****
The New Towers was on the other side of Harlem and Allen wished he could’ve taken his mom’s car instead of public transportation. The only way to get to Tim’s from the bank was the cross-town bus, which usually took forever. Allen had to wait 20 minutes for the bus to show up and then the ride itself took 30 minutes because of all of the traffic and congestion. The bus was crowded, of course, so he had to stand all the way. When Allen finally arrived he felt like he had been through a marathon. Allen managed to drag himself through the lobby where Bradley greeted him with his usual cheerful pleasantries.
“Good morning, Mr. Sharpe.”
“Good morning, Bradley.”
“I’ll page Mr. Russell for you.”
Bradley dialed Tim’s number. “Mr. Russell? Mr. Sharpe has arrived. Very good, sir.” The call completed, Bradley hung up the phone.
“He’ll be right down.”
“Thanks, Bradley.”
“My pleasure, sir.”
Allen went to have a seat in the waiting area. No matter how many times Allen came here, he was always in awe at how refined Tim’s building was. The doorman was always so polite and formal. There were so many amenities like the elegant waiting room he was sitting in complete with sofas, coffee tables, magazines, a vending machine, and a water cooler. There was also a gym, a swimming pool, a restaurant and catering facility on the top floor, a terrace, and a garden. In addition, there was always some local celebrity that could be found visiting or living here. On previous occasions, Allen had seen two very important African-American politicians, and a few actors and actresses he hadn’t seen on T.V. in a while. It was also the home to many black elites who were doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects, therapists, and other white-collar professionals. Allen hoped to live here one day, but his present situation caused him to doubt that possibility. Allen was considering whether or not to grab a quick snack from the vending machine when Tim finally made it down. He was very casually dressed with his grey fleece jacket, wrinkled orange and grey plaid shirt, jeans and grey dress sneakers. Not to mention some strange-looking tortoise shell glasses.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I had trouble finding that list Tamiko gave me.”
“What’s with those glasses, man? What happened to your old wire-rimmed jobs?”
“I couldn’t find them. So it’s back to these. I haven’t worn them since high school.”
“I hope you find your other ones. Soon. Those make you look like Urkel with a chemical peel.”
“Hilarious. Let’s get rolling, we may have a lot of different stores to hit because I’m not sure we’ll be able to get everything at one place.”
“I think we could get everything at Party City down on third.”
“I don’t think they sell dessert boxes at Party City.”
“Dessert boxes? I guess Tamiko’s going upscale this year, huh?”
“You know she tries to outdo herself every year.”
“I guess it’s going to be Pier One or one of those other stores.”
“I think I know where to go. Let’s head out.”
Allen and Tim took the latter’s Mercedes and began their scavenger hunt for party goods. They ended up going to about five different places before they were through. Then they stopped to have lunch at one of those fancy grills that Tim liked to frequent.
“I don’t know Tim this place is a little pricey for my taste.”
“Relax, it’s on me.”
The waiter came and took their orders. Allen ordered a cheeseburger with sweet potato fries and a cola, while Tim decided on chicken soup and ginger ale.
“Still not feeling well, huh?”
“No. It’s really bad in the mornings. That’s when I’m puking my guts out. After that there’s just a low grade nausea that’s sort of off and on throughout the day.”
“All that and the doctor didn’t find anything wrong with your stomach? Maybe you need a second opinion.”
“Maybe. But there have been other things. Like headaches. And now I think my vision is starting to give out on me.”
“Seems like you’ve stressed yourself out so much, your body is falling apart. Hear anything back on those tests yet?”
“The blood test was normal, so was the urine test and all the other basic stuff. They want me to come back in a few weeks for a CT scan and an MRI.”
“Isn’t that like when they look at your brain.”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t think…”
“I don’t know what to think, Allen.”
For a few moments there was silence between them. The waiter
came and served them their food, but neither one of them had much of an appetite anymore.
“Maybe it’s a hormone thing.”
“If it was, it would have shown up in the blood test.”
“It could also be psychological. Like some kind of stress response.”
“Could be. I hope so, anyway.”
“It would have to be. You’re the healthiest guy I know. You swim, you play tennis, and you eat better than most guys.”
“I’m not sure if it’s that simple, Al.”
“Come on man, don’t start with the negative talk. Like my mom says don’t start claiming negative stuff. If the doctor hasn’t said it’s anything serious yet, don’t worry about it.”
“You’re right. I’m not going to worry about that bridge until I cross it. Besides, the holidays are here. It’s time to be merry and all that stuff. Right?”
“And have you made any plans to go away?”
“No. I’ve got no one to go with. You’re working. Tamiko certainly wouldn’t go unless her parents were chaperoning, and I don’t know Davis well enough to invite him, not that I’m that desperate. Callie and Jim have us on the blacklist. And Richard…I wouldn’t even go to the corner store with him.”
“But what about your family?”
“Are you kidding me? You have noticed that we’re not exactly the Winslows.”
“You all make it a big deal to spend Christmas together. Why not go away together?”
“Because the more time we spend around each other, the better the chance that there’s going to be some kind of conflict, especially since my mother is a control freak and my sister is a drama queen. In fact, the last time we went on an extended vacation together, we ended up in family therapy for months afterward.”
“Sorry to hear that, man.”
“Not as sorry as I was living through it. Besides, I’d rather stay in the city anyway. You guys are here, I get to have great Sunday dinners with the Pastor, and there’s always something to do.”
“Speaking of the Pastor. What were you two talking about last Sunday?”
“Now that’s a personal matter?”
“Too personal even for me?”
“Even for you.”
“I hope it’s something good.”
“Well, it’s nothing bad. Whoa, time flies”, said Tim checking his watch. “I gotta pick up Tamiko. Sorry to cut this short Al, but I don’t want to be late.”
“I’m starting to notice that you two have been spending a lot of time together.”
“So? We’re friends. We’re supposed to spend a lot of time together.”
“Are you sure about that? The way you looked when Tamiko started gushing about Davis during Sunday dinner…”
“I told you. I just worry about her that’s all. None of us knows Davis that well.”
“He’s good peeps, man.”
“I’m not entirely sure. Let’s just see what happens when he gets his Christmas Eve surprise.”
Fifty-Four