Bellissimo Angelo- Book Three

Chapter 2 - The Robbery

A masked man bursts through the front door dressed head to toe in black. I belt out a blood-curdling scream and jump back out of the doorway, hoping that he didn't see nor hear me, but I am positive that he did. f**k! What do I do? I am not even close to a phone to call for help. 

I peer around the doorway to find him creeping towards the back with a gun pointed directly at me. Fear has claimed every inch of my body, and I begin to tremble. I'm frozen in place. I can't move... I can't talk... I can't run... I'm just here, shaking like a leaf, "Wh..wh..what do you want? We are closed." I choke out.

"Gimme all your money, b***h!" 

I stumble past him and scurry towards the cash register with my hands up. He approaches me with a black duffel bag, "Throw all the money in there! Fast! Let's go!" He yells. 

I quickly open up the register, throw every bit of cash into the black duffel bag, and hand it over to him before putting my hands back up. Oh, dear Lord, please don't shoot me. My heart is pounding as my entire body trembles in fear; I close my eyes as tears stream down my cheeks.  

"Come away from the bar! Now! Move it!" He orders. 

I do as I'm told and come out from behind the bar.  He aggressively yanks my arm and pulls me to the back, "Face the wall and do not turn around, or I will shoot you!"

I press my body up against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably, realizing that these may be the last few moments I have on this earth. I begin to pray that this is all a bad dream hoping that I will wake up safe and sound in my bed, "Put your hands up where I can see them!" 

I place my hands up as I'm told and close my eyes once more. This is it...this is the end...

Suddenly I can hear the sound of his feet hitting the ceramic tile as he sprints away from me and out the door. I remain in place for fear that he may return. I listen closely as I hear a car in the parking lot squeal its tires and take off down the road. 

The moment I hear him pull away, I drop to the ground and begin wailing. What the f**k just happened?! I sit there on the floor for a moment, attempting to pull myself together. Get up and move, Maggie! I will myself to get up and run to the bar. I pick up the phone, but the receiver slips through my hands, falling to the floor. Damn it! I'm such a mess! I reach to pick it up by the cord, place it up to my ear, and dial 911. 

A few moments pass and the police arrive to question me. The bar owner, Todd Schulman, makes a beeline for me the moment he arrives, "Oh my God! Maggie, are you okay?"

"Yes, sir, I'm fine, but I had to clean out the cash register. I'm so sorry."

"I don't care about that as long as you are safe. Where's Alisha?" he asks. 

"She had something come up, Todd. She couldn't stay."

He sighs audibly and places his hand over his forehead, "Geez, I should know better than to hire my niece. She pulls this crap all the time, and she knows I don't like for one bartender to be left alone at night for this reason. I'm going to hire a security guard to be here at night so that this doesn't happen again."

A police officer chimes in, "Could we possibly get into the office to see the camera footage?" 

Todd nods his head, "Yes, sir! Follow me. I hope we got the son of a b***h on camera." 

Another officer approaches me, "Miss, you are free to leave. Let me walk you to your car. Are you okay to drive?"

I nod my head, "Yes, officer. I'm fine; thank you."

I gather my things as he escorts me out to my car. I quickly get in and pull out of the parking lot, heading straight home. A few moments later, I park my car on the street. I don't get out immediately; instead, I sit and admire the flashing Christmas lights around the porch and the lights on the Christmas tree in the bay window. I love this time of year, and thankfully, I live to see another day. 

After giving myself a few moments of peace, I stumble out of the car and trudge up the front porch steps before quietly opening the front door. As I walk through the living room, I notice Momma on the sofa, cuddled up with John Luke in her arms. Both of them are sleeping so peacefully. It's a beautiful sight to watch the Christmas lights shine directly on their faces. I wish I could take a picture of them, but I'm afraid the flash would wake them up, and it probably wouldn't turn out very good anyway. 

I quietly tiptoe past them down the hall, go into my room, and shut the door behind me.  I fish my phone out of my purse and check the caller ID for missed calls...nothing; not one single call. Oh well, I'm too tired to talk to anyone right now anyway; it is 4:30 am. I gather my pajamas,  grab two towels from the linen closet in the hallway, and jump in the shower to wash off the stench of cigarette smoke that has soaked into my pores. Once I finish, I quickly get dressed, hop into bed, and pass the f**k out.

I wake up from my slumber the next morning to the sound of muffled voices coming from the living room. I glance at the clock to find it's 8:30 am, so I roll out of bed to see who it is, me being the nosey one. I have to be ready by 10:00 am for my boyfriend to pick me up anyway. As I walk down the hallway, I notice Momma is standing near the front door with John Luke and Seth. I walk up to greet them, "Hey guys, good morning. Merry Christmas Eve." 

"Merry Christmas Eve," Seth responds. 

John Luke dashes towards me, wrapping his arms around my legs, "Aunt Maggie!" 

I reach down to pick him up, "Hey buddy, have you been good for Santa?" 

He nods his head, "Uh-huh."

I pull him in for a big hug before diverting my attention to Seth,  "Are you leaving now to go home?" I ask. 

He nods his head, "Yep, we will be back tomorrow." 

"Alright, you two boys be good, and I'll see you both tomorrow," I respond before setting John Luke down. Seth takes John Luke's hand; they both wave goodbye before Seth leads John Luke out the front door. 

Momma spins around and pulls me in for an embrace, "Hey, good morning, dear. Would you like some breakfast?"

I shrug, "Sure, maybe some eggs and toast."

She reaches out to rub my shoulder, "Okay, darling, I'll call you when it's ready." 

"Thanks, Momma," I tell her as I head back to my room to get ready for the day. 

I pick out a nice red and white sweater with a pair of jeans and my boots. I quickly braid my hair and throw on some makeup before walking back down the hallway and entering the kitchen. Momma spins around when I enter, "Oh, I was just getting ready to call you." she says. 

I sit down at the kitchen table and immediately scarf down the delicious breakfast that she whipped up for me. She pours us each a cup of coffee and sits down at the chair beside me, "How was work?" She asks.

I take a sip of the piping hot beverage before answering, "Oh, well, it was fine up until I got robbed last night after closing."  

She slams her hand on the kitchen table, startling me, "You what?!" she cries. 

"Yep, some masked maniac came in with a gun and asked for all my money. Once he got it, he ran off. I stayed a while to give a statement to police and came right home." 

Momma sighs audibly, her eyes wet with tears,  "You know I hate that you are working there. I wish there were another option." 

I reach out my hand for hers, "I know, Momma, but it pays really good to be a bartender, and you know I'm trying to save up to start my own bakery and catering business."

She places her hand in mine, "I know, dear, it's just not what I had hoped you would have to do." 

"Don't worry, Momma; I'll be fine. Todd is hiring security at night to watch the place through closing." I tell her reassuringly. 

"Well, good. A bar is no place for a woman all by herself at night."

I chuckle, "No truer words spoken."

As I sit and finish up my food, I sense that Momma has a lot on her mind as she fidgets with the gold chain around her neck and stares blankly out the window. I don't say anything else to her, but she eventually breaks the ice, "So, what do you and Nate have planned today?" She asks. 

"Well, we are heading out here in about half an hour to his family's house in Shreveport. He's supposed to pick me up, and we are riding together." 

"Sounds like fun," she responds.  

I begin to fidget awkwardly in my seat as she says that. Fun? Not really fun... I mean, his family is great. His little sister, Lola, and I get along really well. Nate is the one that I dread being around. This relationship has really hit a dead-end for me, but I feel like today would not be the day to end things with him. He's so rude to me when nobody is around. It's like he gets pleasure from doing it while saving face. He has my whole family fooled, even my brother, which I thought it was impossible to fool him. Nope, he has this whole thing figured out, "Thanks for breakfast, Momma. I'm going to go lie down until Nate calls me."

"Alright, dear," she responds as she sips on her coffee.

I quickly get up and place my plate and cup into the dishwasher before heading back to my room to lie down for a little bit. About twenty minutes later, my phone vibrates. I reach over to pick it up, "Hello?" I answer. 

"Hey Maggs, you about ready to head out?" Nate asks. 

"Sure. You on your way?" 

"Yep, see ya soon." 

"See ya," I respond before disconnecting the call.

I roll out of bed, gather my purse, the bag full of presents for him and his family, with the container full of dulce de leche bars that I made. They always want me to make a cheesecake, but I just didn't have the time to get it done since I worked so much. I tote everything into the living room and sit on the sofa to wait for him to pull up. A few minutes later, he pulls up in his Blazer and honks his horn.  I kiss Momma goodbye before hauling everything out to his car.

The moment I open the passenger side door, I curl my lip in disgust; it smells like an ashtray! God, I hate that he smokes; it's so hard to kiss him sometimes. I try to be discreet and roll down the window to get some fresh air, but he's on to me, "Let me guess, the smoke is bothering you? The one who works at a bar?" He asks sarcastically. 

"You know I don't like the smell," I quietly mumble. 

He chuckles, "Well, sorry about your luck. This is my car, my rules." 

I roll my eyes as I put my seatbelt on, "Hey, no arguments there." 

He backs out of the driveway and takes off down the road, en route for Shreveport. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, I reach down and flip the radio off the station. He immediately knocks my hand away. "Why did you do that? I like that song!" 

A look of shock crosses my face, "I umm..." I begin to say.

"You have no business changing the radio station! That is something that only I get to do in my car!" He growls. 

"Like you never changed the radio station in my car without asking me?" I ask curiously. 

"Hey, you decided to let me. I never said I would return the favor. Your music sucks anyway."

God! What a jerk! I cross my arms in front of me and pout while gazing out the window as he flips that hideous alternative rock music back on. This trip will be the longest trip of my life. This is the reason why I question our relationship. It's Nate's way or no way, and I'm sick of it!

We make the nearly five-hour trip without speaking more than five words to each other. I don't even ask him to stop, so I can stretch my legs or use the restroom. Finally, we pull up in the drive to his parent's house. Jesus, based on how our car ride has gone, I can tell you this will be loads of fun... Not!