Growing Up Nelson: Book 3

Chapter 11

I met up with my brother and uncle in the living room as as he was playing with his new dinosaur collection he just got. Regan was sitting on the floor next to him trying to figure out the names from the paper and matching each one with its name.

"You sure have a lot of dinosaurs buddy! I think you would be a great paleontologist one day!" Regan told him excited.

"What's a paley-told-gist?" He said trying his best to pronounce the word properly.

"It's a scientist that studies fossils and old bones." She replied.

"Oh! I wanna find some fossils of dinosaurs. Where do I have to look?"

"Underground. You would have to dig deep through the dirt to find them though."

"How deep would I have to dig?"

"So deep that you would end up in China!" I chimed in as I laid out on the floor next to Regan.

Regan giggled as she heard my silly comment which has been a childhood for many years.

"Carly if we could dig to china I think they would have already started all types of wars with us by now." She joked.

"Yeah I know but I couldn't help it. So what are you guys up to?" I asked.

"Oh nothing just.....hanging around. What about you? Got any plans today?"

"Not really. I was hoping that I would be able to talk to Tre but I haven't heard from him yet. Do you think he doesn't know I'm back yet?"

"You know what I don't think he does. I told him that I would keep him updated when things weren't so crazy. Wait right here I'm gonna go and find Tony and see what I can do."

Regan got up from the floor and left the living room quickly and I can feel uncle Dre and Joey watching my every move. I was really trying not to smile or show any type of emotion but they knew that I was smiling on the inside from ear to ear.

"Will y'all stop looking at me you weirdos?" I said as I tried to contained my girly giggle.

"Hell to the nah!" Uncle Dre shouted sitting up from his laid back position on the couch.

Joey quietly got up from the floor leaving his dinosaurs on the carpet and went over to my dad's baby blue piano. He grabbed the sweat jar that had been half full of change and bills since we had moved in. Bringing the jar over to uncle Dre he shook it lightly at him.

"The sweat jar is hungry and if you don't feed it dad will know." Joey said with a grin.

Uncle Dre sighed and pulled out his wallet. As he flipped though his money he was dismayed that he had to put up the only small bill he had on him. The twenty. I could tell his face lit up with joy as he gripped the jar!

  "Holy wow!" He said happily and ran the jar back over to the piano.

  "You've never seen a twenty dollar bill before little man?" Uncle Dre asked.

  "Not in real life. Just in school. We're learning how to count money and stuff now." He said sitting back down next to me.

  "Well how about this."

Uncle Dre reopened his wallet and pulled out two fifty dollar bills. One for him and one for me.

  "Consider this a jump in your own private stash. Ya know. Just.....for emergencies." He said as he handed us each our crisp and new bill.

  "Uncle Dre you are awesome! Maybe we can score big with uncle Dezzy and uncle Morris when they come next week for the New Year's Eve dinner party!" I exclaimed.

  "I bet I can buy a million jolly ranchers and snickers bars with this kids of money! Thanks uncle Andre!" Joey said waving his money high above him.

  "Yeah thanks uncle Dre!"

  "Y'all are very welcome! I bet your happy to be home now arentcha Carly? I was worried we'd have to have Christmas without you. It would have crushed us kid. I'm glad my favorite little niece is home."

  "Thanks uncle Dre. I didn't think I'd be home for Christmas either but.....my mom made sure that I did."

Uncle Dre looked confused as he looked at me.

  "Ya mama? You mean that crazy half bald broad from the mall?" He questioned.

  "No that's my mama's twin sister. My mama is gone."

  "Whatcha mean by gone?"

Remembering the trip to the small memorial on the side of the road I began to get a little sad.

  "She's......she's dead. The person who killed her could have been my aunts boyfriend but Regan can't prove it. She said he's related to somebody she used to date. Some.....dude named.....Marcus?"

Uncle Dre looked like he was ready to go into battle. His tan face was turning a deep red with anger.

  "Marcus. Marcus Jones?" He said furiously.

  "Yeah......I guess." I replied.

He looked like he was ready to explode. I was about to tell Joey to run for cover but that thought was soon wiped from my mind when Regan came back to the living room with big cheesy smile on her face. We all looked at her like something was standing behind her with a creepy clown mask on.

  "What's with you Mouse! Gotta poop?" Andre joked.

  "EWWWW!" Me and Joey yelled out loud with a laugh.

  "Andre stop being such an idiot no! Carly? I have a surprise for you!" She giggled.

  "I hope it's another cell phone." I said standing up from the floor.

  "Oh honey. This surprise is much better than a phone. Come with me!"

We were never so puzzled. The surprises that have been coming at me from left to right today have appeared to be endless. What other gifts will be showered upon me before this day is over I wonder.

The three of us followed a very gitty Regan out of the living room and down to the lobby to find nobody there.

  "What's this about Mouse?" Uncle Dre asked her.

  "You'll see! Alright Skipper! We're ready!"

We turned to the corridor that led down to the music club stage area to find Tre and my dad coming out to the lobby with what looked like two dozen pink roses and a huge brown teddy bear. My dad was holding two balloons that said 'welcome home Carly' written on them. Tre had the biggest smile on his face when he saw me and I had the same smile when I saw him.

  "Welcome home Carly! I know I'm a little late with your gift but......Merry Christmas!" He said handing me my teddy bear wearing a Santa hat and roses.

  "Oh thank you! They're very beautiful!" I said to him admiring his gifts.

  "He worried about you all night that night." My dad said recalled the morning at the tree farm where Tre had to witness my kidnapping.

  "Well I'm a lot better now that you're here." I told him with that same huge smile on my face.

This was the best surprise so far today! Tre being here makes what happened on Christmas Eve even more worth it. I think I found my one just like my dad. The only thing that will be different is I'm not gonna let him get away.