by Zuri Day
“Two?”
“Yes, there’s the Biltmore-like tree that my granny always had to have and then the colorful one that she let me decorate.”
Jon smiled, imagining Lola as a little girl throwing colorful lights haphazardly across a tree. “All right. What else do we need?”
“Food.”
“You’re cooking?” he asked with a toothy grin.
Lola poked her tongue out at him. “Yes, I am.”
“I’m a little afraid now,” he said. “Keep in mind, you don’t have a crew to help you with the turkey.”
“Whatever. And to be honest, I don’t like turkey anyway.”
“You just can’t cook turkey. I’m pretty sure you piled your plate with turkey breast and stuffing last year.”
“Oh, whatever! You’re the one with the love of turkey.”
“Leftover turkey,” he said. “On rye bread with lots of mayo.”
“And tomatoes. Ooh, I know where we should grab something to eat from when we get into Asheville.”
“Baby, we can rest a minute first, right?”
She shrugged. “I guess, if you can’t hang.”
“You’re going to need your energy, Mrs. We Need Two Trees.”
“You’re right, we should buy Christmas decorations first.” Lola clasped her hands together and did a little shimmy.
“Excited much?”
“You have no idea. Here I was ready to spend a miserable Christmas throwing darts at a picture of you and now this! Thank you, Jon.”
He cocked his right eyebrow at her. “Darts? Really, babe?”
“I was perturbed. At least I didn’t pull a move from Snapped. And you’re one to talk, running to Aspen and pulling the caveman card.”
“And I’d do it again. You’re lucky I didn’t have to go all Rambo on you and some random dude.”
Lola rolled her eyes. “You’re nuts, okay.”
“Says the woman who wraps divorce papers for a Christmas gift.”
She didn’t mean to laugh, but she imagined the look on his face when he opened her carefully wrapped gift.
“Glad you find that funny,” Jon said. “I know what to get you for Valentine’s Day.”
“Don’t you dare use holidays to repay a debt.”
“You opened the door, darling,” he said, then kissed her on the cheek. “Let’s go.”
The couple piled into the SUV and Lola leaned her seat all the way back. When Jon turned on the seat warmers, Lola yawned and turned to Jon. “I guess I’m the one who can’t hang,” she said.
“See there, you were talking all of that junk. Now you’re ready to go to sleep.”
“Whatever. Are you sure the roads are too bad for us to drive to Asheville tonight? If it’s safe enough, I say let’s go tonight.” Lola couldn’t wait to see her grandmother’s home. Especially since the last time she’d been ready to head to Asheville it hadn’t been a happy occasion. She chewed her bottom lip thinking about that day and how her world felt as if it had been crashing around her. It had been a year since her grandmother’s death, and a developer had been trying to claim eminent domain and have the house leveled. Lola had been heartbroken when she’d learned of the plans. That house held so many memories and good times. She’d been ready to jump in the car and head to Asheville to fight the developers, literally. “I’m going to kill them, Jon!” she’d exclaimed as she’d burst into his office. Jon and Langston had been working on the NCAA basketball game that had put JMJ on the gaming map.
“What are you talking about?” he’d asked, his voice filled with concern as he leaped to his feet. “What’s wrong?”
“These monsters in Asheville want to tear down my grandmother’s house.” Tears had bubbled in her eyes. “You just don’t understand, I can’t lose that house. I’m going to Asheville to do something.”
He’d stroked her arms. “What you need to do is calm down.”
Langston rose to his feet and smiled at his brother and sister-in-law. “Why don’t I go get y’all some tea or some scotch. Lo, you really look like you’re going to bring hell down on somebody.”
“Get out of here, Langston,” Jon said as he’d hid his grin.
“Jon,” she’d said when they were alone, “I have to go.”
He’d crossed over to his computer. “I don’t think you need to go yet. What’s the address?”
Lola had given him her grandmother’s address and when she was about to ask him what was going on, he’d told her, “It’s handled.”
“What?”
“I just looked up the developer online. He happens to be a popular guy here in Miami and wants to bid on the building of JMJ’s headquarters.”
“And how is that supposed to change what he’s doing in North Carolina?”
Before he’d been able to explain, the phone rang. “Hold on, babe. I think this is Randall.”
Lola had only been able to watch as her husband handled this Randall person. “Listen,” Jon said. “I’m not trying to tell you how to run your business, but I know where I’m going to spend my millions. This Asheville project affects the woman I love, and I’m sure whatever you’re trying to do there won’t be as profitable as building my headquarters. Why not rehab the houses in that neighborhood. One thing I know about Asheville is that people love history and you’d be the man everyone loves if you keep the spirit of the neighborhood intact. And quite frankly, if you tear down the house my wife grew up in, I won’t be able to do business with you. Umm, huh? Of course, I’ll have my brother contact you.” Jon had hung up the phone and smiled at his wife.
“What happened?”
He’d crossed over to her and drew her into his arms. “I just saved your grandmother’s house and the entire neighborhood.”
“You are the most amazing man ever!” She’d hugged him tightly and then kissed him with hot passion. Jon returned the kiss and pressed his wife against the wall. She’d been so happy that she’d decided to wear a little black dress that day.
“Lola,” Jon said, breaking into her reverie. “You do have the keys to your Grandmother’s house, right?”
“Of course,” she replied with a smile. “I keep that key close to my heart, you know that.” She touched the necklace she always wore with the key attached. Jon stroked her thigh.
“Just making sure,” he replied.
“I’ll never forget what you did for me that day, for my grandmother’s memory.”
“Family is important and I wish I’d been able to have a worthwhile relationship with my grandmother. I honestly didn’t get what family meant before you and Adele.”
“I’m glad you had the chance to meet her.” Tears bubbled in Lola’s eyes and Jon wanted to pull over and hold her until the tears went away.
“Me too. Are you sure this isn’t going to be too much?”
“This is actually going to be good. A chance to have a real Christmas with no distractions and none of those god-awful shrimp puffs. You know I absolutely hate those!”
“As I recall, you were the one who said those were the essential party food.”
“That’s until I had to stand there and eat them while listening to stories about nannies and affairs. Do you know how many times I wanted to take that tray and toss it at Genevieve Hunter? Every year, another story about her latest boy toy or the fact that she thought her husband was playing in the administrative assistants pool.” Lola rolled her eyes. “I can’t look at those savory puffs without hearing her nasally voice.”
“So, no more shrimp puffs for next year’s party.”
Lola groaned. “How about no party at all,” she said.
Jon frowned and shook his head while focusing on the road ahead. “Lo, you know those parties are about business and if I had my way, I wouldn’t . . .”
“You’re the CEO, right? Why don’t you make some changes?”
“Like what?”
“Let Langston handle it. He’s your second in command, he’s almost as charming as you are, and he loves
talking to investors and flirting with their wives.”
“And that’s the problem with Langston. I can see it now, him and some horny housewife in the bathroom.”
Lola playfully slapped her husband on the shoulder. “You know when Langston is in business mode, he’s more driven than you are. You just never give him or any other executive a chance.”
“I can’t risk all of my hard work being ruined by someone who doesn’t get how important JMJ is to me. This company—”
“Is more important to you than your marriage?” she asked. “Because from my end, it seems that way.”
“What do you want me to do, Lola? You of all people know how hard I’ve worked for this. Why do you think I’m picking the business over you?”
She thought about the lonely nights, the mornings where she’d find Jon asleep in the basement after a long night of coding or whatever the hell he did down there. Yes, he was picking business over her!
“Explain to me how I’m not supposed to feel that way? I sleep alone more than I sleep with you. All for the good of JMJ. I’m the mistress and your company is the wife, unless I’m wrong and there is someone else.”
Jon rolled his eyes. “If I wanted to have an affair, when would I have time?”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because what I’m hearing is if you had time you’d be a cheating bastard?”
“That’s not what I mean, Lola. If I had more hours in the day, I’d spend them all with you.”
“Then give yourself more time,” she grunted. “You don’t have to be everything at JMJ, and I’m telling you for the last time that I’m tired of feeling like I come in second to your damned company.”
“We’ve established that and I’m sorry that I’ve made you feel that way. Are we going to keep harping on it?”
“Harping? Are you ready to work at saving our marriage, because . . .”
“Look, I’m tired, you’re tired. We’re going to argue and end up ruining Christmas. Can we just get to Asheville and talk about this then?”
“No, Jon. No! You and I keep dancing around your issue. And the fact that it took divorce papers and you thinking that I was with another man for us to do this.”
Jon pulled over on the shoulder of the road and shut the engine off. “What can I say that I haven’t already said, Lola?”
“You haven’t said that you’re going to change! Don’t use this trip to put a Band-Aid on the gaping wound that our marriage has become.”
“Gaping wound? That’s what you think our marriage is?”
“I’m tired, Jon. Tired of going in circles with you about this. I’ve told you how I feel and you still don’t get it. Just drive.”
“No, I don’t want to have this same conversation when we get to Asheville and then I’m going to be flagged for ruining your Christmas. Lola, sometimes I feel like I’m going to wake up and none of this will be real. You know why I hire MIT graduates?”
“Because they’re the best?” she replied with a smile.
“No,” he said with a sigh. “I had to go to college on a scholarship. When I decided that I wanted to major in computer science, MIT was the only place that I wanted to go to school. The recruiter promised me that I had the grades and skill to get a scholarship to the university. I had gotten a write-up in the local paper about my acceptance to MIT. Then, I get hit with a letter questioning my immigration status. My scholarship was revoked, despite the fact that my mother is a U.S. citizen. We were almost deported to Cuba and that’s when I said, I’m going to make them pay. So, yeah, I hire kids from MIT and when I work with them, I point out all of their mistakes. And one of the reasons why I have to be on point is because I don’t want any of them to ever have the chance to correct me. And I’m waiting for MIT to invite me to speak at a graduation so that I can tell the story of how they kept me out of school and look at me now.”
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“It’s not my proudest moment. It’s petty and childish, but . . .” Jon’s voice trailed off when he saw the smile on Lola’s lips. Really? “This is funny to you?”
“Funny and stupid. You’re really willing to let an old grudge turn you into a lonely man? I thought you were smarter than that. You don’t need a degree from MIT to be successful. You’ve proven that.”
“But . . .”
“No buts, Jon! Stop fighting ghosts and what-ifs and live your life. Our life.” Lola leaned over and kissed him gently. “You won. Now it’s time to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
She nodded. “Crank this car and let’s go.”
Jon smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter 7
It was dawn when Jon and Lola arrived in Asheville, both of them bone rattling tired. But the moment Lola stepped out of the rented SUV and felt the first flakes of the morning snowfall on her cheeks, she was no longer tired. She opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out to catch a falling flake.
“Wow,” Jon said as he watched his wife. “You know there is all kinds of pollution in those flakes.”
“Party pooper!”
“I have to suck that tongue, I don’t want to get poisoned because you’re eating toxic snow.”
Lola crossed over to him and stood toe-to-toe with him. “So, you’re not going to kiss me?”
“Hmm,” he said as he stroked his chin. Lola smacked him on the arm.
“Oh, now you have to think about it? Fine. I won’t kiss you ever again.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. “Now you’re just taking things too far,” he said, then captured her cold lips in a hot kiss. Lola gripped his neck and deepened the kiss. The snow began to fall a little heavier. Jon twirled his wife in his arms as they broke the kiss.
“This is what you wanted, right? Snow.”
“Yes, but it is cold out here.”
“You are right about that. Let’s go inside.”
Lola nodded and placed her hand on Jon’s chest. “Let me grab my purse real quick,” she said, and he put her down. “And we need to hit some stores pretty quickly since I don’t have any clean clothes.”
“What do you need clothes for?” he asked with a chuckle. “After we get the trees and the firewood, we’re not going to need a stitch of clothing. Just Donny Hathaway singing in the background.”
“Donny Hathaway,” she said with a smile as she opened the door and grabbed her purse. Lola was so caught up in humming Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” that she stumbled and dropped her purse. The contents spilled across the driveway, including Jon’s phone.
“Shit,” she muttered as he picked up his iPhone.
“Really?” he asked. “You were going to keep my phone in your purse? What kind of bull?”
“You do realize without you checking that damned phone every five minutes we’ve had some significant conversations.”
Jon turned the phone on. “And if my mother needed me or if there was an emergency, I was supposed to be fine with that because you had a chance to talk to me? When did you become so selfish?”
“I’m selfish?!” she shouted. “Aren’t you the same guy holding a grudge because you didn’t get a scholarship to MIT?”
“Lola. Stop. You can say what you want about me running my business, but other people call this phone. Langston needs a way back to Miami and—”
“Shut up! Langston is a grown man who can book a flight without your supervision. And Mama Joseph is tired of your hovering. She’s not some fragile woman in need of your protection. Why don’t you look at me. I’m the one who needs you, Jon. So, make a choice. Right here. Right now!”
“Why don’t you go inside and I’m going to get some food and hopefully there will be a grown-up here when I come back.” Jon hopped into the SUV and backed out of the driveway while Lola bounded into house with tears flowing down her cheeks.
Jon realized after driving around for about thirty minutes that he had no idea where he was going, where an open resta
urant was, or why he’d been so pissed off that Lola hid his phone. Pulling up to an Earth Fare store, he checked his text messages and saw that no one needed him. He didn’t have a voice mail message from his mother or his brother. He’d been without his phone for a few hours and nothing had fallen apart. Nothing but the peace he was trying to build with his wife.
Sighing, Jon dialed his mother’s number. He had questions.
“Hello?” Rena said sleepily when she answered the phone.
“Ma,” Jon said. “Did I wake you?”
“Yes, do you know what time it is, son? Is everything okay?”
Jon sighed. “Not really. Why would you tell my wife to divorce me?”
Rena laughed. “She didn’t divorce you, she got your attention, and if you aren’t with her right now working out your problems, then you are a stupid man.”
“Mama.”
“Jon, I know that we had it rough. You saw a lot of things that shaped you into the man that you are. You’re a good man and you think that you have to take care of everybody. Baby, the one person who needs you the most is Lola. I’m glad her Christmas surprise worked and got you to realize what’s important.”
“We kind of had another disagreement,” he said.
It was Rena’s turn to expel a big sigh. “Jon, what in the hell is wrong with you? If ever there was a woman who loves you, that would be my daughter-in-law. Lola is at a point in her life where she is either going to stay with you forever or leave you. She cried when she talked about how much she loves you and how lonely she is. And if you think about it, Jon, you isolated her. Told her not to work, told her that once you got your company off the ground everything would be better. I thought I’d have a few grandkids by now.”
“Ma.”
“Listen to me. Fix it.”
“But she . . .”
“Fix it. Other than me, no one but Lola will love you for who you are and accept the good and the bad. Because, honey, you aren’t perfect.”
“I never said that I was and—”
“Why are you still on the phone with me? I know she loves Christmas, so whatever you have to do to make this magical for her, do it. If that means turning that phone off, do it. I’m fine. And work will be there after Christmas.”