Back to Me (15 page)

“I'm afraid so, sweetheart,” he said after turning to face her. “I have an early day tomorrow and clinic in the afternoon.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Dinner was wonderful, and the company even better. I'll call you tomorrow.” Then he opened the front door, stepped outside, and gently closed the door behind him.

Paige stared at the front door until she heard his car pull off; then she locked the door and set the alarm system. The evening had ended too abruptly and somehow had been too “friendly” for her, but then again that's all they were—friends.

Paige could hardly contain the joy bubbling through her as she stood in the middle of what would soon become the nursery. The painter's finished product far exceeded her expectations. Instead of one boring color, each wall was a different shade, forming a kaleidoscope of blue, sea green, yellow, and beige. She'd already selected the animal, number, and letter designs she wanted on the walls for the decorator to re-create. The stacked boxes in the living room had been transported to storage, only to be replaced with the delivered boxes from all the online shopping she'd been doing.

Normally, she would have found the clutter and disarray downright sinful. Cleanliness was godliness, or next to it. She was certain she'd read that somewhere in the Bible, or maybe it was an old saying of her grandmother. Whatever the case was, Paige believed a clean material house was an outward indication of a clean spiritual house. “Lord, you know my heart. Just a few more days and my life will finally be in order,” she mumbled as she headed back through the living room to the kitchen. Another week had past, and she still hadn't discussed her plans with Seniyah, but she didn't think Seniyah would object once she saw the nursery and all the cute items Paige had spent a small fortune on.

Just as Paige had suspected, DWAP voted Seniyah out of the group at the last meeting. “It's not personal, just business,” Jasmine had said after the vote. While watching her leave without staging a protest, for the first time Paige had wondered if Seniyah even cared about the DWAP project at all. To keep Jasmine from accusing her of favoritism, Paige hadn't gone after Seniyah right then, but she had called later that night to check on her. Today, after the food bank, Paige was picking her up for lunch and a trip to a discount retailer for maternity clothing.

Before heading out to perform her Christian duty, Paige picked up the phone to call her mother but decided against it after the first ring and hung up. She couldn't speak to her mother without sharing her good news, and she wasn't ready to do that yet. She sent her a text instead.

An hour later Sergio-Xavier's open arms welcomed her to the food bank's kitchen. “Hello, Paige. There's a beautiful young lady I'd like you to meet.” He revealed this while he was still holding her, and she clearly heard the excitement in his voice.

Her body instantly stiffened, and she stepped back. Who was the woman, and why did he refer to her as beautiful? “Sure,” she replied, trying to ignore his radiant smile. The woman undoubtedly held a special place in his heart.

As she watched him walk back to the storage area, Paige straightened her jeans and tunic, although they weren't wrinkled, and removed the hair clip that held her hair in place. She shook her hair out, allowing it to fall loosely down her back. She snuck a glance in the mirror above the sink. Her make-up was modest but classy. She wasn't at her best, but she wouldn't look like chopped liver next to Ms. Supermodel, either.

Sergio-Xavier emerged from the storage area with a woman on his arm who could easily be a stand-in double for Alicia Keys. True to Sergio-Xavier's description, the woman was drop-dead gorgeous.

“I am not jealous,” Paige mumbled, but at the same time she wanted to slap the woman. By the time they covered the short distance to her, Paige had scrutinized the woman from head to toe, hoping to find an imperfection, but there were none.

“Paige,” Sergio-Xavier said, looking down, “this is my niece, Alexis, the superstar I told you about.”

Paige followed his eyes downward and for the first time noticed the little brown face with two puffy pigtails snuggled against Sergio-Xavier's leg, smiling up at her.

“Hello, Miss Paige. Do you want to hear me sing?”

“What did I tell you, Alexis? You're here to serve, not to perform.”

The smile with a missing upper tooth disappeared. “Sorry, Uncle Sergio. I forgot again,” the child said, dropping her head.

Sergio-Xavier immediately hunched down beside her and lifted her chin. “That's all right, sweetheart. Keep practicing. I can't wait to hear you next week at the party. I know you're going to sound absolutely perfect.”

The snaggletoothed smile returned, and Alexis kissed his cheek. “I promise I will be for you.”

Paige's jaw dropped. The stern six-foot-two-inch doctor had turned into mush right before her eyes and was blushing like a helpless puppy.

“Hello!” said the woman, who was now standing with her hands on her hips. “Aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?”

The blushing ceased as Sergio-Xavier rose to his full height. “Didn't I tell you she is not my girlfriend?” he scolded and then went on to say something in Spanish that Paige couldn't understand.

The woman spat words right back, and then so did Sergio-Xavier.

Paige didn't remember enough from her high school conversational Spanish class to interpret the conversation, but from the woman's neck rolling and Sergio-Xavier's tone, she could tell the exchange was anything but friendly.

The two continued arguing back and forth, as if Paige and Alexis weren't there, until the woman yelled, “I'm telling Daddy!” in English.

“Snitch! I'm glad you passed your detective exam. Now you can get paid for being nosy,” he barked.

Her lips smacked. “Whatever. I only stick my nose into the business of people I care about. You fall into that category by default,” she said after folding her arms.

Paige observed Sergio-Xavier huff and puff and glare, but the woman didn't back down. He was furious, and Paige was ecstatic to see that her friend had met his match.

“Don't worry,” Alexis said, patting Paige's leg. “They do this all the time. They argue in Spanish so I can't understand, but my granny is going to teach me Spanish so I can argue to.”

Paige couldn't help but laugh at Alexis, but then the other two adults started up again, only this time they spoke entirely in English.

“Once again, you're making me set a bad example for my niece,” he charged.

“You do that just by waking up in the morning.”

Paige bent over with laughter until she realized the arguing had stopped. She returned upright to find the pair and Alexis staring at her. Sobering quickly, Paige cleared her throat. “I'm sorry, but that was funny.”

“So you're on her side?” Sergio-Xavier charged.

“Sergio-Xavier Winston Simone, stop stalling.” The woman's demand saved Paige from having to come up with an answer.

Sergio-Xavier threw his hands up in surrender. “Fine. This is my broker and friend, Paige McDaniels.” He then turned to Paige. “This is my eternal pest, otherwise known as my little sister, Tara.”

Tara momentarily glared at her brother and then smiled at Paige. “Ignore him. We're only eighteen months apart, and he wasn't calling me a pest when I beat up those guys that tried to rob us.”

Paige gasped. The thought of Sergio-Xavier being in danger scared her. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Tara smirked at her brother. “And she's not your girlfriend? Yeah, right. The idea of your rude behind being in danger has her petrified.” She waved off Paige's concern. “That's another story for another day. Just know that
I
took care of them. He did stand over them after I got them in handcuffs.”

Now Paige was really confused. “Handcuffs? Are you a security guard?”

Tara laughed. “Security guard? Girl, you're funny. A security guard doesn't carry one of these,” Tara said, flipping her wallet open to reveal her law enforcement badge. “Or one of these.” She lowered her jacket off of her shoulder, revealing her holster. “I'm a real detective. Enough about me. I want to hear all about you. It's not often my brother has a girlfriend. How long have you been dating?” Tara readjusted her jacket and folded her arms.

She wanted an answer, but Paige didn't have one to give her. At least not one she thought Tara would believe.

“Actually, we're just friends,” Paige replied.

“I told you,” Sergio-Xavier said, butting in.

Tara nodded. “Friends . . . That's a good place to start. Are you from the Bay Area? Do you have any kids? Do you have a criminal record? How's your credit? Do you know Jesus?” After bombarding her with personal questions, Tara snapped Paige's picture with her iPhone. “I'm sending this to Mama.”

“Uh . . . um . . .” Paige looked to Sergio-Xavier for help.

“That's enough, Tara,” he said, reaching for Paige's hand. She eagerly accepted it. “We have work to do, and so do you. We'll meet you and Alexis back here after food distribution.”

Paige had to skip to keep up with Sergio-Xavier's long strides. His grip was rough. “Nice meeting you, I think,” Paige called over her shoulder to Tara, who was now texting. “See you later, Alexis.” The girl smiled, but Sergio-Xavier steered Paige into the packing area before Paige could smile back.

In the midst of boxes, tables, and numerous volunteers, Sergio-Xavier found room to pace. “I'm sorry about that,” he said once he finally stopped in front of her, throwing his hands up in the air. Then he went on a rant. “When I went to get Alexis, I didn't know the parasite would tag along. I hope you're not angry at me. Tara really is a good person. She just overdoes it sometimes when it comes to me and my brother. With that analytical mind of hers, she investigates everything. I bet she knows the answers to those questions she threw at you. She was testing your character. I know my cousins told her everything about you before they made it to the parking lot that Sunday after church.”

Sergio-Xavier took a deep breath and exhaled so hard, his breath warmed Paige's cheek. “I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me for her behavior. I promise I haven't claimed you as my girlfriend. Trust me. I would never do that.” Judging by his facial expression, it was clear that the idea petrified him.

Paige wasn't certain if she'd been insulted or not, so she let the subject drop. “Like you said, we have work to do.” She reached for a plastic garment cover, but he removed it from the rack and wrapped it around her.

“So you're not mad at me?” His warm breath tickled her neck with each syllable.

“Of course not,” she answered and then, after stepping away from him, finished tying the protective garment's belt. “Now, less talk and more work.”

He nodded and went about unloading boxes on the assembly line.

For the next ninety minutes they worked side by side silently, as if the awkward fiasco hadn't happened. Paige welcomed the silence so she could mentally prepare for her outing with Seniyah. Today Paige planned to finally share with Seniyah what she believed the Lord had told her to do. If all went well, this time next year she'd hear the pitter-patter of little feet under her roof. She just didn't know if the feet would belong to a Jonathan or a J'quan. Her spirit soared at the thought of having a baby in the house. She began to hum the melody to “Lord You Are God” and bopped as she worked, as if headphones were on her ears.

“I've never seen you this happy before. What gives?”

Paige stopped bopping and spun around to find Sergio-Xavier grinning at her. “Shouldn't you be lifting a box or packing something instead of watching me?” She finally admitted to herself that she loved his smile, but she hadn't forgotten that petrified expression from earlier.

“Come on. Share the good news with me,” he said, prodding her, but she wouldn't budge.

“You'll find out soon enough.” As the words left her mouth, Paige made a decision: if Sergio-Xavier didn't agree with her plan, he could no longer be her friend. A sudden sadness washed over her, but she suppressed it and resumed sorting bags of pasta and jars of marinara sauce.

“Don't tell me the properties closed and you didn't tell me? I thought you said we had three more days. Did you cash that commission check already?”

“This joy I have neither the world nor that five-figure commission gave me. It's strictly from above. Only God can take what you mess up and turn it around for good. But you know that already, Preacher,” she threw over her shoulder. “So I won't preach you a sermon. Just know that God has done something awesome in my life.”

“That's wonderful.” His tone lacked its usual enthusiasm, but Paige didn't care to find out why and resumed humming and bopping. “How is Seniyah?” he asked after unloading a case of processed macaroni and cheese.

“She's great,” Paige sang out. “And the baby is doing fine. In fact, we're hanging out together for the rest of the day. So do you have any big plans for this evening?” she asked after he didn't make any comment.

“Oh yeah, I have big, shiny plans. I'm hanging out with my chick on the side.”

The cans of tuna fell from Paige's arms and rolled across the floor. “Chick on the s-side?” she stuttered.

“You sound like a scratched record. Hold that thought.”

Paige couldn't think of a song to hum while watching him collect the cans. This chick on the side had better be another niece or cousin. He'd barely dumped the recovered cans on the table before she snapped, “So who is this chick on the side, Preacher?” with hands on her hips and her neck rolling.

He threw his hands in the air. “Whoa. Hold on. Take your mind out of the gutter. Lizzie is my saxophone. I need to practice the song my father wants me to play for my mother at their anniversary party.”

Paige's neck stopped mid-roll. “Saxophone? You play the saxophone?”

“That's what most people do to the instrument.” He pointed at his chest. “Me, I make the tenor sax
talk.
”