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AS SOON AS I GET DRESSED, he peeks his head in and asks softy, “Is everything alright?”
“You didn’t sound happy with me just then. Did I do something wrong?”
“No. Everything is fine.” I say cheerfully as I manage to keep him from seeing the last of the tears while turning away.
When he walks over to me, I am bent down as I put my socks on and pull on my shoes. I straighten up and glance up at him quickly to see him staring at me intently.
I cock my head and ask hesitantly, “What’s up?”
Shaking his head, he forces a smile and then offers me a hand. “I thought that I did something wrong. Trust me, the last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
For some reason, the whole time he is standing next to me, I have this feeling that it is the exact opposite. There is something wrong and yet I do not know what it is. However, a minute later when the doorbell starts to ring, my alarm raises and the hair on the back of my neck sticks out.
“Hm. I wonder who that is?” He asks while looking down at me.
I shrug and reply flatly, “I haven’t talked to anyone or let them know where I am staying either.”
Briefly, I think about Georgina, but I never did tell her where I was staying. “I guess I better go find out who it is and what they want. Stay here just in case it is Joseph again.” he says before turning towards the door.
After watching Greg walk out of my bedroom reluctantly, I pull out my phone and hold the button to turn it on. When the screen lights up, I notice that there is one message, so I click on the button and turn the volume up before I hear Georgina’s familiar voice say worriedly, “Hey girl. What’s up? I hope Joseph hasn’t gotten ahold of you. He called me and I told him I had absolutely no idea where the hell you are. Get back to me as soon as you hear this message. Girl, he sounds really mad. I mean scary. I don’t need to be worried about you right now, do I?”
“It is Joseph and a half of a dozen other men. They are all standing at the front door right now. What I suggest is that we go out the back entrance to the garage. From there we can make our escape.” Greg says in a matter-of-fact tone of voice before I begin to hear a loud pounding on the front door.
I nod quickly before pulling on my coat and grabbing my purse. We hightail it out the back door just as they break through the front. On the way to the car, I call 911. Greg tells the police his address and then the next thing I know, we are speeding away from his house with Joseph staring after us wildly.
If looks could kill, I would be dead and buried. But that is alright, because soon enough, Joseph and his gang should be behind bars. Apparently, the folks in these parts do not take kindly to breaking and entering.
When I glance fleetingly over at Greg, he is staring at me with a childish grin on his face. I can’t help but to start laughing and then he begins too as well. Between the two of us, we can’t stop laughing for at least five minutes and as we drive to the city, we are in better spirits than we were when we left.
A few minutes later, he reaches over and turns on the radio to a soft rock station. When my favorite song comes on unexpectedly, I begin to belt it out word for word. At the end, I open my eyes and glance over to see him staring at me in amazement.
“What?” I ask while laughing.
“You have the most beautiful voice. You sound like an angel. I knew there was something special about you. I just knew it.”
“Gee, well thanks.” I say sarcastically under my breath because obviously he didn’t mean that he found anything else about me that was special.
He glances back over at me while he pulls in the parking lot. I hadn’t even realized that we were already here. “Well, I didn’t mean it that way. You are a very special person and have many qualities that are extraordinary. It is just that I have never heard someone sing like that in person before. Your voice is so smooth it’s like honey.” He says apologetically as he tries to make me feel better.
“Oh, it’s alright. I was just messing with you anyways. I am so excited that we are here. Come on. Let’s find the perfect tree.” I say excitedly while trying to mask the disappointment in my voice.
As I quickly climb out of the car, I watch him hurry to my side and shut the door for me. He takes my hand and leads me to the gate where all the trees are leaning against the posts. When he turns to me and says excitedly, “Pick anyone you want.” I see a sparkle in his eyes that I wish would always be there whenever he looks at me.
“O.k.” I say before spotting a particularly beautiful Blue Spruce on the opposite side of the little gated in area.
It is perfect for his living room and will be beautifully decorated by the time I get done with it. I turn to him and stare into his eyes before I ask hopefully, “Do you have decorations, or do we need to buy them?”
“I am afraid we need to get some, but that is no problem. I figure that we can pick them out after we meet back up again at the mall. I have seen plenty of little shops there that carry Christmas tree balls and other assorted things. I am quite sure that we will find everything you could possibly want.” He replies softly while scanning the tree line for the owner.
“Ah, there he is.” He states quickly as he releases my hand to get the older man’s attention.
When an older Chinese man walks over to us with a cane in one hand, he smiles and asks politely, “Did you find one?”
Greg smiles in return before stating happily, “Yes, yes, I did. How much for that one over there?”
Oddly enough, when he said it, at first, I could of sworn that he was referring to me, but it must have been all in my imagination because soon enough we had the tree roped to the top of the car and we were on our way to the mall.
“So, what do you want for Christmas?” He asks me coyly before winking at me.
I swallow hard and bite back my words, so I don’t say what I truly want. I doubt that he would ever guess, so I lie and say jokingly, “I want a doggy daddy.”
He laughs and then glances at me like he is not too sure what to think of me, before he says softly, “Well, I know what I want. I can’t buy her, but I sure can try to make her want to stay.”
Surprised by his words, I get all choked up and can’t say anything until I see the lights of the city ahead. I point out the window and ask in wonder, “Is that where we are going?”
He nods, and smiles before replying quietly, “Yes, it is pretty this time of year.”
Certainly, they could not have decorated it to look more magical than they had. It reminded me of a scene out of one of the Christmas movies. There are realistic reindeer statues standing on the snow with a manger and lights all aglow. Even though it is daytime, the lights still can be seen from afar.
As we pull into the parking lot of the mall, I am impressed by the immense size of it all. The building is so big that it must take up at least 2 miles. “How many stores are inside?” I begin to wonder as I stare in awe.
Remarkably enough, we manage to find a parking space not too far from the entrance and then we walk just a bit before we come to three sets of two doors each. We take the closest one as he holds it open for me. Still amazed by everything, I swallow hard and then walk in before he takes my hand and pulls me to the side.
I watch him pull out a wallet with three gold credit cards inside and several hundred-dollar bills. He asks me quietly, “Is this alright?”
Nodding, I take it and promptly put it into my purse so no one will swipe it as we stand here talking.
When I smile, I ask loudly, “When do you want to meet?” so he could hear over everyone else.
He replies a little softer, but I still can hear him clearly, “Why don’t we meet at the food court at 12. That way you should be good and hungry but still get what you need in the meantime.”
I nod and smile before he begins to walk off towards the shops. Having no idea of where I am going, I decide to go in the opposite direction and find a map. Usually, malls have either a rent a cop who you can get a map from, or there is a map posted somewhere if you get lost.
After walking around for what feels like forever, I finally find one. When I locate exactly where I need to go, I realize that it is just around the corner. Once I arrive, I smile because I know exactly what I will get him, and it is perfect.
There is an intimate shop that sells antiques and collectibles. So, as soon as I step a foot inside, I find the jewelry counter and start to browse their selection. As soon as I see it, I stop looking and fetch the owner.
“Excuse me. May I look at this one?” I ask politely before a woman in her mid-forties with long jet-black hair and dark brown eyes glances at me.
She nods and then unlocks the back of the case without saying a word. Then she withdraws the beautiful gold watch and hands it to me as she asks sweetly, “Is this for the Mr.? If so, he will love you forever. This is a Rolex Daytona Paul Newman. It normally retails for over 17 million but this one is on consignment for just 900,000.”
I swallow hard at the price tag, but once I look it over, I decide that he must have this. Surely, if he has a mansion and is a CEO, he can afford this. I know Joseph could have easily bought it in a heartbeat.
When I begin to smile and hand it back to her, she asks, “Will it be gift wrapped then?”
“Yes, please.” I answer before handing her the credit card.
She smiles and states happily, “Ah, yes. you chose well. He has often looked over the Rolex’s and chose one of our others last year before this one came in. No doubt he will love you forever when you present him with this.”
Realizing that I should quit while I am ahead, I sit down at the food court afterwards to wait for him. When I close my eyes to relax for a few minutes, I begin to wonder what will happen to Joseph and his group of thugs. Will they get thrown in jail? Doubtful because men like that always land on their feet.