The Hustler's Daughter {DC Bookdiva Publications} (23 page)

New Beginnings

It
had been a week since Maria moved out and was staying with Don’s sister Brenda
in Queens. Mercedes got a call from her mother asking her to meet her at the
diner down on 125th. This morning she was feeling refreshed. It was the first
time in weeks that she was able to sleep after losing her father. Maria told
her it was urgent, so she had no choice. She threw on something casual and
drove to the diner.

 “Hey
Ma.” Mercedes greeted her mother with a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey
Baby.” Maria smiled as she continued to sip on her coffee.

.

“So,
what’s up Ma? How have you been holding up?”

“Alright
I guess; I still miss your father you know.” Maria turned and looked away as
her eyes began to water.

“I
never would’ve thought that he would die so soon. Mercedes your father was a
very powerful and well-respected man.” Maria sniffled and grabbed the napkin
off the table to wipe away her tears. “How are you taking it?”

“I
mean…I think about him every morning and when I go to sleep. I can never forget
about Daddy. I cherish the times that we had and the memories we made. I still
love him as if he was still here, but what can we do Ma? Just live for him,
that’s what he wants us to do; the Carter family will never die. Daddy always
told me that. Yeah we will die one day-but he meant that our family is so
strong, our morals, beliefs, the love is so strong. No one can ever break it or
take that away from us, and I’m here to stay and keep the Carter family
moving.”

“I
understand completely.” Maria smiled. “You’re just like your father; I can see
it in your eyes Mercedes. I’ve decided that I’m going to put the house up for
sale and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“What?”
Mercedes yelled. She forgot they were in a diner with other people. Some of the
other patrons looked their way. She lowered her voice and looked around. She
noticed people were staring at her, so she changed her tone of voice

“You’re
selling the house?” “Mercedes, I understand why you’re upset. You have your
place and I’m going to be all alone. Besides they will be back to finish what
they began.”

“Who
are they?” Mercedes asked. She really wanted to know who or what her mother was
afraid of.

“Don’t
worry Mercedes; I’ll be fine as long as I don’t go back to that house.”

“Where
are you going to stay Ma?” Mercedes worried.

“Well
I’ve been searching for a small apartment, but for right now Aunt Brenda said I
could stay with her.”

“No
Ma, that’s absurd you can stay with me.” Mercedes insisted. “I don’t see why
not.”

“Baby,
that’s fine. I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me.” Maria smiled. She loved the
fact that her daughter was very caring and generous.

“Alright
Ma, if that’s your decision I’ll have to respect it.” Mercedes sighed. “What
about your clothes, cars and jewels?”

“Yeah,
well I might have one of your daddy’s workers go back to get my things. I
checked the safes and they didn’t get into them.”

“Oh
yeah, that’s good. Ma how is Uncle Roy doing?”

“Well
he’s in ICU and they said that he’s going to make it. He’s out of his coma and
responsive, but he’s still critical. He’ll need lots of physical therapy.”

“Wow,
that’s crazy. At least he’s going to make it. I’m going to visit him one day
this week.” Mercedes said.

“Yeah,
that would be nice. I’m going to get going and head on out to Queens. Brenda
wants me to watch the kids tonight.” Maria got up and embraced Mercedes.

“I
love you Ma.” Mercedes smiled at her mother.

“Love
you too Baby.” Maria walked out of the diner and Mercedes watched as she hoped
into her BMW and drove off. She jumped into her car, since she was already in
the city she decided to trek to the mall and do some shopping. Mercedes shopped
until her arms were tired. Shopping took her mind off of recent events; she
needed it after the stress she had been going through. Retail therapy always
did her good. She took her bags home to get ready for the next day, no matter
what it entailed.

xxxxxxxxxx

   Mercedes
woke up the next morning to her mother calling her on her cell phone.

“Good
morning Ma.” Mercedes answered the phone.

“Hey…
Mercedes” She could tell her mother had been crying. It was obvious that she
was still mourning for the loss of her husband.  Mercedes totally understood;
she missed her father too.

“What’s
wrong Ma?” Mercedes sat up and wiped the sleep out of her eyes. She had been
mourning Don’s loss especially hard and it broke Mercedes’ heart.

“I’m
not going to be able to work this morning.” Maria sniffled, “Can you open up
the shop for me and make sure everyone is at work on time.”

“I
got you Ma; I’ll make sure everything is handled. Take it easy. I love you.”

“Alright
thanks Mercedes, I know I can count on you.” Maria smiled a little. She was
happy she had her daughter to depend on.

“I’m
going to get some rest. I really miss your father.”

“I
know Ma.” Mercedes inhaled deeply, trying to hold back the tears. She was
unsuccessful and shed a few tears of her own.

“We
just have to remain strong for him Ma, he’s in a better place and he still
loves us. Be strong.”

“Alright
I’ll try. Thanks Cedes, love you.”

“Love
you too Ma.” Mercedes hung up the phone and got dressed. She was prepared to go
open the shop and take charge as her mother asked. 

Everyone
arrived on time as Mercedes sat in the shop and waited. She told the workers
that her mother wouldn’t be in today. Condolences poured in and they all
understood what she was dealing with. As Mercedes answered calls, a delivery
man entered with a package. Mercedes had been receiving things for her mother
all day, but this time it was for her. She ended the phone call to accept the
gifts.

“Are
you Mercedes Carter?” The delivery man asked as he looked down at the white
note attached to a bouquet of roses.

“Yes,
I am?”

“These
are for you.” He handed Mercedes a vase of long stemmed roses and a gift from
Edible Arrangements. She had no idea who it was from. These gifts were a bit
more personal than one expressing condolences. Everyone wanted to know who it
was from. Mercedes told them to get to work and mind their business. She was
blushing profusely and they were happy this put a genuine smile on her face.
She finally opened the card and read to herself. I’m sorry for the loss of your
father, he was a good man. I want you to know that I didn’t have anything to do
with your father’s death. I’m not going to keep apologizing, but my heart goes
out to you and your mother. I know you’ve been working at the salon, but I set
up a day for you and your mother at the spa and a weekend at the most expensive
hotel in Manhattan. Enjoy- Emilio

Mercedes
smiled and put the card away. She spotted his number on the card and was
thinking about calling him. She opened the fruit basket and began munching. She
pondered if Emilio was indeed innocent and had nothing to do with her father’s
murder. She wanted answers and decided to close the salon in time to relax for
the rest of the day. Everyone understood and bid her farewell. It was
seven-thirty and Mercedes decided to take her mother some dinner. She picked up
some Chinese food and made her way to Queens. What she felt would be a pleasant
visit, turned sour quickly. When Maria opened the door her eyes were red and
puffy and her hair was disheveled. Mercedes was greeted by a strong hug from
her mother and she could only accept the love and reciprocate. She knew her
father was on Maria’s mind and she was having difficulty dealing with his
death. They entered the apartment and tried to eat something to take their mind
off of things.

“Thanks
Mercedes.” Brenda smiled while eating a piece of chicken. “I was going to cook
some spaghetti and meatballs, but the damn kids were running around and spilled
it everywhere.”

“No
problem Auntie.” Mercedes smiled, grabbed her plate and motioned for her mother
to walk with her. They grabbed their dinner and headed in the den to talk
privately.

“Mercedes…I-
I don’t know what to do.” Maria held back the tears.

“What
do you mean Ma?”

“I
mean, I’m strong, I’m not this person. It’s gone from bad to worse. I never use
to be like this. I’m drinking; I’m too emotional and vulnerable. This isn’t
me.”

Mercedes
didn’t know what to say, but she did know her mother was a wreck. She never saw
her mother take a drink outside of a special occasion.

“Ma,
don’t say that. You’re a strong person and you have to remain strong for Daddy
and for me. You are all that I have left and I’m all you have left.”

“Yeah,
that’s true.” She managed to say between sniffles and drying her tears with a
napkin.

“You
and I are going to spend the weekend in a hotel and indulge in their spa. It
would help us get our mind off of things. We haven’t had a day for us in a
while.” Mercedes smiled.

“Sounds
like a plan.” Maria finished drying her eyes and smiled.

xxxxxxxxxx

The
next day Mercedes and Maria went to the salon to get their hair done. They
decided to also get manicures. After that, they went to the spa that Emilio
helped reserve. They felt extremely relaxed as two men massaged their shoulders
with scented oil. Mercedes pleasantly smiled at this experience. After they
were done, they headed to the hotel room. It was filled with desserts and
shopping bags. Mercedes found a designer dress on her bed.

“Wow,
who did all this?” Maria asked looking at Mercedes’ gifts.

“Emilio.”
Mercedes smiled and exposed her dimples.

“Why
are you smiling so much?” Maria asked with a smirk. Mercedes opened her eyes to
find her mother staring at her.

“I
don’t know Ma.” Mercedes shrugged her shoulders.

“I
was just asking. It’s just…I haven’t seen you smile like that since Chino
died.” Maria shrugged her shoulders. “You’re glowing.  Do you like Emilio?”
Mercedes plopped down on the bed and sighed. She shrugged her shoulders; she
didn’t know how to feel.

“Honestly
Ma, I don’t know.” Mercedes admitted. “I want to dislike him, but then he does
things like this.”

   “Emilio’s
a nice guy, why would you not like him. You don’t even know him.”

“I
have no idea. He gives me a strange vibe. I’m not sure if I can trust him.
Maybe I’m just paranoid…”

“Honey,
I know it’s because of Chino. I know you’re still in love with him, but he’s
gone now…you have to move on.” Mercedes was a little upset by her mother’s
comment.

“Yeah,
I know Ma. I don’t know, I’ll see.”

“I’ve
seen the way he looks at you. I think he’s in love with you. He just doesn’t
know how to tell you.”

“Yeah,
I guess he is. He lost his mother and his aunt is in the hospital. He’s
probably scared of getting close for fear of losing.”

Maria
covered her mouth with her hand. “Wow, that’s crazy. Mercedes maybe you should
be a little nicer to him, since he lost a loved one too. Give him a chance.”

“Maybe,
I’ll think about it.” Mercedes said. She remembered she had his number in her
purse and retrieved it. She decided to give him a call.

“Hey
Emilio.”

“Hey
gorgeous, I thought you would never call.” Mercedes smiled and shook her head.

“Yeah,
well my mother said I should give you a chance.”

“You
should always listen to your mother.” He joked.

“Well,
thank you for the spa, the hotel, and everything.” Mercedes said. She was
forgetting some of the stuff that he brought her. “You have nice taste in
designer bags too.”

“Thanks.
I know that if I want to be around you, I have to keep up with the latest
fashion.”

They
both laughed and Mercedes felt comfortable talking to him.

“Well
anyway, how is your aunt doing? Is she okay”

“What
are you talking about?” Emilio had already forgotten the lie he told her.

   “Didn’t
you say that your aunt was in the hospital?”

   “Oh
yeah…she’s still in critical condition and when I’m not busy I’ll go see her.”

   “Oh
okay, well I hope she feels better. Sorry for the loss of your mother.”

   “It’s
cool.” Emilio was eager to change the subject. “So can I take you out tomorrow
night?”

   “I
called you to thank you for the gifts. Who said I wanted us to go out?”
Mercedes rudely said. She was joking and still playing hard to get.