwind.”

  “Trust us, Tara, if we leave you here, you’ll be dead tomorrow.” Tears streamed down Trinity’s face as she said, “I couldn’t live with myself if I let you die without trying to help you.” She went to Tara and knelt down in front of her. “I’m so sorry that I never tried to stop you before or that I didn’t even try to understand what kind of pain was causing you to turn to drugs. But things have got to change.”

  “Nobody’s bothering you about all the alcohol you drink. Why you gotta come over here and bother me?”

  “I gave it up, Tara. I can’t explain everything that happened to me tonight. But God showed me a better way to live… and I’m pressing forward
without my crutch.”

  “How about you, Tara? Will you let us help you?” Theresa asked.

  “But why you got to act like I’m going to die? I wouldn’t say nothing like that to you, Trinity.”

  “Here’s the deal, Tara. I don’t know if it’s something that’s already in your system, or if you were going to ingest something else tonight that would kill you, but your life is in jeopardy.”

  Tina took her keys out of her pocket and said, “Bottom line… we are taking you to the hospital for observation tonight.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Theresa told her. “I could be at home with my kids enjoying Christmas Eve. I didn’t come over here to just sit around with some drug head, so if we have to drag you out of here kicking and screaming, that’s what we’re going to do.”

  “Dag, why you miss Christmas with your kids for me?” Tara asked Theresa.

  “Because I don’t want to wake up in the morning and see your picture flashing on the news channel with the anchor announcing your death.”

  “Alright, alright. You all aren’t going to leave unless I go, so, let’s get this over with.”

  Trinity breathed a sigh of relief as they helped Tara to the car and drove her to the hospital. Tara’s stomach was pumped and then while Theresa went home to be with her kids, Trinity and Tina stayed with her for the rest of the night.

  By seven in the morning Tara was still alive and had agreed to check into a rehab facility. “You made the right decision, Tara. You won’t regret this.”

  Tara smiled. “Thanks for being here for me, Trinity. Now, go home and get some rest.”

  “I don’t think I should leave you. It’s Christmas, after all.”

  “I’m going to be okay, I promise. You and Tina go do something that makes ya’ll happy today. No need to sit in this depressing hospital, just because I’m here.”

  There was only one place Trinity wanted to be today. Before leaving the hospital, she went online via her iPhone and purchased a plane ticket.