This Holiday Magic Page 24

  * * *

  The reception was an opportunity to mix and mingle with the movers and shakers. Despite the distraction of Trey, who was constantly introduced as alternately her partner or her husband, she worked the room as a capable and engaging representative for Return Engagements. She collected more business cards than she had to give out and counted the evening as a success.

  Since her mind was on Trey’s parting words as they approached the museum, it was a wonder she could focus on Return Engagements at all throughout the evening.

  She couldn’t deny there was an attraction sizzling between them. But was it the long-term type or the flash-and-burn type? And more important, did she even care about the difference?

  Chapter 6

  The next day, Trey wondered what Renee thought of his blatant honesty during their drive to Raleigh. He knew he’d surprised her by openly stating what sizzled between them. They were both consenting adults, so what was stopping either of them?

  “Daddy?”

  He quickly pulled his thoughts away from Renee and to his daughter, who was sitting on a counter stool, watching him put together the salad for their dinner.

  “Yes, princess?”

  “If you know someone has done a bad thing, but you don’t do anything about it, does that make you bad, too?”

  Trey took a break from chopping chicken for the toss-it-all-in salad. This was one of those not-so-hypothetical questions that both his mother and Aunt Henrietta had warned him about. But the women had also assured him that he wouldn’t have to worry about that sort of thing until Kelly was in her teens.

  “What do you mean?” he asked, buying time to both get his thoughts together and brace himself for whatever bombshell she was about to drop on him.

  “Well,” Kelly said, tugging on one of her pigtails and looking down at the granite countertop. “If I had this friend who took something that, you know, didn’t really belong to her—”

  “That’s stealing, Kelly,” he said, cutting his daughter off. “You know that. And you know stealing is wrong.”

  “But Keisha said—” She slapped her hand over her mouth and darted guilty eyes up at him. “I mean, this friend didn’t really…”

  “Kelly, what happened between you and Keisha?”

  “Nothing!”

  “Kelly Elaine Calloway.”

  Her bottom lip trembled. “I—I’m not that hungry, Daddy,” she said, slipping from the stool and turning to run.

  But Trey was faster than the six-year-old. He was around the counter in a mere moment and caught her up in his arms.

  “Daddy!”

  Ignoring the whine, he walked to the sofa in the family room and plopped down on it, the girl secure in his arms.

  She squirmed, but he held fast. “Kelly, remember when we talked about always telling the truth?”

  She nodded and bit her bottom lip. He recognized the obstinate gesture, having witnessed it on Andrea when she’d been digging her heels in on a topic. With each passing year, Kelly seemed to resemble her mother even more. The fact that she would grow up without a mother’s love tugged at his heart.

  “If you remember,” he said with gentle nudging, “why don’t you tell me what’s going on.”

  “’Cause I’ll get in trouble.”

  Well, that made sense. He wasn’t a harsh disciplinarian, but Kelly was still familiar with punishment. The two most severe, which ranked even harsher than no Dora the Explorer on television, probably hurt him more than it did her: no dance class or no dolls. Eliminating the dance session meant Kelly didn’t go and he had to find either a sitter or an alternative for that time. And a no-dolls punishment meant he had to spend the better part of an hour gathering up the dolls in her bedroom and then locking them in the playroom. Kelly would spend practically the entire time on punishment crying.

  Since whatever was going on now involved Keisha, Trey doubted that this infraction would warrant a severe punishment. She was clearly trying to protect her friend.

  “And you think the trouble you’ll get in is more important than telling me what’s wrong?”

  Kelly remained silent. He watched as his daughter seemed to consider both the pros and the cons of the situation. He wondered what secret a six-year-old could have that was so weighty.

  “Has Keisha done something that puts her in danger of hurting herself or someone else?”

  Kelly shook her head.

  “Have you?”

  Again, she shook her head.

  Trey sighed. Well, that was one less thing he had to stress about. His daughter knew that lying was wrong, so even though she was being closemouthed on whatever was going on with her and Keisha, he could trust that Kelly was being truthful on at least those two points.

  “All right, Kel,” he said. “You think about this tonight, and tomorrow you’re going to tell me what’s up. Got it?”

  She nodded.

  He placed a kiss on the top of her head and then scooted her onto the sofa as he got up. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes and I want you at the table.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said glumly.

  As he made his way back to the kitchen to finish the chopped salad and the rest of their meal, Trey thought of his wife again. Andrea would have been so much better at parenting than he was. He also wondered what type of punishment for bad behavior got handed out next door. From what he’d witnessed of her tantrums, if Keisha were his child, she’d always be on punishment.

  * * *

  Kelly Calloway got a reprieve from the tough conversation Trey had planned because of a knock on the side door as they were about to eat breakfast.

  Trey glanced at the clock on the wall before muttering, “Who in the world could that be?”

  When he opened the door, he was stunned to see Renee and a bedraggled Keisha standing there. The girl’s coat was half-zipped up and her hair was a tangled mess of half braids. The girl’s mouth was poked out in a gesture that was becoming all too familiar with Trey.

  “Trey, I’m so sorry to bother you this morning,” Renee said. “We’re having an issue here.”

  Keisha folded her arms and stomped her foot, but didn’t say anything.

  “I’m late and Keisha has missed her bus,” Renee said. “Could you drop her off at school?”

  Trey glanced back at Kelly, who had taken a sudden interest in the piece of French toast she’d been pushing around on her plate for the past ten minutes.

  “Uh, sure. We’ll be leaving in about fifteen minutes.” He looked at Keisha, who now peered into the kitchen. “Would you like some French toast?”

  “I don’t like French toast.”

  “Keisha!” Renee sighed and then cast pleading eyes up at Trey. “I’m sorry,” she said, apologizing for her daughter. “It’s been a difficult morning.”

  “Tell me about it,” Trey said, opening the door wider so Keisha could scamper inside out of the cold air. She unzipped her jacket and put it on a chair.

  “Thanks,” Renee said. “Keisha, be polite,” she then shouted into the kitchen.

  She smiled up at him and then dashed to her car. Trey watched her start the engine and speed off. She’d been wearing a long leather coat fastened at the waist by a leather belt looped around. He found himself wondering, mightily, what was underneath.

  “Daddy, you’re letting all the heat out.”

  He glanced back at the girls and then shut the door.

  Kelly was at the counter, still playing with the last of the French-toast pieces on her plate. Keisha sat on the stool next to her, pouting.

  He went into the pantry, pulled out a box of Cheerios, got a bowl from the cupboard and a spoon from the drawer. He put the cereal, bowl and utensil in front of Keisha and then got the quart of whole milk out of the refrigerator.
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  “Eat,” he said.

  The command was meant for Keisha and she reached for the box without a rebuttal, but Kelly picked up her fork and speared a piece of French toast, as well.

  When he was satisfied that both girls were actually going to consume something for breakfast, he nodded. “We are leaving in exactly ten minutes,” he said, pointing to the clock. “I want you both bundled up and ready to go.”

  He left the kitchen, knowing they would presume he was headed upstairs and out of earshot. He went as far as the dining room and stood out of sight on the side of the large china cabinet.

  “What happened to your hair?”

  “I don’t like braids anymore,” he heard Keisha say.

  “Are you going to school looking like that?”

  Trey had to smile. He’d been wondering the same thing but wasn’t about to ask the girl.

  “I can wear my hat,” came her reply.

  There was silence from the kitchen then. Trey chanced a glance around the china cabinet. Both girls were actually eating. Shaking his head, he quit the subterfuge and headed upstairs to get his portfolio. Today was a day he’d be working from the office at Commerce Plaza.

  When both girls were buckled in the backseat of the Navigator, he looked at them in the rearview mirror. Both girls had taken an unnatural interest in the views outside their respective windows.

  “So,” he said. “Which one of you is going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “She started it!” Keisha said.

  “I did not!” Kelly shouted.

  They’d turned in their seats now and faced each other, both young faces earnest and intent.

  “Keisha?” he asked.

  “Why does she get to go first?” Kelly whined.

  He wanted to fire back, “Because you had your chance to tell me and refused to do so.” Instead, he calmly answered, “Because she’s the oldest.” Kelly huffed at that and flounced back, folding her arms across her chest, not at all hindered by the bulky winter coat.

  “I told her she shouldn’t do it,” Keisha said.

  “Shouldn’t do what?” Trey asked as he backed out of the driveway.

  Silence came from the backseat.

  “Ladies.”

  It took a moment, but an answer came. But not from the girl he’d expected to respond.

  “I wanted to trade my Polly Play doll for Erica’s Dora watch.”

  Trey’s gut tightened. That Polly Play doll cost almost as much as one of the American Girl dolls. Those plastic Dora the Explorer watches came free in fast-food kids meals.

  Kelly had been right that she’d get in trouble. But what surprised him the most was that the voice of reason—and not the culprit in the situation as he’d so readily assumed—had been Keisha. He’d been quick to assume that it was Keisha who had done something wrong. But something nagged at him. Last night, Kelly had referred to someone taking something that didn’t belong to them.

  “Where’s the Polly doll?” he asked.

  Silence came from the backseat.

  “Tell him,” Keisha prompted after a few moments passed.

  “It’s under my bed,” Kelly confessed.

  He glanced in the rearview mirror. Kelly looked pitiful. Keisha didn’t look too happy, either.

  “And where is Erica’s watch?”

  He had to keep his eyes on the road, but he didn’t miss the exchange between the girls.

  A moment later, a small hand rose up. He held his right hand back to take whatever was being proffered.

  “I had it in my backpack,” Kelly said. “I was going to give it back to Erica today.”

  Had Kelly actually stolen the watch? He couldn’t believe it and didn’t want to, either.

  “I didn’t steal it, Daddy,” the girl said, as if anticipating his question.

  “Erica gave it to her on collar tail,” Keisha explained. “But I told her not to. That doll cost a lot of money. Way more than that cheap watch.”

  “‘Collar tail’?”

  Trey stopped at a red light and tried to figure out what the phrase meant.

  “I told Erica that collar tail was a good way to do the trade.”

  “What is…?” Trey started, and then the lightbulb went off. “Collateral? Is that what you mean?”

  “Yeah,” Keisha said. “Collateral for the night.”

  He bit back a grin. This streetwise little girl had saved his kid’s behind.

  “Kelly?”

  The girl met his gaze in the mirror. “What did you give Erica as collateral on the deal?”

  Kelly’s lip quivered and he knew tears would be showing up any moment.

  “You’re not in trouble, Kel. But I need to know what you gave your friend.”

  “My new hair bows.”

  The floodgates opened then. The hair bows had been a gift from Aunt Henrietta and Kelly loved them as much as she loved her doll collection. All this over a kids-meal watch destined to fall apart within a month.

  “Don’t cry, Kelly,” Keisha told his daughter. “He said you’re not in trouble.”

  “But I’m gonna get a punishment,” Kelly said between sobs. “I just wanted a Dora watch.”

  Neither girl was in any condition to go to school. One looked as if she’d just run away from her hairdresser, and the other one was boo-hooing as though she’d just lost her best friend.

  Trey glanced at the clock on the dash. Keisha was apparently already late for school, and Kelly would be late in about five minutes. He figured another ten or fifteen minutes wasn’t going to academically challenge either one of them. And he was good on time to get to the office.

  He pulled the Navigator into the lot at the primary school, cut the engine, then unsnapped his seat belt and turned to the girls.

  Before he could say anything, a chirping sounded in the car. Trey looked confused. He reached for his phone, not understanding why it would be sounding suspiciously like a bird.

  “Excuse me,” Keisha said, bending toward her backpack. A moment later, the girl retrieved a mobile phone.

  The backseat crying had ceased and both Trey and Kelly looked at Keisha, mouths agape in wonder at an eight-year-old with a cell phone.

  “Hi, Mom,” Keisha said into the phone. She was silent for a moment, then said, “Yes, we just got to school.”

  Kelly’s wide eyes met her father’s.

  “No,” he said, anticipating the question. No child of his was getting a cell phone before a driver’s license.

  “Yes,” Keisha said and then disengaged the call. “Mom said to tell you thank-you.”

  For a moment, Trey was too stunned to speak. More than once, he’d been accused of being an overindulgent parent. But a mobile phone for an elementary-school student took the cake.

  He and Renee definitely had different parenting styles. But that was neither here nor there at the moment.

  Contemplating whether he should let this watch trade go as an object lesson or intervene with the other girl’s parents, he decided that the teachable moment was the better route. And the one that Kelly would remember in the future. It might even prove more beneficial and lasting to her than the punishment she expected.

  “Okay, here’s the deal, Kel. When you see Erica today, you’re going to tell her that you’ve changed your mind about the deal and that if it’s all right with her, you’ll give back her watch and get your hair bows.”

  “What if she doesn’t want to?”

  “Then you’ll be out of those bows, but at least you’ll still have your doll. And when Aunt Henrietta asks about them, you’ll need to tell her the truth.”

  Kelly, already looking dejected, seemed to deflate even more. It tore at Trey’s heart to see her so miserable, but he knew he was doing
the right thing. “Do you understand?” he asked.

  She bit her lip and nodded.

  If it came down to it, telling her cherished aunt that she had given away a gift would stay with Kelly for a long time—and hopefully put the kibosh on future trades, Trey thought. She’d then have a sense of what was valuable and what meant the most to her.

  “All right, then,” he said and glanced at Keisha, who had remained quiet during the exchange. “Kelly, hand me your fix-it bag, please.”

  A moment later, a small zippered tote was passed over the seat and to him. “There’s nothing wrong with my hair,” she said, a tremor in her voice telling him fresh tears could be forthcoming at any moment.

  “I know,” Trey said, unzipping the bag and pulling out a brush and a few scrunchies. “Keisha, hop up front, please.”

  In the rearview mirror he saw the two girls look at each other. Then Keisha unbuckled her seat belt.

  Trey had no idea what had been going on at the Armstrong house that morning, but he wasn’t going to let this child spend all day in school looking as if she’d run her hair through a briar patch. While he wasn’t sure what he could do, he figured he could tame it at least a little bit.

  Keisha hopped into the front seat and looked at him.

  “Creating a new style?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral on whether he liked it or not.

  “I was taking my braids out.”

  “Hmm,” Trey said. “I don’t think you finished. You want me to give you some ponytails?”

  Keisha looked back at Kelly, who nodded.

  “Okay,” she said, turning so her back faced him. “But I kind of made a mess.”

  That was an understatement, but Trey kept the thought to himself as he studied the girl’s hair for a moment.

  “How about a twist?” Kelly offered from the backseat.

  Trey nodded. “I was just thinking that instead of pony­tails.”

  A few brush strokes later, he’d fashioned two twists, one with the still-braided hair and the other with the rest. “Hold this,” he directed Keisha while he put the scrunchies back in the bag and scrounged for some bobby pins. He tucked them in his mouth and replaced her hand with his. With some judicious pins, he created a passable hairstyle for her that wouldn’t have the teachers wondering if the girl was being neglected at home.