Carlita waited until he was gone. “That was very nice of Sam…and Josh to help you move.”
“Right.” Mercedes made a small snorting sound. “I need to take care of some things myself. See you later, Autumn.”
“Thanks, Mercedes.”
“This is for you.” Carlita handed her new tenant the mailbox key. It’s the mailbox key.”
Carlita explained she had a master key, to all of the units. “I’ll only use it in the event of an emergency.” She nodded in the direction of Sam’s unit. “You and Sam seemed to hit it off.”
“We knew each other from before. Sam and my ex are friends,” Autumn explained. “I don’t think Mercedes was too keen on having him help, but there was no way Josh and the two of us could’ve carried my sofa up the stairs.”
“Don’t worry about Mercedes.” Carlita patted her arm. “She and Sam don’t see eye to eye. If you need anything else, you know where to find us.”
Autumn trailed behind Carlita and followed her into the hall. “Thanks again for letting me move in, Mrs. G. You won’t be sorry.”
“You’re welcome.” Carlita smiled softly. “I have a feeling you’re going to spice things up around here.”
Little did Carlita know how exciting things were about to become.
Chapter 3
Carlita returned to her apartment and found her daughter sprawled out on the sofa, television remote in hand and a sour expression on her face.
She set her purse on the table next to the door. “You look cranky.”
“Sam Ivey makes me cranky.” Her daughter turned the television off and tossed the remote on the coffee table. “I regret the day that man moved into our building.”
“Even more than the day Elvira moved in?” Carlita teased.
“Yes…maybe. I don’t know. It’s a tie.”
“I don’t understand why you dislike Sam so much.” Carlita eased onto the edge of the recliner and eyed her daughter. “He’s always so helpful. Look at what he did for Autumn today.”
“He offered to help because he wanted to get under my skin.”
“Mercedes,” Carlita chided. “Are you telling me you think Sam offered to help Autumn move her furniture because he thought it might irritate you?”
“He knew it would irritate me. And then he had the nerve to invite himself to dinner at Autumn’s place.”
“You’re wrong. I was there. Autumn was the one who invited Sam to dinner, to thank him for helping.”
“But he was fishing for an invitation.” Mercedes sprang from the sofa. “I think I need some fresh air. I’m going to check out the art exhibit that’s all over the news.”
“It’s wall-to-wall people down there.”
“You already went and didn’t ask me to go along?”
“No.” Carlita explained she tried to track down Glenda Fox. “I had time to kill before Reese and the trolley circled back around, so I decided to see it for myself. Elvira and her company are handling the security for the event.”
“Maybe she’ll let me in for free.” Mercedes headed to her room and returned with her backpack. “I’m gonna take my Segway instead of the trolley. It’ll be faster.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Mercedes promised her mother she would return before dark and slipped out of the apartment. Since Carlita was the greeter at the restaurant that evening, she grabbed a bite to eat and headed out.
The next couple of hours passed quickly despite several lulls in the crowd, which concerned Carlita. After closing for the evening, she helped the wait staff tidy the dining room.
The chef was the last to leave. Carlita locked up and limped down the alley to her apartment.
Mercedes and her Segway careened around the corner. She waited on the stoop while her daughter hopped off. “Did you enjoy the art exhibit?”
“No.” Mercedes unclipped her helmet. “I changed my mind. I decided to stop by the Thirsty Crow to say ‘hi’ to Cool Bones and his band instead. The place was packed.”
“I need to get down there one of these days.” Carlita thought of the light dinner crowd at Ravello’s. “At least someone is busy.”
She held the door and waited for her daughter to steer the Segway inside. “Tony stopped by the restaurant earlier. I forgot to ask him about Shelby’s follow-up doctor visit. It was either today or tomorrow.”
Before Tony and Shelby’s recent wedding, her new daughter-in-law was exhibiting concerning symptoms of exhaustion and dizzy spells. Not long after returning from their brief honeymoon, Shelby visited her doctor who ran several tests on her.
“It’s tomorrow. I’m covering at the pawnshop while Tony goes with her.” Mercedes told her mother she was heading to her room to work on the book she was writing while Carlita carried the restaurant’s receipts and cash box to her desk.
She made it through part of the paperwork, and then the lines on the computer screen began to blur. Carlita removed her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes, wondering for the umpteenth time if she hadn’t taken on more than she could handle, between the apartment rentals, the pawnshop and now the restaurant.
She still needed to find a tenant for the vacant efficiency downstairs. Although Carlita had reservations about letting Autumn move in, she was relieved the unit was finally rented.
Carlita gave up trying to focus and trudged off to bed. Despite her exhaustion, she had trouble falling asleep, her mind bouncing from Ravello’s to Shelby’s health to Mercedes’ aggravation with Sam.
Her daughter was interested in Sam, and Carlita was certain the feeling was mutual. Autumn had inadvertently inserted herself in the middle of their strained relationship.
She hoped it wouldn’t affect the girls’ friendship, and Carlita wondered if perhaps she should hint to Autumn there was more to Sam and her daughter’s relationship than met the eye. She finally decided it was best not to
