Love in a Carry-On Bag Read Online Free PDF Page B

jail.”
    “Shut-up,” Jazmine said, and Erica could hear the lollipop she was sucking pop from her painted red lips. She could picture her sister’s bleach blonde fro, feathered and free, while she recounted the arrest story and how much they needed to get her out.
    “She’s so stupid,” Erica finished.
    “And you know she’s in there freakin’ out. Probably peed her pants.”
    “I hope not.”
    “Well I only have twenty dollars to last me ’til the end of the week. I would say call Daddy, but he doesn’t have a cell phone and his wife cock blocks like a mug.”
    “You talk to Daddy?” Erica asked, stunned.
    “Sometimes. He asks about you.”
    She felt a pang of jealousy over her sister forgiving their father and not keeping her side. Although she should have known Jazmine would talk to anyone who gave her money, she was still pissed. He left them for Christ sakes, and was raising a brand new family like they never existed.
    “So what should I do?”
    “Borrow it from Warren.”
    “I’m not a leech.”
    “You’re fucking him aren’t you?”
    “Jaz.”
    “I’m just saying, what’s his is...”
    “I’m not Mommy. I don’t ask men for money.”
    “Excuse the hell out of me,” Jazmine shot back.
    Erica hadn’t intended for her words to sound so harsh. After all, Jazmine was the love of her life. It was Erica who raised her when her mother couldn’t. Teaching her sister how to skate, use tampons, and helping her change her sheets when she wet the bed in the middle of the night. But watching her mother wait on Sugar Daddys, and still come up empty had made Erica fiercely independent, probably to a fault.
    “You can’t borrow it from anyone?” Erica pushed.
    “Girl, I have robbed every Peter I know to pay Paul. But we can’t leave Mommy in there overnight. She’ll have a nervous breakdown.”
    “All right, don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.”
    Erica ended the call just as Prudence entered the office, her long brown hair pulled in a tight ponytail.
    “Sorry to bother you, but Edie wants the follow up email on Brandon Sykes, it’s almost eleven.”
    Erica minimized her online banking screen. “Tell her I got caught up on a call and it’s coming now.”
    “Anything I can do to help?” Prudence asked, rolling up her long hair.
    “Can you make another round of calls on Arranged Proposals ? Goldie’s breathing down my neck. Try and get a few definites.”
    “Absolutely.” Prudence left.
    Erica pulled together the information for Edie, and then called the bondsman and set the appointment. She knew where to get the extra money from, even though it crushed her.

Chapter Five
    P lay Something Nice
    W a rren sat in a corner conference room, stuck in his second operations’ meeting of the morning, and although he was trying to concentrate on his manager’s review of the monthly metrics, his mind kept reminiscing over Erica. When they were apart it was her scent that he missed most. Erica never doused herself in perfume but her skin was naturally fragrant with a mix of sprigs, water, something wild and bloomy. Tonight he would trace her fragrance on the pillow, trapped between the threaded sheets. But by Wednesday it would be lost. It had been only twelve hours since Erica departed yet Warren was yearning for her with a lump in his gut like it was the middle of the week. If not for the distraction of his weekly jazz gig, Mondays would be murky and mundane, and just knowing that later he would be on stage playing at Sweet Melodies made the day more bearable.
    Warren loved Sweet Melodies. It was a well-known jazz club in the heart of Adams Morgan in D.C. and had been in the same corner location since the “Era of Bebop.” Though the owners changed several times, the essence of the club remained the same: don’t take the stage unless you’re ready to jam. And every Monday night, Warren’s band played house to these sessions. Once in a while, a musical giant blessed the stage and