No Place Like Home

by Trina Crooks

  “Hello darling. You want to meet up at Maxwell’s for dinner?”

  My mother called me for dinner plans at least twice a week so I should have expected this call to come. For some reason I was not only Janet Cummings’ daughter, I was her best friend, confidant and partner in crime. This was a role that I accepted easily on most days but there were some days I wished my dear mother had friends of her own. “Sure. Meet you in ten.”

  I hung up the phone and grabbed a light jacket because now that the sun had gone done the weather was sure to have cooled considerably. I jumped into my car that started with ease and then began the drive to Maxwell’s for the second time in two days. On my route, I passed by Kira and Michael’s house and was surprised to see my group of friends standing out front hugging and laughing. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they were sharing the good news of their impending baby with the rest of the group. I sighed while gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter and continued the drive to Maxwell’s.

  “Over here,” my mother called out as I waved at her. I said a couple of hellos to residents of the town before I slid in the purple upholstered booth opposite my mother. “It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”

  I smiled. I saw her mother just two days ago. “It has not been that long.”

  The waitress came over and we placed our orders. I got the meatloaf dinner while my mother opted for the fried shrimp meal. “How was work?”

  “Good. Gigi Randall came into town today. It was great seeing her.” I elected not to bring up Antonio because I was determined not to let myself start speaking about him as if I was remotely interested in him. I didn’t want to be one of those women that gushed about him even when he wasn’t around.

  “That’s great.”

  “How’s Dad?”

  My mother rolled her eyes. “He’s fine. Sitting at home as usual since Victor is minding the store.” Our family owned the local grocery store J&R Grocers so normally either my mother or father were in the store at all times. Every now and then you could find me, Victor, or Kelly taking over the helm.

  “Okay. Well tell him I said hi when you get home.”

  “I will.”

  I unwrapped my silverware and then looked at my mother. “Well I did make a decision yesterday. I know where I want to move to.”

  “Oh really,” my mother said as she looked at me with blank eyes.

  “Mm-hmm. New York City.”

  “So, you were really serious about moving? I thought you were just talking.”

  “I was not just talking.” I stopped speaking when Shelly, our waitress and an old classmate of mine, brought our dinner out and placed in front of us. I quickly dipped my fork into my mashed potatoes with delight because they were the highlight of the meal. I didn’t know what Ralph did to them but they were always so creamy. I could easily eat a bowl of these potatoes every single day. “I told you that I think I need to move.”

  “Aren’t you a little too old to be making that sort of move? You should have done that right after high school.”

  I stared down at my plate. I was only thirty years old. That was not old in any regards. Definitely not too late to relocate to another city. But I should have known that my mother would say this. Every time I considered moving, dear old Janet would be all on board until it seemed as if it was really going to happen. Then she threw out some excuse. I was too old. I needed a college degree. The world isn’t safe out there for a woman. Anything and everything to make me change my mind and stay. And usually it worked. Well not this time.

  “Mom, you act like I have one foot in the grave. It is not too late.”

  “If you say so. I just thought you would find a nice guy around here and get married.”

  “If you know who he is then I would love to meet him.” Like I hadn’t been trying to find me a special somebody here in Jasper Springs for all of these years.

  “There is no need to get upset about it.”

  I sighed. “I’m not upset. I’m just telling you my plans. Just trying to keep you informed.” I won’t do that again, I thought as I turned my attention to my food.

  Chapter Three

  Antonio woke up with Sonya on his mind. He didn’t know what it was about her that he liked but it was definitely something. Besides the fact that he thought she was beautiful; Antonio also liked the fact that she was not fawning after him. Sonya could care less that he was thee Antonio Randall, cover man of a magazine, and one of the members of the very wealthy Randall family. She showed her disgust for him as if he were any other guy when he gave her crap about her car. He appreciated that immensely.

  The house was warm with the bright sun shining in through the windows of his bedroom. This was a very pleasant change from the cold and dreary sun that appeared in the New York City sky. Antonio ran down to the kitchen because he was definitely the sort of person that needed caffeine first thing in the morning, but there was absolutely nothing in the cabinets. He really didn’t think much about the lack of supplies in the house last night because he ordered pizza for his dinner. Maybe Gigi might have had the foresight to go shopping and could possibly have some coffee over at her place.

  He stepped out onto the porch and marveled at the small town feel of Jasper Springs. Parents were seeing their kids off to school and there were even a couple of people reading the morning paper while drinking coffee outside. This was the way it should be. For the last couple of years Antonio had longed for an easier way of life but unfortunately working for the family business did not allow for that. This felt nice though and if he didn’t watch himself, he was going to be sucked into this place just like Gigi.

  Antonio walked over to his grandmother’s house and knocked on the door. It took a few moments but Gigi finally came shuffling to the door with a robe wrapped around her petite frame. “What are you doing over here so early?”

  “Do you have any coffee? I don’t have anything over there.”

  “I actually don’t.”

  “Well I can go find a coffee shop and get us some.”

  “I would like that. Thanks.”

  Antonio ran home, jumped into a shower quickly and then went in search of his much-needed cup of joe. It wasn’t hard to find because out on the main street of the town was a place called Coffee Bean and it had a small line of people outside of it. He found a parking spot on the street and sauntered casually up to the business. Since the end of the line was outside, Antonio quickly joined the growing group of people as they all waited for their morning caffeine fix. But it was fine with him because the weather had to be almost sixty degrees which was something he had not really experienced at this time of the year. It was a welcome change.

  Quite a few eyes came in his direction as he inched forward in line. Women whispered to each other and pointed in his direction which made Antonio smile like he usually did when people recognized him to be polite. Finally, a woman got the nerve to come over to him to ask the usual question.

  “Are you Antonio Randall?”

  “Yes I am.”

  “I can’t believe that you are here in our lovely town,” the woman gushed with a huge smile. She stepped a little closer to him, invading his personal space more than he would have liked her to. “What brings you here?”

  “I am vacationing.”

  “Do you plan to spend Christmas here also?”

  Just when he was about to answer the question, Sonya came in the door and all of his attention went to her. She was absolutely stunning. It was almost like he was in a movie. Everything turned into slow motion as he took in every inch of her face, the sway of her hips as she walked, and the smile on her face as she entered. That is until she laid eyes on him and that smile turned into the most adorable frown.

  “Antonio,” the woman in front of him said. “Do you plan to spend your Christmas holiday here?”

  “Um yes I am.” Sonya came to stand behind him and Antonio breathed in her perfume. It was just as striking as she was. He did
n’t have time to turn to greet her though because within moments there were more women standing in front of him. Some wanting autographs, some wanting pictures with him. While he was taking a selfie with one lovely lady, he could see Sonya behind them rolling her eyes.

  “Please,” she scoffed as she adjusted her weight onto her other foot. Antonio could not help but smile. He managed to meet and greet everyone that was standing around before he finally was able to talk to the one person he desired to.

  “Good morning Sonya.”

  “Good morning.”

  “It is very nice to see you again.”

  “Yeah. Lucky me,” she responded sarcastically.

  They reached the front of the line and Antonio ordered two coffees for him and his grandmother. Hers was with extra creamer. He then turned to Sonya. “And whatever it is that she is having.”

  “Joel, I am perfectly capable of ordering and paying for my own tea—like I do every time I come here.”

  Joel looked at Antonio with a raised eyebrow and a grin; amused by this whole thing. “Do you know her usual Joel?”

  “Yes.”

  “Get her that and put it on my bill so I can pay for it please.”

  “Sure thing.” Joel walked off and Sonya called his name but he ignored her.

  “Seems as if Joel can’t hear you. It’s just tea. I can surely afford it.”

  “Fine.” She stood there quietly while she waited for her drink and Antonio stared at her. “What are you looking at?”

  “You. You’re beautiful.”

  She gave him a small smile before she replaced it with a stern expression which he found just as sexy. “You said that already yesterday.”

  “I meant it then and I mean it now.”

  “Here you are. That will be $12.26 please.” Antonio reached in his pocket to pay which gave Sonya a chance to grab her drink and turn to go outside. When he finally made it out himself, hoping that she was not gone yet because he wanted to see if she was available for dinner tonight, he found her standing at the curb.

  Antonio walked closer to her and the small group of people standing with Sonya and asked, “What are you doing?”

  “My car would not start so I am taking the bus.”

  “There is a bus system here?” This small town could not possibly be big enough to have busses.

  Sonya just looked at him. “Yes, we do.”

  “Well I can take you to work. My car is right over here.” He pointed to the rental that he and Gigi were still sharing.

  “No thank you.”

  “Please. This is ridiculous. I could have you there before the bus even got here.” He watched as she mulled over that idea before she started walking in the direction of the car. Antonio balanced the cup holder in one hand while he opened the door with the other. Sonya sat down in the leather seat and he was able to get a good look at her thighs as the flowy skirt she was wearing settled high on her leg. He felt his loins push against his jeans. Damn. Sonya pushed it down and then reached for the coffees he was holding.

  “Give me those before you spill them.”

  “Thank you.” Antonio handed them to her and then quickly came around to join her in the car.

  “So how did you enjoy your first night?”

  “It was nice. Quiet. A little too quiet but it is something I could really get used to.”

  “Did you get a chance to sit on the porch swing? That really seemed to catch your eye.”

  “No. I am waiting for you to come over and sit on it with me,” he commented. Antonio could see out of the corner of his eye that Sonya heaved a huge sigh before she turned her attention to the scenery outside.

  “Turn right here,” she said softly. He did as he was told and ended up right in front of her little shack of an office. “Thanks for the ride.”

  “I want to walk you inside.” For some reason the place just did not look safe to him. It really was the size of one of those tiny houses you see on television sitting in the middle of a parking lot that had larger businesses behind it.

  “I will be fine. I have worked here for a long time and there has never been a problem. I can handle it.” Sonya handed him his coffee, grabbed her tea from the cup holder and made her way to the front door. She stopped to wave at some man standing outside of his building before she disappeared inside. After he determined that she was safely inside, Antonio quickly drove back to Gigi’s house.

  “Did you get lost? It took you forever.”

  Antonio came into her place and handed her a cup. “You might want to nuke that.” He took a seat while she took both cups and put them in the microwave. “I ran into Sonya.”

  Gigi turned to him with a smile on her face. “Beautiful girl isn’t she.”

  “Yes ma’am, she is.”

  “You should ask her out to dinner. You young people still ask people out don’t you.”

  He nodded his head. He had been thinking about doing just that but Sonya just seemed to be so indifferent to him. Antonio wasn’t in the habit of asking out women that he was not already sure wanted to go out with him in the first place. But he was willing to take that chance with Sonya. His cell phone began ringing and Antonio glanced at it to see that it was his father. “It’s the old man. I am about to get an earful now. Hello.”

  “Where the hell are you?”

  “I came to Jasper Springs with Gigi.” He never got around to informing his father that he was leaving so he should have expected this phone call this morning. “I needed a break.”

  “Shouldn’t you have run that idea passed me before you ran off, abandoning your job,” Nathan Randall said with his usual authoritative tone. “You have until the new year and I expect you to be back here.”

  “Alright. I will.”

  *~~~*

  “Thank you. Please come again,” I said as I handed change to Mrs. Holmes, who also happened to be my fifth-grade teacher. She exited the store leaving me alone again. This morning I worked a full eight hours at the rental company and then came over to my parent’s store, J&R Grocers, to work a three-hour shift. I often helped my parents out and the extra money didn’t hurt either.

  Since the store was now empty, one of my assigned tasks was putting together the Christmas tree that sat in front of the store every year. We had the same tree for so many years and this poor thing was showing signs of it. But I managed to put it together with the help of a stepladder and elected to leave the actual decorating to my mother.

  “Hey there,” Laya, a friend of mine said when she came waltzing in the automatic doors. Our friendship grew when Kira moved to Los Angeles some years ago, leaving me without a female friend that I could call up at a moments notice to hang out. Laya filled that gap which I was so thankful for. She was crazy and outgoing, making her loads of fun to spend time with.

  “Hey. It’s good to see someone. When it’s quiet in here it makes for a long night.”

  Laya came over and sat up on the checkout counter. “I am happy to be of assistance. I needed some milk and I was hoping that you were working because I needed to talk to you.”

  “About what?”

  “I was wondering if I could borrow some money. I will pay you back, I promise.”

  “How much you need?”

  “100.00.”

  I just looked at my friend. Laya always needed to borrow money because of her family issues. Her mother was an alcoholic and constantly used her money for herself. This left her teenage sister and brother in a bad way which forced Laya to have to save the day. I let her borrow money before and she always paid it back, so I didn’t care about letting her borrow again. “I got you. You need it now?”

  “No. Tomorrow is fine. Thanks. I really appreciate.” Laya grabbed my hand in gratitude and then picked up the Fabulous Life Magazine. She showed it to me like I hadn’t seen it before. “Have you seen Mr. Handsome in person yet? He is all everyone is talking about.”

  I nodded my head. “I have seen him. I helped him to find his housing while
he is visiting our charming little town.” I leaned back against the counter to rest my aching feet and looked at Laya who now seemed filled with questions.

  “You did? How was he girl? As cute as his pictures?”

  I wanted to scream out that he was even better looking in person than he was in those pictures but the man himself came right in the automatic doors. Antonio had on a crisp white button up shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans which looked amazing against his dark ebony skin. As soon as he laid eyes on me, the hugest, sexiest grin appeared and I had to hold my legs firm so that they didn’t buckle.

  “Well hello there. Are you moonlighting here?”

  “My parents own the store.”

  “Oh, alright.”

  Laya stared at him with her mouth wide open like she was looking at a real movie star. Then she turned to me with wide eyes. “Antonio this is my friend Laya. Laya, Antonio,” I introduced casually.

  “It is nice to meet you Laya.” Antonio reached out his hand to take hers in his while Laya smiled at him like a crazy person. He returned her smile before turning his attention back to me.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “A little bit of everything. I have to stock up on items. One never knows when they might have to make dinner for someone.” He gave me a parting glance, grabbed a hand basket and began to peruse the aisles while Laya pulled on my arm.

  “Girl he is so fine!!”

  I put my finger over my mouth to shush her. “He can hear you.”

  “I don’t care.”

  There was nothing I could do to quiet Laya because my friend was always the loud, boisterous type. She flipped through the magazine and stopped on page 59. There, standing with his shirt wide open was Antonio, showing off his rock-hard stomach. Good Lord, I thought to myself while Laya ran her hand down the paper as if she could really feel the six pack on his abs. Antonio came to the front of the store and Laya closed the magazine quickly.