Not That Kind of Call Girl by Nova Garcia

Author:Nova Garcia [Garcia, Nova]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC022070 FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / General
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2024-01-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

January 25, 2017— continued

Paloma arrived at Julia and Charlie’s house at four forty-five p.m. in her rented Mercedes Benz roadster convertible. Julia pulled up alongside her in the driveway. Paloma exited the car and removed a smokey blue and taupe silk scarf from her head.

Julia did a double take. “You cut your hair. I’m—I’m shocked. I never thought you’d do it.”

“The hairdresser charged me ninety-six dollars to chop it off. And that’s without the tip. The cost of living here is disgraceful. One avocado costs a dollar if it’s not organic. The organic ones are two bucks apiece. Organic, my behind. Why are you tree huggers afraid of perfectly edible pesticides?”

“Don’t get me wrong. Your hair looks good, but it’ll take some getting used to. Now, come inside. I’ll get Trey. He’s asleep. The car ride does it every time.” She nodded toward the backseat of her red 1996 Honda Civic with the oxidized paint on the hood and banged-up front bumper.

“Tell Carlos to get the groceries in the trunk.”

“Groceries?”

“I got ingredients to make chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. I’ll hold Raúl and supervise while you cook. Or I can do the cooking.”

“Charlie’s not home yet, Mamá.” Julia groaned as she lifted Trey’s car seat from its base. “How about scrambled eggs and toast? It’s been a long day.”

“Aye, Mija. Scrambled eggs and toast? Your poor husband. I would never feed your father that for dinner.”

“We’ve learned to make do with whatever we have on hand. It’s too much hassle with the baby and everything.”

“I can help you with the cooking when I move here.”

A sour nasty taste filled Julia’s mouth. She hoisted her purse and the baby bag over her shoulder, picked up the car seat, and trudged up the brick walkway toward the house.

Paloma trailed behind her. “Oh, and I bought you a car from the dealership on Highway Ninety-Nine. A sparkly gold Cadillac Escalade with a white leather interior. They’re detailing it for you now. You and Carlos can pick it up tomorrow. Plenty of room for Raúl and his siblings.”

Julia whipped around and stared at her mother.

“For heaven’s sake, Julia. A prairie dog could hibernate in that mouth of yours.” She pointed at the Honda. “That hunk of junk you call a car has to go. It’s an abomination and an embarrassment. The dealership said they’d haul it away for an extra two hundred dollars, which I gladly paid. I made arrangements for them to pick it up.”

Julia opened the front door and set Trey’s car seat on the walkway leading to the front door. “You did what?”

“Go get the groceries. The car’s unlocked. I’ll take care of this little prince.” Paloma set her Kate Spade purse on the sofa and bent over to talk to Trey. “Your abeulita’s here, mi amor. Do you know how lucky you are to have me as your grandmother? You’ll never want for anything, even when I’m not around.” She coughed, pulled a napkin from her pocket, and held it to her mouth.

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