Jamal walked the Christmas Tree field with Lloyd Sable, Derek and Willie.
“Lorna wants the biggest tree we can find,” Lloyd told them.
Willie frowned. “Of course she does, she doesn’t have to carry it.”
Jamal laughed. “Lorna loves Christmas and decorating, so whatever she wants, she gets.”
Lloyd nodded. “That’s right Jamal.”
“So can we pick one?” Derek asked, looking at the rows of trees.
“You can’t just pick any one,” Lloyd cautioned. “It has to be the right one.”
Willie and Derek looked at one another while Jamal followed Lloyd.
“How do you know, Mr. Sable?” Jamal asked.
“You have to feel it,”
Willie shook his head and Derek frowned as they all kept walking.
“Is there a reason that Lorna just doesn’t come to pick the tree herself?” Derek asked.
Lloyd smiled. “It’s a tradition. The girls would wait at the Inn and I would bring the tree for them to decorate. They’d tell me to pick the tree that spoke to me and Lorna would say, make sure it’s a tall one Daddy.”
Jamal smiled a sappy smile, and Willie almost threw up.
“How sweet,” Willie told Lloyd. “But it’s cold out here.”
“Hold on Willie, we’re getting close,” Lloyd assured him.
Derek check his watch then caught up with the others.
“This one,” Lloyd announced, standing in front of what looked like a twelve-foot tree.
“That is a big one,” Willie agreed.
The men loaded it up, tied it down and headed back to where the sisters were waiting.
******
“This is my favorite part!” Lorna exclaimed. “When Daddy brings the tree,”
Lana smiled. “Mine too.”
Lena looked at them, then shrugged. “It’s mine too.”
“The decorations are incredible Lorna. You outdid yourself this year.”
Lorna blushed. “Thank you. I was inspired.”
“You mean you were going through boxes of condoms,” Lena corrected.
“Lena!” Lana reprimanded.
Lena frowned. “What? We’re all grown here. You don’t think they’re using condoms.”
Lorna covered her ears. “Please stop her.”
“You’re wrong Lena,” Lana told her and Lena laughed.
Lana looked at Lorna. “You are using them, though?”
Lorna gave her sister a look. “You were pregnant on your wedding day,” she reminded her.
“I knew that I was marrying Derek.”
“I know that I’m marrying Jamal.”
Lena frowned. “Oooooh...are you pregnant?”
“No!” Lorna protested. “I’m just giving an example.”
“Y’all slipped up, didn’t y’all?” Lena shook her head. “Amateurs…”
Lorna looked at Lana. “That’s your sister.”
“She’s yours too,”
Lena laughed. “Lots of Sable babies around here, huh?”
The door opened and the women spun around to see the men carrying in the large tree. They clapped their hands in delight at the sight of the huge evergreen. The men placed the tree in the holder and stood it up straight.
“It’s perfect Daddy!” Lorna said hugging her father.
Lloyd smiled at her, remembering the sweet little girl who’d told him the exact same thing every year he’d brought the tree home.
“I knew you’d like it,” Lloyd said, kissing her cheek.
The other two showed their giddiness as they stared at the greenery and Derek moved to stand by his wife.
“You like it?”
She nodded. “You did good.”
“I mostly walked around in the cold,” he admitted. “But I did help carry it in…”
Lana kissed his cold lips. “Thank you,”
“Anything for you,”
Jamal moved to Lorna’s side as she gazed up at the tree. “It’s so beautiful. I can’t wait to decorate it!”
He glanced around. “If it looks half as good as what you’ve done already, it’s going to be spectacular.”
“Thank you,” Lorna hooked her arm around his. “You’re cold. Come and get some hot chocolate.”
“In the middle of the day?”
She laughed. “You know what I’m talking about.”
In the kitchen Mr. and Mrs. Langston had steaming cups of cocoa waiting for the crew and they all sat down to enjoy the beverage, with all natural sugar cookies. Jamal joined Lorna at a table, after he removed his coat.
“We can finish up the application tonight,” she told him.
He nodded. “I’m playing poker with your father, so I’ll drop in after, if it’s not too late?”
“It doesn’t matter what time, I want to see you.”
Jamal smiled at her and lifted his cup. “I want to see you, too…and get this app done and turned in.”
“You still have a few days.” Lorna drank her cocoa.
“I know, but I also don’t want to wait until the last minute. I heard that electronic uploading can be a headache especially when everybody is trying to meet the deadline,” he explained.
“Okay, let’s finish it tonight.” She smiled over her mug. “I guess I’ll be ordering extra flowers next week with all the money you lose tonight.
“I’m not losing tonight,” Jamal said shaking his head.
“Oh really? And what are you going to do different tonight?”
“I’m going to focus,”
She laughed. “On what?”
“See, I’m on a winning streak right now. I got my investors, I got the town on my side, I got my Beauty in my life…so I can’t lose.”
Lorna smirked. “You also got Cassandra.”
“Non-factor,”
“Okay…”
He took her hand. “Why are you trying to rain on my parade? All the money I win tonight, I’m going to spend it on buying you another one of those little costumes.”
Lorna blushed and looked away.
“Nah, don’t blush now, Miss Should I Let You Get Off?” he teased.
She glanced around the room. “Shhh…don’t say that out loud.”
“You did.”
“That was different.”
Jamal smiled. “I liked when you switched it up.”
Lorna put her cup to her lips. “I liked how you put me on the wall,” she whispered.
He lowered his head. “Now, I’m going to have to sit here for another hour, because my mind is now gone.”
“You have work to do,” Lorna reminded him. “And so do I…”
“But I’ll see you later,” he told her.
She took a sip. “You know where I’ll be.”
******
That night the four men sat around the table, playing cards. Willie was smoking a cigar while Derek had an unlit one in his mouth.
Jamal placed his cards on the table. “Straight Flush.”
He heard the groans around the table, as he pulled the pot of chips towards him.
“Tonight seems to be your night, Jamal.” Lloyd commented.
Jamal smiled as he stacked his pile of chips. “Yes, it is. I can do no wrong.”
Derek sat back. “The last time I won big like that, was right before I found out that Lana was pregnant.”
Jamal paused. “Huh?”
Lloyd nodded. “Is that when that was, Derek?”
Willie agreed. “Yep, sure was.”
They all looked at Jamal. “Lorna’s not pregnant,” he told them.
“And you’re one hundred percent sure of that?” Lloyd asked.
“Pretty sure…” He went back to his chips to avoid their stares.
Derek reached for the cards. “Whose deal is it?”
“It’s Jamal’s.” Lloyd said. “Let’s see if Lady Luck is still on his side.”
Jamal took the deck and shuffled it before dealing.
“I mean, if she was…then we’d get married sooner.” He announced.
Lloyd lifted a brow. “So my daughter has to be pregnant for you to marry her?”
Jamal stiffened. “No sir, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“Tell me what you’re saying then, son.”
“Lorna knows that I want to…that I’m going to marry her. I’m just waiting for my business to kick off first,” he explained. “But if she was pregnant, of course, I’d do it sooner.”
“What’s the difference?” Lloyd asked.
“I’d have more to give her,” Jamal said simply.
Derek and Willie watched the conversation and Derek was glad it was someone other than him, on Mr. Sable’s hot seat about his daughter.
“Like what?” Lloyd asked, picking up his cards.
Jamal swallowed. “Like money to buy a house.”
“She has a house already.”
Jamal nodded and picked up his cards. “Yeah, well, like I could offer stability then.”
Lloyd studied his hand. “So you’re unstable right now.”
“Not unstable,” Jamal protested. “Just not where I want to be…”
“What if my daughter deserves a husband and not just a lover, who waits until she’s pregnant to commit his life to her?” Lloyd asked and both Willie and Derek lifted their cards up to their faces.
Sitting his cards on the table, Jamal looked at Lloyd. “You’re right Mr. Sable. If I wasn’t ready to marry Lorna, I should never have touched her.”
He took a breath. “But I have, and she could very well be pregnant with my child right now.”
“Now tell me son, what do you think I should do with the whole town knowing that you’re touching my daughter and she has no ring on her finger?” Lloyd asked.
“See, Derek here, sort of got a pass,” Lloyd began again.
Derek looked up.
“He didn’t live in town, so not too many people knew his business and then he showed up and made his intentions known in front of Lana’s family, his family and the whole town,” he finished.
Jamal glanced at Derek. “Small towns,” Derek frowned. “That’s why I like the city.”
Willie shook his head. “You got a pass too, Jamal…because Lloyd wouldn’t be sitting here this calm with any other man touching his daughter and no wedding date anywhere to be found.”
Lloyd agreed. “Now that’s true.”
“I understand Mr. Sable,” Jamal told him firmly. “And I apologize for making it appear as if Lorna doesn’t mean as much as she does to me.”
Jamal tapped his cards on the table. “I love her more than anything.”
“I know you do,” Lloyd told him.
“Hell, everybody knows you do.” Willie added. “Now do this right.”
Jamal picked up his cards. “Yeah, I’ve got this.”
******
Lorna sat in her bed and heard the knock outside. Quickly, she rushed to the door to open it. Hugging herself again the cold, she stood back as Jamal stomped the snow off of his boots.
“Hey,” she said happily.
“Hey,” he responded, closing the door.
“Did you win tonight?”
Jamal looked up. “Yeah, I won every hand.”
Lorna smiled. “Look at you, I guess you were right.” She put her arms around him. “Congratulations.”
He moved out of her embrace. “Thanks. Uh, you still want to finish the application?”
Lorna looked at him. “Yeah, do you?”
Jamal nodded and unzipped his coat. “It shouldn’t take that long.”
“Are you in a hurry?” she asked.
He checked his watch. “Nah, it’s just late and you need to get some sleep.”
“What’s wrong?”
Jamal shrugged. “What? Nothing.”
Lorna reached for his coat. “Why are you acting weird? What happened?”
He walked over to her sofa. “I’m cool. Let’s just finish the app so I can submit it.”
She hung his jacket on a hook and joined him on the sofa. “Well I can tell you that we sure as hell won’t be finishing an application with the attitude you walked in here with.”
Jamal looked at her. “Don’t trip Lorna. It’s nothing.”
“Evidently, it’s something Jamal. You’ve gone into your secretive shell, when you don’t want to tell me something.” She got to her feet. “But you know what, I’m not chasing after you to find out what it is.”
Jamal saw her walk away, down the hall into her room. He removed his boots, then went to stand in her doorway watching her, sitting on the bed with her computer.
“You can let yourself out. I’ll finish with all the information that I know, then I’ll save it and send it to you,” she announced.
Jamal came inside the room and climbed on the bed next to her.
“I’m sorry…” he said quietly.
“I don’t care,” Lorna said staring at the screen.
He reached for her hand and she pulled it away. “Don’t say that, Lorna.”
She glared at him. “Why not? It’s true. You know I don’t lie.”
“You don’t care about me?” Jamal asked.
“That’s not what I meant and you know that. I don’t care about whatever it is, that has you acting this way. I know it’s probably about Cassandra. This is how you acted back then, when you were ashamed to be running around with her,” Lorna accused.
“It’s not about Cass. I promise you,” Jamal said earnestly.
“Then what?”
“It’s about me,” he answered. “Not being the man I promised you and myself, that I would be to you.”
Lorna looked at him. “What are you talking about?”
He reached for her hand again. “I’m talking about the fact that you could be pregnant right now, and I need to do what’s right, to show you what you mean to me.”
Lorna looked into his face. “Believe me, I know exactly what I mean to you, Jamal. You tell me every day.”
“It’s going to be okay,” he assured her.
“It already is,” she said quietly, looking away.
He leaned over and kissed her. “I don’t ever want to upset you.”
“You should just talk to me,”
Nodding, he agreed. “Okay,”
Lorna turned the screen towards him. “Let’s get this done.”
“Thanks for working on this,”
“You’re welcome, and I’m not pregnant.” Lorna said softly. “My cycle started today, so you don’t have to worry.”
He frowned. “I wasn’t worried. I just don’t want people thinking that we’re only messing around with each other.
“Is that what people think?”
Jamal sighed. “I could see how they would.”
“Hmmm…” Lorna went back to her screen.
“What does that mean?” he demanded.
She sat back against the pillows. “We should finish the application.”
Jamal removed the computer from her lap. “Damn the application, right now.”
“Isn’t the application all that matters?” Lorna asked quietly. “It’s the only way we can start a life together.”
He climbed from the bed and stood looking at her. “What are you saying?”
“I’m only saying what you’ve been telling me, Jamal.” Lorna replied. “I’ve told you that I don’t care if you’re a millionaire or you sell flowers, but in your mind, it has to be the former or nothing at all. So let’s make it happen, because I just want to be with you.”
Jamal watched as she dropped her hands into her face. “I’ve done everything…just to be with you,”
His heart shattered to pieces inside his chest, at her softly spoken words that cut so deep into his soul. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Just leave the application. I have to go…”
Walking out of the room, Jamal put on his boots and grabbed his coat. Lorna felt her own heart break when she heard the front door close. Jamal had been upset tonight because he’d thought she was pregnant and apparently that’s not something that he wanted because it didn’t fit into his plans.
And tonight Lorna had done something that she didn’t normally do…she’d outright lied to him, because she couldn’t stand to see him in such turmoil. She loved Jamal and she’d love any baby they’d made together, just as much.
******
When Lorna arrived at the Inn the next morning, Lena took one look at her and ran to her side.
“Lorna, what’s wrong? What happened?”
Lorna sniffed. “Nothing, I’m fine.”
Lena gave her a look. “You look like you’ve been crying all night and if this is because of Jamal’s ass, Daddy is going to kill him.”
Lorna walked away. “Just let it go, Lena.”
Lena grabbed her sister. “What the hell happened?”
Lorna’s face crumbled. “I don’t know…” she said brokenly and fell into her sister’s arms.
“Okay, sweetie,” Lena rubbed her back. “It’s okay.”
Lena grabbed her hand. “Let’s go into my office.”
Lorna looked around. “Nobody’s at the desk.”
“It’s early. No one needs the desk right now.” Lena said, pulling her down the hall.
Inside Lena’s office, Lorna took a seat with her sister right beside her.
“Now talk to me,” Lena demanded.
Lorna sniffed as another tear fell and Lena reached for a tissue. She handed it to Lorna who wiped her face, only to make room for more tears.
“Jamal came to my house last night,” she said slowly. “He was upset because he thought I was pregnant and then he said something about people were thinking we were messing around.”
Lena listened closely. “Okay…”
“He was just acting all weird and distant, like he didn’t want to be with me anymore or I was messing up his plans.”
Lena frowned. “Are you sure?”
Lorna nodded. “Yes, I know his moods.”
“Did he say that Lorna?”
“No, he just left…”
Lena lifted a brow. “He just walked out without saying anything?”
“He said he had to go…” Lorna frowned and wiped her face against the hot liquid.
“He didn’t say anything else?” Lena pushed.
“No, it was like, if I was pregnant it would mess up everything he wanted.”
Lena watched her sister. “And what did you say?”
“I told him, I didn’t care about his plans…I just wanted to be with him, and then he walked out.” Lorna began to cry and Lena enfolded her.
“Well maybe you just need to talk to him.” Lena advised.
“I can’t…” Lorna told her.
Lena pulled back. “Why not? Don’t you want to make up with him.”
Lorna shook her head. “I can’t make up with Jamal…because I lied to him.”
“You lied?” Lena asked shocked. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want him to do something that he’s not ready to do,” Lorna told her.
Lena heard the buzzer that indicated someone needed help at the desk.
“Stay here and calm down. I’ll be right back.”
Lorna nodded and wiped her face again. Closing her door, Lena rushed down the hall and saw Jamal at the desk.
“Good morning Lena,”
She noticed that he looked just as bad as Lorna. “Good morning Jamal. Rough night?”
He handed her his clipboard. “Lorna’s not here yet?”
“Are you looking for her?”
Jamal nodded. “Yeah, I need to see her.”
Lena saw the small bouquet on the desk for Lorna that he’d brought.
“What happened, Jamal?”
He looked away. “I don’t know… but I feel like Lorna thinks that I…only want her on my terms.”
“Is that true?” Lena asked.
“I realized that it was, but it’s not anymore. I love Lorna more than anything. She means more to me than a business or anything else in this world,” he said passionately. “And I feel like I lost her last night…”
Lena smirked. “She said you walked out on her.”
“I had to go think.” Jamal told her. “I had to understand what I was doing to her, while I was trying to do for her.”
He took a breath. “I stopped by her house this morning, but she didn’t answer and she’s not in her office. Do you know where she is?” Jamal asked almost frantically.
“I know you love her,” Lena told him.
“I can’t live without her, Lena,”
Lena sighed and folded her arms.
After a minute, she said, “She’s in my office. You have five minutes and if she comes out crying, I’m whipping your ass and then turning you over to my Daddy.”
Jamal hurried down the hall and opened the door to Lena’s office. He stepped inside and saw Lorna sitting on a chair in tears. Closing the door, her rushed to her side and dropped to his knees.
“Beauty, please…don’t cry.”
“I can’t stop…” she cried.
Jamal touched her face. “Why?”
“Be…because, you, you don’t want us to have a baby.”
“I never said that,”
She sniffed. “You, you…were all upset at the possibility, and don’t say you weren’t. You didn’t want me to touch you and you pulled away.”
“Lorna, I was upset because I should’ve asked you to marry me, as soon as we got together. I know you’re the only woman that I want…that I’ve ever wanted. I’d told your father that if you were pregnant I’d marry you now, but then I realized that you deserve better than that.”
She watched him.
“You don’t deserve a man who’s only ready to marry you if you’re carrying his baby. I want to marry you, Lorna and I don’t have to wait until the license comes through, because if it’s not that, then I’ll move on to something else, but I can never move on from you.”
Jamal wiped her face. “Will you marry me on Christmas, Beauty, and make all my wishes come true?”
Lorna burst out in sobbing tears just as Lloyd Sable entered the office. He saw his daughter crying uncontrollably and turned angry eyes on Jamal. Jamal got to his feet, just as Lorna screamed.
“Daddy, nooooo!”