Chapter 33
Aquila finished wrapping the last of the children’s Christmas presents. She placed them under the small tree. Pricilla came out of her bedroom and headed for the door.
“I will see you later tonight, Aquila,” Pricilla told her. “I regret that I switched places with one of the nurses now. She wanted to spend Christmas Eve with her daughter before she deploys to Iraq. But the good news is, I’ll be home on Christmas Day.”
Aquila sighed loudly. “Pricilla, are you sure your neighbor will take good care of the kids while I do my last minute shopping?”
“Yes, Aquila,” Pricilla said wearily. “Mrs. Turner has great-grandchildren about the age of Daniel, Darius, and Abigail. She takes very good care of them. She’s aware that you are very protective of your children. So stop worrying, and take the kids to her house and do what you need to do.” She threw her hands up in the air dramatically.
Aquila frowned, and then looked toward the bedroom door where the children sat watching television. “I guess I can leave them with her this once. I’ll probably only be gone for a couple of hours.”
“If you want to, you can take me to work, and that way you can take them with you,” Pricilla stressed in a defeated tone.
“No, that won’t work. Taking them will only distract me. I know what I want to purchase at Dillard’s for First Lady Kendra. And I saw two pairs of shoes in the Nine West store that I’d like to buy for myself. I can catch the bus to Triangle Towne Center, get my items, and be back in no less than three hours.”
“You can do that faster if you drive. You won’t have to haul those packages on the bus,” Pricilla reasoned.
Aquila gawked at Pricilla. “Pricilla, I haven’t been driving that long. There is no way that I’m gonna tackle that crazy traffic on Capital Boulevard, especially on Christmas Eve.”
“Well, I offered you the car,” Pricilla told her flatly. “Suit yourself, but if you can drive downtown, you can drive anywhere in Raleigh.” Pricilla looked at her watch. It was two seventeen. “I need to get going so I can make it to work by three o’clock. I’m pushing it as it is. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. I hope you have a blessed twelve-hour shift.”
After Pricilla left, Aquila called Mrs. Turner. She sat down on the couch and crossed her legs.
Mrs. Turner answered the phone on the third ring. “Hello?” she answered cheerfully.
“Hello, Mrs. Turner. This is Aquila.” Mrs. Turner greeted Aquila warmly and asked her how she was doing on her job, and then she inquired about the children. Aquila replied that she loved her job and that the children were doing great. She then stated her reason for calling. “Mrs. Turner, I was wondering if you could still keep the children for me for about three hours.”
“I’ll be happy to keep them. What time are you gonna bring them over?”
“I wanted to go ahead and catch the next bus to the mall. Hopefully I won’t be gone for more than three hours.”
“That will be perfect; as long as you’re back before eight o’clock. My son may come over to pick me up so I can spend the night with his family.” Mrs. Turner chuckled. “We decided that would be best, so I’ll already be at his house on Christmas Day.”
Aquila stood back up and stooped down to pick up the scraps of wrapping paper off of the living room floor. “Oh that’s sweet, Mrs. Turner. Is your husband going to be home in time for Christmas?” Aquila walked into the kitchen with the scraps and threw them into the trash can.
Mrs. Turner’s husband was an over-the-road, tractor trailer driver.
“I hope so, Aquila. He had to deliver a load to York, Pennsylvania, yesterday. He’s on his way back, but now he’s stuck in traffic in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He’s supposed to retire in three months. I’ll be glad when he does because he’s sixty-four years old, and he’s too old to be driving up and down the road working as hard as he does.”
“Yes, ma’am; you’re right,” Aquila agreed. “I’m gonna get the kids ready, Mrs. Turner. I’ll talk to you when we get over there.”
“Well, bring them on over, honey. I’ll be waiting for you.” She hung up the phone without saying good-bye.
Aquila called the children into the living room and told them her plans. She instructed them to put their coats on, and gave them strict orders to obey Mrs. Turner and be on their best behavior.
Ten minutes later, she was knocking on Mrs. Turner’s door. “Hi, Mrs. Turner; they’ve already eaten, so they shouldn’t be hungry. I brought each of them a Lunchables meal and a juice box, in case they get hungry before I get back.”
“They’ll be fine, honey. If they get hungry, I have snacks in the house. I keep snacks in the house because of my grandchildren. Plus I have three little great-grandkids. So I’m always prepared.”
“Okay; thanks, Mrs. Turner. I’ll pay you whatever you charge for your time when I get back from the mall.”
“Chile, I don’t expect you to pay me. It would be different if you asked me to keep them all the time.”
Aquila’s forehead wrinkled. “Are you sure? I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness.”
Mrs. Turner put her left hand on her hip. “Girl, I said, no. I’m not gonna let you or anybody else take advantage of me. Sadie Turner ain’t nobody’s fool. Now go on, before you miss the next bus.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Aquila took a deep breath and smiled broadly, showing her dimples. “Kids, remember what I said now. Be on your best behavior.” She kissed them each on the cheek and looked back up at Mrs. Turner. “Do you have something that I can write my cell phone number on, Mrs. Turner? In case you need to call me.”
“I sure do; hold on.” Mrs. Turner took a few steps to her small kitchen, grabbed a tablet and pen, and then came back and handed it to Aquila.
Aquila jotted down her name and number, circled them and handed the tablet back to Mrs. Turner. Mrs. Turner looked over the number and put the tablet down on the coffee table.
“I should be back in less than three hours, Mrs. Turner. I’ll see you soon.” She blew the kids a kiss and walked outside. “Bye, guys,” she yelled.
The children said good-bye and Mrs. Turner closed the door. Aquila walked swiftly to the bus stop. She was there for five minutes when the bus pulled up. She stepped on the bus, swiped her bus pass and found a seat in the middle of the bus. She gazed at Mrs. Turner’s house as the bus whizzed by.
Aquila’s stomach felt like it was in knots. She had a nagging feeling inside. She took a deep breath, and then sat back in the seat and tried to relax.