Page 22 of Ms. V's Hot Girl Summer

“Brandon, Brian. I’m gonna call you later. No…save it for later. Bye, guys.”

The way Trinidad pressed her phone screen, I was surprised it hadn’t cracked. I helped her with her rollaway. Why did she have three pieces of luggage for a four-day trip? My sense was honed enough not to ask the question in her current state. Instead, I dragged her little rollaway and hoisted her backpack and her weekender bag.

Trinidad plopped herself in the living room. I’d expected for the space to just be for me. But now, it would be for us. My chest warmed as I pictured the two of us chatting and enjoying the day.

“I don’t know what they were thinking, Orlando. I get it. I’ve been tired. I’ve been busy. These past two weeks have been a mess. But they knew this weekend was important to me. That I was going to the Poconos with Milton. They’re saying that this was for me to relax and to have a little vacation, but that doesn’t track. I mean, I’ve taken a solo vacation here and there.”

“When was the last time you took a trip for yourself?” I asked.

“I mean, that’s neither here nor there. I took them to Barbados last year!” She snapped her fingers capturing the memory with a proud smile.

“Yeah, but that’s not what they think you need now, is it? They know that travel with them is not full relaxation for you.” I shrugged. The twins managed to pull the maddest prank I’d ever seen fifteen-year-olds pull, but I still felt oddly defensive of their motives. Placing her luggage in the corner, I joined her in the living room, sitting opposite to her perch on the sofa.

“No, those are my children. It’s not work. You know what I mean?” Trinidad said, getting animated again. Not that I was mad at any of her animations; she was gesticulating and waving her hands, and I tried my very best to focus only on her face. Her gorgeous, dynamic face.

“Not work, like you’re not enjoying yourself, but they can see you’re the planner, you’re the one who’s responsible. You’re the one who has to think of where the hotel is and where to get the rental. The one figuring out what you guys are gonna eat and what’s the budget and keeping track of all of that stuff. They could tell because you have raised very mature men, very responsible men. I know that this particular situation doesn’t feel like they’re mature. But hey, just a reminder that they are still kids. They’re fifteen years old.”

I don’t know what I was doing. I don’t know why I was defending Brandon and Brian, but I had a feeling for what they really were trying to accomplish. I couldn’t be more perplexed but simultaneously honored. Honored that they thought that I could be a good choice for their mother.

They’ve known my plans for a couple of months. The fact that they chose this particular city for her to go on vacation was telling. They could have made up any other plan, but it was here. They brought her to my doorstep. This was their way of giving their blessing in the most fucking-convoluted way I would have ever imagined.

Still, that didn’t mean that their mother agreed. That didn’t mean that their mother wanted to be here. And that’s the part that they were missing. This needed to be consensual. This needed to make sense. Not wanting to blow their spot, I would keep my peace for now. Besides, I could be making wild-ass assumptions, and their motives were not as clear as I felt. So, instead of making it worse for them, I sat beside her.

“So, what do you need from me?”

* * *

An intense search was deployed in my rental living room. I sat with my iPad on lookout for flights. Trinidad had her laptop, and she hadn’t been successful with buses or rentals.

Trinidad started constructing a mask to keep things out and still be in denial about it all. Staying here wouldn’t hurt her, but she wanted to be back with her man. I wasn’t going to compare myself with other men. It was a waste of time. But from everything I’d heard from the twins, Milton didn’t seem to be the right fit for Ms. V’s joy of life. That joy she thought she kept hidden under respectability and age.

I couldn’t believe this. In New York, you have millions of people. Ofele had probably five hundred thousand people if anything, and that’s counting the outskirts of the town. I could never live in a place so small that getting around or out of town was a damn hassle. Nah, give me New York any day with its thousands of flights.

“Oh my God. I can’t believe this. I need to take a break. I’m hungry, and I’m pissed at the two of you, and you’re going to be so grounded,” Trinidad said to her laptop screen. She’d deployed the twins to help with the search, as well.

“Yes, Mom.” The two boys knew they were going to be in trouble. You could see that they had made all those calculations, their faces dropping as they hung up the video. But there was also a resolute quietness in them that I could only admire.

“You want me to step out and get some food while you still search?” I asked her, eager to help.

“Honestly, I think I need to physically go to the airport and try to figure something out. And well, I don’t know. You came early, and I know there are not a lot of activities for carnival yet. Maybe…could you drive me?”

I knew this was coming…but I really needed the time before my friends arrived to search for my baby girl. I could, in theory, use my rental car to drive her to Orlando or Tampa, where there were flights that would get her out, or maybe even Jacksonville, so that she could get on standby for one of the later flights for tomorrow. Could get her somewhere, but I would have to jeopardize my plans. Of course. When was that not the case?

“Listen, any other day, at any other time, I would have taken you wherever you needed to go. But I came early to Ofele for a reason. There is something that I have to do, and even now, I’ve lost some time. I am sorry.”

“I know…this is not on you. I just…” Trinidad deflated, and my chest caved at the sight. Feisty Trinidad was a sight to behold. A defeated Trinidad was a sight to correct immediately.

Suddenly, a solution materialized, and it became as clear as day. My head was probably glowing with my great idea.

“Actually, if you do something first for me, Ms. V, I can give you a solid.”

TEN

Orlando

It was like watching a tornado come to life. As if she was a hurricane reincarnate. Storm from theX-Menhad nothing on Ms. V. She puffed her chest, locs flying out of their ponytail, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. I sought shelter behind one of the sofas; I recognized danger when I saw it.

Then, just as lightning, thunder, and rain coalesced in the living room, the air cleared with a pop of pressure as Trinidad rolled her suitcase right out of the rental at record speed. Damn, the woman could command the weather…or maybe it was her effect on me. I’m ashamed to say it took me too damn long to understand what was happening, but when I did, my stomach dropped to the bottom of my Jordans.

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