Chapter 11
Angel
TWO WEEKS
“Ithink it’s sweet what the firefighters and paramedics are doing. I mean, they didn’t have much notice to pull this together, but they’ve done a wonderful job of collecting gifts and donations for these families,” Imani Donaldson, one of the volunteers I met at today’s event, stated.
“It is. I’m glad that they were able to do something for them. Although they can’t get back in their homes, at least the kids will have a nice Christmas, and the families will have dinner and some of the other necessities they need like clothes and grooming supplies,” I added.
“Yeah. It’s going to mean a lot,” she agreed.
After my suggestion that he and his crew do something, Christian and Essence had put their heads together and decided to do a fundraiser, a GoFundMe, and a toy drive for two weeks, to get things in order for these families before the holidays.
It required a lot of work and volunteer effort in their off-time, but I supported him every step of the way. I even called on my followers on my MixTube channel and Sociogram pages to help out. I felt good when they showed up for me in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
Some of the companies that I modeled for donated lots of clothing to the families. My regular followers donated funds and toys alike, and it made me feel good to see people so supportive and loving during the holidays. I hated that it always took a tragedy to bring out the beauty in people though.
“I think that’s it, ladies. We’ve got all the gifts wrapped, and we can bring the families in now,” I announced to the small group we assembled to wrap gifts.
My mother, my grandmother; Sawyer, and her mother, Dorothy; Christian’s mother, Kirsten; and Nicholas’s girlfriend, Maeve, came to support.
Kirsten brought her two sisters, Maeve brought her sister and best friend, and Essence brought her best friend, Imani.
Christian had recruited another five people from our old friend group to help.
Most of them were happy and surprised to see me, but I wasn’t ready to let them see Christian and me in our element yet, so I avoided him as much as possible.
“All right, well, let’s bring those families in,” Mrs. Kirsten stated, clapping her hands together as she smiled warmly at me. I really liked Christian’s mother, and I sensed that she liked me too. Jeremiah’s mother hadn’t cared for me too much.
I walked out of the event hall we rented for the day and stepped into the parking lot. Christian was boosting a little boy into the driver’s seat of his ambulance. Essence was kneeling and talking to a little girl, and the other workers were all interacting with the kids.
I leaned against the doorframe as I watched Christian interact with the little boy. He was so good at what he did, but when it came to children, he was a natural. My heart twinged in my chest as I pondered the possibility of more kids in the future, kids fathered by Christian.
I pressed my hand against my chest and warned myself to breathe.
That was a huge problem of mine. As responsible, self-disciplined, and independent as I could be, I could also expect the worst. And when it came to men, I did.
I had a hard time trusting them, because Jeremiah wasn’t the only man who let me down in the past, nor was he the only one who had hurt me.
I had begun to expect men to show their true colors after a while, and I found myself thinking the same thing about Christian sometimes.
Yet, I knew that it was wrong to be that way, and I didn’t want to screw up a good thing by expecting the worst. Alternatively, I often told myself to slow down because I knew that I was moving too fast with him.
It was the perfect way to ruin a good thing.
“Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” Sawyer teased me, nudging me with her elbow.
“Whatever,” I replied before I walked to where Christian was still with the kids in the ambulance.
“Hey, what’s up, beautiful?”
“We’re ready for the families,” I answered.
“Okay, I’ll go round everyone up and let them know,” he replied.
I nodded and headed back inside. “They are about to bring everyone inside. Can we all get in our places and prepare to hand out the gifts?” I called out.
We had names on the gifts and had broken them down by age groups.
The adult gifts were being manned at a table by my grandmother, my mother, and Sawyer’s mother.
Within ten minutes, all the families tumbled into the event hall.
Excitement and cheers went up as they looked around at all the gifts we had brought and saw the large table in the rear where we would be serving them dinner.
I had taken pictures of the event to post to my page and even taken some video to post on my channel, but I did not capture any with the families.
I wasn’t about to exploit anyone’s suffering.
I simply wanted to show my followers what their donations had done and the impact their love and concern had on my community.
Christian swung by my table an hour later when some of the commotion died down.
“You did your thing today, gorgeous. I might have to wife you down,” he professed with a wink.
I laughed and shook my head. “No, I simply followed the instructions you gave and made sure that I supported you, your crew, and these families.”
“Material for a good wife, don’t you think?”
“Sounds like he’s proposing,” Sawyer stated with a grin and a wink at Christian.
“Well, I don’t see a ring, and I don’t know why he would do that when we’re just friends.”
“Can I holler at you for a second?”
“Sure. Sawyer, I’ll be right back,” I replied, following Christian outdoors.
“Is that what we’re doing now?”
“Chris, you know that we cannot behave like that here. It’s a professional event, and besides, we haven’t told our families and friends about us yet. This isn’t the way for them to find out.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. “I don’t want to hide you anymore. I want to take you and Belle wherever I go proudly, baby.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine and caressed my face.
“I know, Chris. But all things in time, okay?”
“A’ight. I’m gonna hold you to it, and my clock runs fast, so be prepared.”
I chuckled and headed back inside. No sooner than I returned to my station, one of our old friends stopped by.
“Angel, this is a fabulous event.”
“Thanks, Ashanti. It’s good seeing you come out.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied, crossing her arms and twisting her lips.
I knew she was about to start some trouble.
She was one of the few friends in our friend group that I didn’t care for.
She was good friends with Erica, Christian’s ex, but she was always in the middle of some trouble.
She loved gossip, lies, and drama. I hated that he had invited her, but I didn’t turn down help; besides, it wasn’t my event anyway.
“Is everything okay, Ashanti?” I asked as Sawyer busied herself with a mother and her little boy.
“I’m just surprised to see you and Chris together. I would have expected more from a girl like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I saw you two kissing outside earlier. I mean, you’re a mother now.
You have to think about your daughter and do what’s in her best interest. A man like Chris only wants one thing.
You see how wild he’s been since he and Erica broke up.
Rumor has it that she caught him cheating on her, and that’s why they broke up.
You’re better than that, or at least you’re supposed to be.
Besides, it doesn't look good when you’re being passed around the friend group. ”
“Ashanti, don’t you have a husband to worry about? Last I heard, he had two other chicks pregnant while he’s supposed to be married to you.”
I shook my head as Ashanti stormed off.
“Are you okay?” Imani asked, returning to our table as Sawyer also finished with the mother she had been helping.
“I’m just fine,” I lied, pressing a smile to my lips.
I knew that I shouldn’t have gotten caught up with Christian.
Conflict like that was exactly what I had wanted to avoid all along.
Being confronted by Ashanti would just be the beginning.
I glanced across the room to where she was on her phone.
I knew she was talking to Erica and reporting back to her.
Yeah, it was definitely a mistake to mess with my ex’s best friend.