All I Want for Christmas (16 page)

“Now you’ll be able to tell all your friends
what you did over the holidays.” Carlos winked at her and grinned.
“Hey!”

Carly shot over to the motionless ride.
Moments later, she stood next to Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer,
after managing to beat three other kids to it. She had her arms
around Rudolph’s neck as Carlos and Nedra caught up with her.

“Girl, you were determined to get this
reindeer, weren’t you?” Carlos panted. He took a few breaths before
he lifted her onto Rudolph’s back. “She’s even more competitive
than her mother.”

Nedra giggled as he rolled his eyes. “I’ll
take this little sleigh over here,” she said.

Carlos nodded and stood next to Carly. Kids
clamored to climb into the sleighs, hop on reindeers and slide into
cars carved in the shape of Santa’s elves. The music started and
lights began to flash. A cheer went up as the carousel started
slowly. Before she realized it, Nedra was laughing and waving to
the crowd with the others. Everyone sang along with the carols that
played for the next few turns. All too soon, they slowed until the
carousel stopped again.

Once they were back on solid ground, Carly
clapped her hands. “I want to try the bumper cars next. Then may we
please ride the merry-go-round again? Please, please?” She batted
her thick, dark eyelashes up at Carlos.

“Sounds like a fun idea to me,” Nedra chimed
in. She imitated Carly and fluttered her eyelashes as well. “Pretty
please, with butter-cream icing on top?”

“No need to beg, girls.” Carlos kissed Carly
and then Nedra.

For almost two hours they all had a blast and
ended up taking every ride three times. Nedra earned Carly’s
admiration when she hit the target at a booth. They walked away
with a cute, stuffed monkey, whom the little girl promptly named
Marcus, and then bought corn dogs and lemonade at a food booth.

“
Honey, where did you get
that name?” asked Carlos, pointing to the stuffed
animal.

“Mama dated Mr. Marcus for a little while,
but then she didn’t like him anymore. She called him a stupid
monkey, who didn’t have a decent job or the right friends. I sorta
liked him though. He was funny.” Carly related the account in a
childish, matter-of-fact tone.

Nedra struggled not to choke on a mouthful of
lemonade. She swallowed, and then took in and let out a deep
breath. Her eyes watered from the need to laugh out loud.

Carlos sat with his eyes wide and his jaw
open. He was obviously at a loss how to respond.

“Well, you did ask,” Nedra finally managed to
get out. Then she lost the battle and fell against Carlos, giggling
so hard that she became weak.

Carly seemed unaware of the effect of her
words. She happily ate her corndog and watched the action around
them. They spent another few minutes finishing their food. When his
daughter yawned for the third time and leaned against him, Carlos
nodded a signal to Nedra.

They strolled through Christmas Village
again, this time lingering to look into the windows, and Carly
perked up for a while at the mechanical toys displayed. By the time
they headed for the lot where Carlos had parked his SUV, Carly’s
eyes were fluttering as she tried to keep them open.

“This was a great idea,” said Carlos. He
lifted Carly up and carried her for the last few yards with her
head resting on his shoulder.

Nedra smoothed down the girl’s hair. “Yes, it
was.”

When they reached the Accura, Carlos placed
Carly into the booster seat in the back. Her eyes were shut as she
yawned once again. Nedra’s heart filled with affection and warmth.
This little taste of family life had kicked off dreams of making
her own nest; a cute house, holiday dinners, and baking cupcakes
for the kids to take to school.

“What did I tell you?” asked Carlos, as he
closed the car door and pointed to Carly, who was fast asleep on
the back seat. He was about to go on when his cell phone played a
tune. He glanced at the caller ID and made a face before answering,
“Hi, Mother.”

“She’s a concerned grandparent,” Nedra
whispered. She covered her mouth when he rolled his eyes.

“Say that again.” Carlos transferred the cell
phone to his right hand and put it to his ear again. “Slow down,
okay? I don’t know what you’re talking about. No, Nedra wouldn’t
know.”

Nedra blinked at him and mouthed the word,
“What?” Judge Jacobs talked so loudly that Nedra could hear every
word.

Carlos huffed and shook his head. He tried to
get a word in a couple of times, but his mother rattled on in
rapid-fire fashion.

“I’ll look at it now. Fine, but…” Carlos
looked shaken as he touched his phone and ended the call.

“Is your family okay? Is anyone sick or
hurt?” Nedra’s heart hammered at the expression on Carlos’ face.
Calls at night and loud voices didn’t signal good news in her
experience.

He frowned. “She said to look at the Channel
Three website.”

“I have their news app.” Nedra took out her
smartphone and tapped the screen twice. “I don’t see-- damn!”

Carlos looked at the bold headline and opened
the story.

“Sources allege that the mayor has been
engaged in giving preferential treatment when awarding contracts.
But the most damning claim is that the mayor personally intervened
in criminal cases. According to reports, Mayor Bates has helped
broker less severe sentences or no prosecution at all for
politically connected individuals. One case cited was that of
Carlos Jacobs, son of Judge Yvonne Jacobs.”

Nedra put a hand over her mouth as he read
the rest in silence. Carlos continued to stare at the phone after
he reached the end of the article. The sound of laughter from the
crowds around them faded.

She put a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry,
honey.”

“Really, Nedra? Are you really sorry?” Carlos
asked, handing her back the phone.

“You don’t think I gave that story to the
media? That’s crazy.” Nedra stared at him.

“You were furious that day.”

“So you think my first instinct was to call a
reporter? Are you serious?” Nedra went from sympathetic to angry in
two seconds. “How dare you.”

“By the way, you never told me how you found
out,” he said. “It’s real common these days for folks to do
background checks on each other while they’re dating. Did you do a
little investigating?” Carlos crossed his arms and stared back at
Nedra.

Nedra glanced at the car to confirm that
Carly had drifted off to sleep, and spoke low. “No, I didn’t, but
you shouldn’t have even asked that question.”

He squinted at her. “Okay, then how did this
get out?”

“The bigger question, Carlos, is why you’re
so quick to accuse me of outing you and your mama. I thought you
knew me better.” Nedra grew more outraged by the minute.

“This is a twofer for your boss. He gets to
slam his future political opponent and get back at my mother. I’m
guessing you vented about me to the good constable. He was probably
patting you on the shoulder with one hand and dialing his reporter
pals with the other.” Carlos paced beside the car as he spoke. “My
mother was right. I should have been more careful.”

“Okay, so your mama warned you about me.
Well, I’m not surprised.” Nedra forgot about being supportive, and
she definitely didn’t feel a need to defend herself.

Carlos stood still and faced her again. “What
exactly does that mean?”

“She probably said something about me working
for the enemy. I don’t even need to ask. Well, my boss happens to
be an upright kind of guy. He doesn’t expect me to engage in
political dirty work, and I wouldn’t even if he did,” Nedra
snapped.

“He doesn’t expect you to do it because he’s
so good at doing his own political dirty work. You’re either naive
or in serious denial,” Carlos snorted.

“Don’t blame me if your mother has a big
target on her chest. She’s not exactly considered Miss Congeniality
downtown,” she shot back.

Carlos breathed in and out a few times.
“Okay, I think it’s time for me to take you home, for real.”

“Fine.” Nedra marched to the passenger side
and got in. She didn’t slam the door only because she didn’t want
to scare Carly out of a sound sleep.

The drive back to Baton Rouge seemed to last
for three hours rather than thirty minutes. The night might have
been pleasantly chilly, but inside the Accura the temperature
hovered just above freezing. When they finally arrived at Nedra’s
apartment, she got out of the car without speaking.

“Nedra, wait a minute.” Carlos glanced at the
backseat. Satisfied that Carly was still asleep, he got out. “Look,
we both went a bit overboard. I wasn’t accusing you of deliberately
stabbing me in the back.”

“Hmm, I kinda remember that’s exactly what
you did.” Nedra raised an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, so maybe you were upset and confided
in someone at the office, like your boss?” Carlos stood in waiting
mode.

“No, I didn’t. Next.” Nedra folded her arms
and studied him.

“I just want to know how you found out,”
Carlos said.

“Why, so your powerful mother and the mayor
can exact revenge? I’ll bet Mama Judge is sharpening up her gavel
to come after me. Go home, Carlos. I’m sure she’s waiting for your
report.” She started to turn away when he caught her arm.

“Don’t act stupid. If you tell me how the
story got out then I can…”

Nedra shook his hand from her arm. “Right,
you’ll move the rest of the skeletons to another closet. I’m not
the stupid one, Carlos. And, just so you know, Judge Jacobs is
welcome to investigate me. No secrets to broadcast I’m afraid.
Goodnight.”

“I didn’t say you were stupid. Nedra, wait.”
Carlos began to follow her, but stopped when she spun around.

“I think you need to take the night off
trying to explain anything to me.” Nedra marched up to her front
door, unlocked it and went in.

****

Sunday morning, Nedra lay in bed with her
down comforter pulled up to her nose. She would think about getting
up and then talk herself out of it. Nedra hadn’t slept very well
and now she had a monster headache. When her doorbell rang, she
groaned and placed both hands over her face. Maybe she was just
imagining the cheerful chiming. It went off again. She groaned even
louder and got up.

“Okay, Lord, you’re punishing me because I
didn’t go to church,” Nedra grumbled as she marched to the front
door and looked through the peephole. Her mother gazed back at
her.

“I know you’re standing on the other side of
this door. Now open up,” Darcie Lee said. She still wore her church
clothes: a navy blue suit and matching, wide-brimmed hat.

Nedra hurriedly undid the locks, swung the
door wide and hugged her. “Good morning, Mama. Come on in.”

“Uh-huh. You look a mess. Gaylynn told me
about the fight with Carlos, and how you and she stayed up until
three o’clock this morning talking. And, yes, I know about the
report. I saw it on the news last night.”

Darcie Lee put down a box, kicked off her
shoes, and then took off her church hat and jacket. She walked into
Nedra’s kitchen and started making coffee as she talked. Once she
had the brewing in progress, she opened the refrigerator.

“Gaylynn needs to keep her big mouth shut.”
Nedra sat down on one of the three stools at her breakfast
counter.

“I’ll talk to her about that one of these
days,” Darcie Lee replied.

“Sure you will, right about the time pigs
fly. You love getting all the news you can use.” Nedra breathed in
the wonderful smell of coffee brewing. “Why aren’t you enjoying
Sunday brunch with your friends?”

“Because my child needs me.”

Her mother put four slices of whole wheat
bread into the toaster. Nedra started several times to stop her,
but didn’t. The truth was she felt better having her mother there
to listen.

Darcie Lee took a small skillet down from a
hook, wiped it and cracked open some eggs into it. Humming a gospel
song, she cooked up two plates of breakfast with the practiced ease
of a skilled chef. Along with the small cinnamon buns from the box
she’d brought and two cups of coffee, she prepared a tasty meal for
two.

Darcie Lee placed one serving in front of
Nedra. She then sat down with her own plate, said grace, and sipped
her coffee. “Eat. You’ll get sick being miserable on an empty
stomach.” She took a dainty bite of toast. “Now, tell Mama about
it.”

“Not much to tell. The story came out, Judge
Jacobs thinks I’m the source, and I got into a big fight with
Carlos.” Nedra tasted a small bit of scrambled egg.

“So the story is true about him getting
arrested? That doesn’t sound good. You know how I feel about you
girls dating thugs.” Darcie Lee shook her head and sipped her
coffee.

“Carlos isn’t a thug, Mama. Some drug dealers
tried to use his business to commit their crimes. I don’t believe
Carlos was involved at all.” Nedra realized her mother was
regarding her with both eyebrows raised.

Darcie Lee patted her lips with a napkin.
“You sound like his defense lawyer. Okay, so his mama is convinced
you talked to the media. Why?”

“He didn’t actually volunteer at the Holiday
Hospitality Thanksgiving dinner. He was doing community service as
part of a plea deal. I found out on Friday and confronted Carlos
about keeping secrets from me.” Nedra pushed the eggs around on her
plate.

“Judge Jacobs doesn’t believe in
coincidences. I can see her point.” Darcie Lee shrugged when her
daughter huffed and puffed. “Well then, who talked?”

Nedra sighed and put her fork down.

Her mother calmly ate a slice of toast and
half her eggs.

“Well, Dwayne Grover told me about
Carlos.”

“The mayor’s special assistant?” Darcie Lee
tilted her head to one side.