The Queen of Cool (22 page)

“
Just more power games,”
Mandy said. “I’m so over it.”

“
Then be over it,” Lo said.
“We’re done with Will or Billy or whatever his name is. That’s
it.”

“
Are you done with Will,
Mandy?” Alisha asked.

“
That’s Amanda,” Mandy
said. “I’m done with Mandy too. I’m sick of being little Mandy
Downs. Oh Mandy, she’ll understand. That Mandy is just the sweetest
thing. F… uh, forget that! I’m Amanda Downs, Don Downs’s daughter.
I want to be strong and kind like my grandmother.”

Lo smiled.

“
And Will?” Alisha
asked.

“
Amanda Downs is done with
Detective William Wallace.”

Like Super Woman, Amanda stood with her
fists on her hips. Alisha and Lo cheered.

“
I’ll ask Mutt to tell
Will,” Lo said. “We don’t want to see him or talk to him. I’ll tell
Manny that we’d like another detective.”

“
You can do that?” Amanda
asked.

“
I can try,” Lo
said.

“
We can try,” Alisha
smiled.

“
Now, off to the bath with
you, Alisha,” Lo said. “Back to bed, Amanda. You can’t let some
dumb guy make you not take care of yourself. Now go.”

Alisha hugged Lo and went into Lo’s room. Lo
followed Amanda to her room. Their new dog, Truman, looked up at
them from the bed.

“
You’re sure about Will?”
Lo asked. “It’s all right if you want to just wait.”

“
I’m sure,” Amanda said. “I
heard what you said about your mom. I want to be like her, like
Lisa and you. I want to be independent, loving, mathy Amanda, not
sweet little Mandy that everyone runs over.”

“
How does Amanda Downs feel
about William Wallace?” Lo asked.

“
Amanda Downs is over him,”
Amanda said. “If he wants to date me, we start over. From scratch.
And I have new rules.”

Lo hugged Amanda tight. She tucked
Mandy-turned-Amanda into bed. Lo quietly dressed in jeans and a
shirt. She went to check on Alisha and found her fast asleep in the
bathtub. She helped her out and tucked her into her bed. She crept
down to Amanda’s room and found her sound asleep with Truman at her
side. She grabbed Mandy’s BMW keys and left the apartment.

There was someone she had to talk to this
morning.

And she didn’t give a crap how early it
was.

Q

Sunday afternoon – 2:35 p.m.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

Days: 42

Alisha was a bundle of nerves. She’d changed
from a designer dress to an expensive business suit to a short
skirt to a gown, and back again. If possible, she would have cut,
dyed, and glued back her hair. Finally, she insisted Lo choose
something for her.

Lo pulled out
Alisha’s tight but sexy worn jeans, a light blouse that showed off
her curves, and her pair of much-loved, well-worn Lucchese boots.
Lo created big fat curls in Alisha’s long hair with a curling iron
and pulled it up in a simple pony tail.
Amanda
helped
Alisha with simple makeup.

Alisha pronounced the outfit perfect and
they raced to the airport. Feeling Alisha’s anxiety, Amanda had
chatted about nothing the whole way. Lo breathed a sigh of relief
when she pulled into the airport parking lot. Despite the
emotionally charged day, they were on time to meet Richard.

“
How did it go with Yazmin
and Mutt?” Alisha asked.

“
Great,” Lo glanced at
Alisha. “They’re meeting with the council this afternoon. I’m
hoping to go and stand up for Yazmin. She’d like it if you girls
came to support her. Lisa will be there.”

“
We’ll be there,” Alisha
looked at Amanda who nodded.

“
Did she tell him
everything?” Amanda asked.

“
Yes,” Lo said.

Lo pulled into a parking spot.

“
How did he react?” Alisha
asked.

“
He was
awesome,” Lo said. “He held her hand the whole time. I think it was
really hard for him to hear, but he
listened
because
that’s what she wanted. He couldn’t keep from crying. He didn’t
make a sound but tears slipped out of his eyes. He was so loving.
Just what she needed.”

“
Did she see it that way?”
Amanda asked.

“
She did,” Lo said. “Yazmin
truly appreciates even the tiniest kind gesture. She’s scared,
really scared, to commit to a man, any man. I think after this, she
feels the strength of their love. She can be scared, but the
strength is there to carry her.”

“
That’s really beautiful,
Mom,” Alisha said.

“
And true,” Lo said.
“Yazmin wants a church wedding so it’ll be a while. Mutt was
baptized Catholic but hasn’t been to church in a long time. They
have to take classes and stuff. So we’ll have time to pamper her a
little bit.”

Lo’s eyes filled with tears. To avoid
crying, she hopped out of the car.

“
What’s wrong?” Alisha
asked.

“
Just missing your dad,” Lo
gave a soft smile. “He would have really loved to see Mutt and
Yazmin married. We’ll have to enjoy it for him.”

Alisha got out of the passenger seat and
Amanda got out of the back.

“
Where are we going?” Lo
asked.

“
Over here,” Alisha said.
“We’re supposed to meet him at baggage claim.”

“
The flight’s in,” Amanda
read from her iPhone. “He should be there any minute.”

“
What are we waiting for?”
Lo took off across the parking lot. The girls ran beside her. They
made it to the baggage claim before any of the passengers or the
baggage arrived.

“
I guess we’re early,”
Alisha said.

“
I wanted to ask…” Amanda
said.

Lo and Alisha looked at her. She gave a
mischievous smile.

“
Where did you go this
morning?” Amanda asked.

“
Why do you ask?” Lo
asked.

“
Don’t be like that,”
Amanda pouted. “I hate it when you’re like that.”

Lo smiled.

“
Oh, you were teasing me,”
Amanda laughed.

“
Where did you go?” Alisha
asked.

“
I had coffee with Sue
Ellen,” Lo said.

Dumbfounded, the girls gawked at Lo.

“
How… I mean why… I mean…”
Amanda started.

“
I went to talk to her
about your biological father,” Lo said.

“
How did that go?” Alisha
asked.

“
She was actually fairly
nice,” Lo said. “I was furious.”

“
Why?” Alisha
asked.

“
Because she was such a
stupid cow when she told Alisha about her biological father,” Lo
said. “She can be so thoughtless and mean. She didn’t even realize
she had been cruel. She thought she was having a ‘heart to heart
with her daughter.’ The woman is a menace.”

“
Wow,” Alisha
said.

“
Yeah wow,” Lo
said.

“
No, I mean… She was nice?”
Alisha asked.

Amanda giggled.

“
She seems genuinely upset
that Don died,” Lo said. “Of course, she knows the money’s frozen
because it affects her too. Still, she says she doesn’t know how to
approach you girls. She also says that she’s sorry for everything
and she understands if you don’t want to see her. I think she’s
kind of lonely.”

“
Can’t she just go off with
Joey or Frankie, or whoever?” Amanda asked.

“
She can,” Lo said.
“But…

“
There he is!” Alisha waved
over head. A tall, thin, and handsome young man waved back. Out of
the corner of her mouth, Alisha said, “You have just enough time to
finish.”

“
Oh,” Lo said. “I think her
hatred for me and for Don was like a good friend or a lover. When
Don died, her hatred evaporated. At least that’s what she said. I
think she’s realized you girls have been gone a long time and she’s
alone. It’s sad, really.”

“
She’s alone in a mansion
that Dad paid for while he was alive. She’s now waiting for Dad’s
money to clear so she can spend it,” Amanda’s tone was
bitter.

“
We all do our best,” Lo
smiled at her.

“
Our best…” Alisha mumbled.
“But you let her have it?”

“
I did,” Lo said. “Rest
assured. She saw the end of my wagging finger. I think I even spit
at her a bit.”

Amanda and Alisha laughed. They were still
chuckling when Richard came up. Alisha’s thrill at seeing him
turned to shame the moment he was close. Having none of it, he
wrapped himself around her and held on tight. Lo couldn’t hear what
was said. When Alisha began to weep, Lo put her hand on her back in
support.

In the way of lovers, the world disappeared
while they held each other heart to heart. Lo and Amanda could only
stand guard. As if filling up, Alisha took a deep breath and
stepped back. He held on tight to her hand.

“
Mom,” Alisha said. “This
is Rick.”

“
Nice to meet you,
Richard,” Lo said.

“
Mrs. Downs,” Richard shook
her hand. He turned to Alisha. “Wow, you were right, Ali. She is
more beautiful in person.”

Alisha gave a slight, blushing nod.

“
And you must be Mandy,”
Richard turned to Amanda.

“
Amanda, actually,” Mandy
held her hand out for him to shake.

“
Oh, I’m sorry,” Richard
looked at Alisha, then back to Amanda. “Is that new?”

Amanda nodded.

“
It’s very nice to meet
you, Amanda,” Richard shook her hand. “I feel like I know you
already. I don’t know why we didn’t meet when Alisha and I shared a
pod at Harvard.”

“
I didn’t want Dad to know
I shared with straight boys,” Alisha said. “I mean he knew I shared
with boys, but seeing you in person? He’d go all Texas
wild.”

“
He would have,” Lo
laughed.

“
I’m hoping we’ll be good
friends,” Richard said to Amanda. He glanced at Lo and added, “If
not family.”

He looked at Alisha for a moment. She smiled
at him.

“
Ali, would you mind
getting my bag?” Richard said. “I brought the bag we bought last
year.”

“
Sure, but you just got
here.” Alisha’s brow furrowed. “I thought…”

“
I wanted a moment to talk
to your mom,” Richard said.

“
Come on Alisha,” Amanda
grabbed Alisha’s arm and dragged her toward the bags. Alisha looked
back and Lo nodded her encouragement. Turning back to him, she
squinted at Rick.

“
Yes, Alisha told me you
could be scary,” Richard laughed. “I think you know what I’m going
to say.”

“
No,” Lo crossed her arms
over her chest. “I don’t.”

No matter who this guy was, she was not
going to give away her daughter without some resistance. She was
going to make him work for every bit of it. In the back of her
mind, she remembered her mother saying the same thing.

“
We’ll see if he can jump
through all my hoops,” her mother had said about Don. “Then we’ll
know if he’s worth the trouble.”

The memory strengthened Lo’s resolve.
Noticing her shift in attitude, Richard swallowed hard. He glanced
in Alisha’s direction. Lo raised her eyebrows.

“
You were going to say
something?” Lo asked.

“
I’d like your permission
to marry your daughter, Alisha,” Richard said.

“
A marriage is a joining of
families,” Lo said. “Why should I allow you to join our
family?”

Richard’s full attention turned to Lo. She
could almost see him reassess her.

“
That’s a great question,”
Richard said. “In fact, it’s the question my father asked me when I
told him I wanted to marry Alisha.”

“
And?” Lo asked.

“
I told him that Alisha’s
family was strong and loving. I told him about Don’s
accomplishments, and yours,” Richard said. “I told him we’d be
honored to have them in our family.”

“
That’s nice,” Lo gave him
a mean smile. “Why do we want you or your parents in our
family?”

Richard laughed.

“
Damn,” Richard laughed.
“Ali told me that she learned to be tough from you. Have you seen
her in court? She’s a hard ass. I always thought she got it from
her father, but now I see…”

He put his head back and laughed. Lo rolled
her eyes at him. Looking away, she saw Alisha’s panic stricken face
and turned back to face the young man.

“
Here are my conditions,”
Lo said. “If you choose to marry my daughter, you will be faithful,
loving and kind. You will not cheat or lie or steal or be anything
other than loyal. You will not injure Alisha in anyway. If you
marry my daughter, you enter our family. By entering my family, you
form a contract with me. Fail on that contract; you fail
me.”

“
Yes, ma’am,” Richard
nodded. “My parents are coming tonight. They want to meet you and
Amanda. They want to find a place here.”

“
Why here?” Lo
asked.

“
I’m moving to Fort Worth,”
Richard said, as if it was obvious. “I’ve contacted a realtor and
I’m looking for a place to rent this afternoon. My parents will
need a place to stay while they visit us. My father agreed to open
a branch here. We’ll look at office space tomorrow. My father moves
very quickly. He’ll have it settled by the end of the
week.”