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A Merry Little Christmas(25)

By:Melanie Schuster


Angelique didn't say anything at all; she was too overwhelmed by the  reaction to her work. Aneesah excused herself from the office for a  moment to confer with her assistant. A.J. turned to Angelique and took  her hand.

"Hey, kid, this is the part where you look happy. This is when the good times start to roll," he said gently.

Only someone who knew her as well as A.J. could have possibly understood when the single tear rolled down her cheek.





Chapter Ten

A J. watched in amazement as Angelique finally sat back and made a noise  of total contentment. The remains of a huge meal were on the table in  front of them and she was utterly replete.

"What I don't understand is where you put all that food," he said  shaking his head in wonder. "You eat more than I do and you know how I  love to eat"

They were at one of Angelique's favorite places, a restaurant that  featured excellently prepared Middle Eastern cuisine in a beautifully  serene atmosphere. They had gone to the one in Troy on Rochester Road;  there were several of them in the suburban areas around Detroit. She had  eaten her way through two bowls of Mediterranean salsa, which was a  lovely combination of chopped tomatoes, capers and lemon juice with  subtle seasonings, along with three baskets of fresh, warm, miniature  pitas baked on the premises, plus a bowl of hummus, also made daily.  She'd also consumed grape leaves stuffed with lamb and rice, tabbouleh  and a salmon dish she hadn't tried before. And as always, their  incredible lemonade, which was homemade and more like a smoothie than  the traditional thin drink. Her eyes were slightly glazed from the sheer  enjoyment of her meal, but she did respond to his question.

"I have no idea where it goes," she admitted. "I eat like a horse and I  never gain a pound. And I'm really trying to gain some weight. I want to  look like a woman, not a stick."

A.J. laughed in her face. "If you were bigger, you'd want to be smaller. Just give it a rest, will you?"

Angelique made a face. "Men like to have something to hold on to. My  brothers all say that nothing wants a bone but a dog. Those boys like  meat on the bones. Look at Clay and Bennie. She was pretty slim when  they got married but she's got a shape now, after five babies. And  believe me, Clay is one happy man. Selena is nice and thick, Ceylon has  always been healthy and Vera isn't thick but she's got a body, honey.  Her figure can stop traffic, with those boobs and that booty; I've seen  it happen. And since she's pregnant again, Marcus is about to lose his  mind, he's so happy. And they're all tall, too. I'm like a skinny little  kid next to my sisters-in-law. You know how you men are, ya'll want  some hips and breasts and things to snuggle up to," she said, looking  down at her undeniably slender thighs in disgust.

"Look, you've got bigger and better things to think about now, like your  future. I told you, Angel, this is just the beginning. A lot of good  things are going to start happening for you and you need to be ready for  them. I think Aneesah is right, you need to get an agent, baby. You've  got the potential to put together some beautiful books and you need to  get on that."

Angelique didn't answer him at once; she busied herself looking around  the restaurant, staring at the colorful photographs on the walls and the  pretty beaded fringes that surrounded the light fixtures. Finally she  spoke. "A.J., as poor as my reading and writing skills are, how am I  supposed to write a book? I might be able to take pictures, but write a  book? I don't think so."

A.J. grabbed Angelique's hand across the table. "Hey, now. We've had  this conversation before, Angel. I don't know what it's going to take to  convince you that you're brilliant, but you've got to believe in  yourself. Dyslexia can't be the end of your world. I still think you'd  benefit from some classes, some counseling, but I'm willing to take it  one step at a time. As far as a book is concerned don't sweat it, that's  what editors are for. That's what ghostwriters are for, Angel. Do you  think all those celebrities that write their memoirs and cookbooks and  whatnot do it all themselves? Of course they don't, sweetie, they have  professionals to help them. Don't let a bunch of ‘what ifs' get in your  way. You can do this, Angel. Trust me," he said firmly, squeezing her  hand in his.                       
       
           



       

She did trust A.J., more than she would have believed possible. He knew  her better than almost anyone; he knew her good points and her bad. He'd  seen her at her best and at her worst and he knew all her secret fears.  If there was anyone in the world that she trusted it was A.J. So on the  way back to the studio, she asked him a question she knew he would  answer honestly.

"A.J., what does it mean when someone who doesn't like you kisses you?"  She tried to look nonchalant while she posed the question but she  couldn't make eye contact without giving herself away.

"What have you been up to, Angel?" He glanced over at her as he expertly  maneuvered his ancient and venerable Peugeot through the expressway  traffic.

She tried looking innocent, then gave up the fruitless attempt. "Okay,  look. I'm the one who started it; I admit that freely and without  reservation. I told you I kissed Adonis Cochran on New Year's Eve. I  still don't know what came over me, but I grabbed him and kissed him.  Then he didn't even speak to me on New Year's Day, which I figured meant  that he really couldn't stand me, or something. We never have gotten  along and it was pretty out there for me to be forcing him into a lip  lock. Well, then the day of the Super Bowl party we had to leave the  house on a semi-fake errand to give Lisette and Warren some time alone.  We ended up at his house and that time he kissed me. And this morning,  he came to my studio to tell me that he was going out of town and that  he wanted to go out when he came back. And he kissed me again. So what  does it all mean, A.J.?"

He listened to her recitation with a slight smile on his face, a smile  that got bigger when she was finished. "It means that you two are  attracted to each other and the desire to act on the attraction is  mutual. So go out with him and have a good time. Nobody's saying you  have to marry the guy, just have some fun," he said reaching over and  taking her hand. "You deserve to have a good time, Angel."

"I have plenty of fun, A.J., I really do. I don't need to date Adonis  Cochran in order to enjoy life. Besides," she mumbled "I'm not his type.  I don't know why he wants to go out with me."

A.J. let go of her hand and quickly thumped her on the side of the head  with his thumb and middle finger. "That's twice you've put yourself down  today. One more time and I'll be forced to take steps," he threatened.

She gave an exaggerated "ouch" in mock pain. "I'm not putting myself  down, I'm stating a fact. I'm not his type. Every woman I've ever seen  him with is like that Aneesah Shabazz. He likes tall women, full-figured  women, really smart women who can rearrange molecules and run museums  and do open-heart surgery and things. He'd never be interested in  someone like me, not for long." She narrowed her eyes for a moment in  thought. "You know what? I'm pretty sure he used to date her a long time  ago. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Not that I'd really know.  Before I moved up here I spent much of my time trying to avoid those  Cochrans. They intimidated me half to death."

"Yeah, well, he'd better not be playing with you," A.J. growled. "Not if  he wants to keep that pretty face of his. I think you're  underestimating your unique and exceptional appeal once more, Angel. If  he has any sense at all, he sees you for the beautiful, unusual,  exasperating woman that you are and he wants to get to know you better.  Go out with him and see what happens."

"I'm beautiful, unique and exceptional, huh? So why didn't you fall for  me, A.J.? You know I'm crazy about you," she said with a smile.

"And you know I'm too old for you," he said, not meeting her eyes. "So  let's not go there again. And tell that Cochran if he tries any funny  business, I'll be paying him a little visit." This time, though, A.J.  wasn't smiling.

***

Donnie spent four days on the road, visiting some of the key stations in  Michigan and taking a few important meetings with affiliates in Chicago  and Ohio. He was justifiably proud of the strides Cochran  Communications had made in the years since he had assumed the  chairmanship of the company. What had been five small urban stations in  the early days of his father had grown to fifteen stations when his  sister Benita had started running things. Now the company had more than  forty stations, ten of which were television stations. They were also  fully partnered with the Deveraux Group in Contemporary Urban Issues, a  twenty-four-hour news network that was the brainchild of Donnie and  Marcus Deveraux. He'd made a true contribution to not only his family  business, but to the communications industry as a whole. He had every  reason to be relaxed and satisfied as he flew home in comfortable  first-class accommodations from Chicago. Normally he would have snoozed  during the flight, but this afternoon he found that he couldn't.