Cece and Jaytee moved out of the circle around the tree to the fringes of the park, where they found a bench and snuggled up close together. My friend had been through a lot of hardship in her life. She was the bravest person I knew, and this Christmas she had found someone to love, someone who loved her back. I took a photo of them with my cell phone for a great memory. If they ever wanted to make Christmas cards with photos, this could be the one they’d use.
Millie was helping a toddler who’d gotten tangled in a Christmas garland. They were both laughing. Millie looked younger and happier than I’d seen her in months. Watching my extraordinary friends, I had a lot to be grateful for.
“You look pensive.” Coleman snugged up the collar of my coat to keep the cold wind from slipping in.
“I was thinking how happy my friends are. It only magnifies my happiness.”
“They do look happy. Harold has snagged him a fancy fish. Darla looks very interested in him.”
“For today, anyway.” I saw Tulla and Bricey coming out of the crowd making a beeline for Harold. “Uh-oh, the piranhas are on the move.”
Coleman leaned forward. “Should I go save Harold? They’ll gobble him up in two minutes.”
“Oh, no.” I was looking forward to watching this unfold. “Harold can hold his own. If he wants to. That’s a big if.”
The women made a fuss over Harold, and I wasn’t certain but I thought I saw a bit of jealousy on Darla’s face. That wasn’t good. Harold wasn’t a man who liked to be fought over. He enjoyed women. He was handsome, wealthy, and known as the best catch in the Delta—and therefore he liked to chase, not be chased.
Coleman leaned over to whisper, “Pack of hounds with a ham bone. They’re licking it now. Soon they’ll go to chomping.”
Coleman did entertain me. “If Harold screams, we’ll save him. He looks like he’s enjoying it, as far as I can tell.” Harold seemed to be at his courtliest best. The women were all attractive, and while they might suck his soul out of his ear while he slept, they were good for his ego.
“Let’s explore the Riverwalk,” Coleman suggested.
I jumped to my feet, hoping for a kiss. I had to hand it to Tinkie for booking a very romantic holiday trip for us. Coleman and I had found more time to be together than we normally did. We were both away from work, relaxed and playful.
We walked down to the river and I glanced into the dark water flowing by. Of all the bodies of water, rivers and streams pleased me the most. Cece was a Gulf girl, and Tinkie had grown up in pools, but I loved the slow, gentle movement of the rivers.
“Look, a shooting star,” Coleman said, pointing up and across the river.
I looked up at the starry night. Coleman’s lips found mine. We were making up for lost time. Coleman’s kisses just melted my bones. I lingered in the kiss, relishing the intimacy. When at last we broke apart, I said, “This is wonderful. I’m so glad Tinkie thought of this trip.”
“Me, too.” Coleman tipped my chin up for another kiss, but alas, Tinkie was onto us. She’d bird-dogged us successfully down to the river.
“We’re about to start the caroling,” she said.
“Are you sure you want Sarah Booth to participate?” Coleman asked. “I thought I’d keep her occupied here until the singing was over.”
I jabbed him in the ribs and Tinkie grabbed his hand. “Nice try. Not going to work. Come participate.” We had little choice but to follow her.
We made it through the singing of three carols, a speech by the mayor of the town, and the actual lighting of the tree, which was truly beautiful. It was worth waiting for.
Just as the applause was dying, I heard the sound of heavy equipment in the parking lot up the hill above us. The beep, beep, beep of a machine backing up, and then what sounded like a crash.
Coleman signaled me and we took off to check it out, our group following behind us at a more leisurely pace.
Under a bright light in the parking lot was a huge pile of cement. It took me a moment to realize that under the fresh cement was a beautiful new Cadillac convertible. “Oh, my.” I didn’t know what else to say.
Luckily I didn’t have to say anything. Bricey, Tulla’s friend, came caterwauling across the parking lot. “My car! My brand-new car! My car! Look what someone did to my car! Call the police. I want them arrested.”
Tinkie sidled up beside me. “Someone is playing a dangerous game in this town,” she said.
“Cheating is always dangerous.” The warm and relaxed feeling of the evening was slipping away. Tinkie was right. Someone was eventually going to get seriously hurt if this kept up.
“Someone is out for revenge,” Tinkie said. “Tulla’s shock at karaoke. The destruction of a $70,000 car. This is getting more and more lethal.”
“And more and more public,” Cece chimed in. She and Jaytee had sauntered up. “Millie and I are taking notes in case we can use them in the Sunday column. I mean, seriously, dumping a load of cement into a car is pretty out there, but it’s a great image for the paper.”
I couldn’t disagree with her. People did a lot of crazy things for love or revenge. Even murder. “Let’s just be glad this isn’t Zinnia and we don’t know these people. We don’t have to get involved in this.”
“Good thinking.” Tinkie said. “Let’s head back to the
