“I would be angry,” the officer admitted.

  “I’m trying to believe some good will ultimately prevail, but I’m at the point where I need to see something working in my favor. Does that make sense to you?”

  He nodded. “Makes perfect sense.” He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a file. “I made contact with the owner of the UPS Store, and he provided me with the home address of the person who was using the box. The problem I have is the owner of the apartment passed away last year, and his daughter can’t seem to locate the leases of prior tenants.”

  “So you’re saying she doesn’t live there anymore?” This was so frustrating, like chasing after a ghost.

  “Apparently there is another family in the apartment now, but the owner’s daughter does remember two roommates shared the apartment a few years ago. She is going to check the storage unit where they placed her father’s things to see if she can provide me with the lease agreements from the other tenants.”

  Evidently the wheels of justice moved slowly and ground to a halt when the paper trail ended. Lisa pulled one of her flyers out of her bag and handed it to Officer Roberts. “I lost my job over this credit fiasco, but not my will to do something positive for the people in our community.”

  Officer Roberts smiled as he took the flyer from her. “You’re running for city council. I think that’s awesome.” He stood. “Concentrate on the election, and let me run down the leads as they come in. I promise I will continue working on this case.”

  Lisa stood as well, shook his hand. “Thank you. I appreciate your hard work.”

  She had almost reached the door when Mike Barnes’ booming voice stopped her forward motion. “Hey there, Mrs. Lisa Coleman. What brings you down to the precinct? Are you reporting how badly I’m about to beat you in this special election?”

  “Hahaha.” He was so sure of himself it made Lisa want to beat him all the more. “You’ll be filing the report in twenty-eight days.”

  Holding on to his belt buckle as he leaned back on his heels, he said, “I know you’re not in here trying to hustle up votes. The boys in blue stick together.”

  “You’re not a police officer anymore, Barnes, and you don’t get to tell people what to do with their votes. That’s what democracy is all about.” She opened the precinct door and walked out.

  Lisa clenched her fists as she made her way back home. Barnes was too full of himself to care about the people in Bed-Stuy. But she did care. She would win this election. She couldn’t afford to lose.

  * * *

  Sitting at her desk, Dana was left stupefied by the ten-million-dollar check she was holding in her hand. The commercials had been a hit, and the grocery chain had sold out of her products and were requesting double their last order.

  What a difference a day makes, was all Dana could think as she pinched herself to make sure she was actually living this life and not dreaming it. She grew up so poor she never imagined what being rich would be like.

  She’d also been deceived by love in such a devastating way she never imagined she would find a man who was good and true. But now she was rich and in love with a man she was proud to call her own.

  There was a knock on the door. She put the check in her purse. “Come in.”

  Kim, her receptionist, entered carrying a brown paper bag. Dana still couldn’t believe she was running a business that required a receptionist, marketing team, and manufacturing team.

  “Lunch is here.” Kim put the bag on Dana’s desk.

  Dana rubbed her hands together. She was getting hungry and couldn’t wait to bite into the corned beef hero with sauerkraut. Mm-mm good. She opened the bag, pulled the hero out, and set it on her desk. Practically salivating as she unwrapped it, she picked the hero up and was about to take a bite when her belly did a flip-flop. The sour smell of the sauerkraut irritated her nostrils and assaulted her senses in such a way Dana grabbed hold of her mouth.

  She dropped the hero back on the desk, pushed her chair back, stood up, and ran out of her office toward the bathroom. Her hand was pushing the bathroom door open when the contents of her breakfast spilled out onto the floor.

  “Oh my goodness. What a mess,” she said once she stopped throwing up.

  Kim came running around the corner. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. I had a reaction to the smell of the sauerkraut.” Dana went into the bathroom and grabbed some paper towels. She came back into the hallway and started wiping up her mess.

  Kim said, “My mother told me she used to throw up at the smell of food when she was carrying me. She said she still can’t stand the smell of taco salad and refuses to eat one.”

  “Well, I’m not pregnant,” Dana told her as she put the paper towels in the trash. “I’ve only been married six weeks.” But as she grabbed some more paper towels and turned on the sink to wet them, she realized her cycle was late.

  She wiped the floor with the wet towels. Threw them away. Back in her office, Dana put the hero back in the bag, grabbed her purse, and then threw the sandwich in the trash. “I’m taking a break,” she told Kim as she walked out of the building.

  There was a drugstore a few blocks up. She went inside and purchased a pregnancy kit. On her way out of the store, she noticed a political flyer on top of the newspaper stand at the checkout counter.

  Lisa’s picture was on the flyer, but her last name was no longer Whitaker. Lisa Coleman was running for city council. Dana hadn’t seen her old friend since they were teenagers. Hadn’t wanted to see any of the gang from the old neighborhood after going to prison. Dana had been too ashamed. And Lisa had never accepted any of her collect calls or returned any of the letters she’d written. She put the flyer in her purse and went back to work.

  Dana took her pregnancy test into the bathroom and peed on the stick, then tapped her foot while she waited.

  They hadn’t been married long. Were they ready to start a family? She didn’t even know if Jeff wanted kids right now. But she was thirty-three . . . She wasn’t getting any younger. Would it really be a bad thing if she was pregnant?

  Her answer came in the shape of a plus sign. A smile spread across her face. Pregnant. She couldn’t concentrate the rest of the day. She ordered two steak dinners, then called Jeff and asked him to meet her at home.

  When she arrived at their apartment, she put the vase with the dozen red roses Jeff had given her this morning on the dining table, pulled out the china Jeff’s mom had given them when they returned from the Bahamas, and set the table.

  “Well, aren’t you being fancy today,” Jeff said as he took off his jacket and tie.

  “Only the best for you, baby.” She almost giggled as she said baby. She had to be careful—she didn’t want to give it away too soon. “Go take a shower, get out of your work clothes, and let me finish setting the table.”

  Jeff sniffed the air as he walked toward the bedroom. “It smells good in here. What are we celebrating?”

  “You hurry back before the food gets cold.” She put the medium-rare steaks, garlic mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies on their plates. A basket of rolls sat next to the roses. She then filled champagne glasses with nonalcoholic champagne she picked up on the way home.

  Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream was Jeff’s favorite dessert. She left the cake in the kitchen, along with the pregnancy test and the political flyer for Lisa, and put the ice cream in the freezer.

  Jeff strutted back into the dining room wearing a pair of tan slacks and a black polo shirt. The grin on his face was contagious. Dana turned away from him and sat down, trying to wipe the grin from her own face. “Well, husband, we’ve been married six weeks now. Do you have any regrets yet?”

  He shook his head. “Not a one.” He pointed to the roses. “Does it look like I have any regrets?”

  She grinned again. This morning had been special. He’d brought her breakfast in bed and then handed her the roses.

  She truly loved this man and couldn’t wait to be a parent with him. They ate their food as they talked about their day. Dana carefully omitted the most important part of her day. But when they finished the dinner, she went into the kitchen, took the ice cream out of the freezer, and put two heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream in their bowls. She then sliced two pieces of chocolate cake and placed them over the ice cream.

  As she headed back to the dining room with the dessert, she grabbed the flyer and the pregnancy test. Dana set Jeff’s bowl in front of him. She then sat down in her seat and slid the flyer with the pregnancy test beneath it over to Jeff.

  She took a spoonful of her cake with the ice cream, then casually said, “An old friend of mine is running for city council.”

  “Oh yeah?” He nodded his approval. “It always helps to have friends at city hall.”

  Dana pointed toward the flyer. “I’d like to support her campaign, but I don’t want her to know the money is coming from me. Would you mind taking care of this for me?”

  Jeff picked up the flyer. He looked it over. “How do you know her?”

  “We went to school together.”

  “Then I don’t get it.” He shrugged. “Why don’t you want her to know you’re donating to her campaign?”

  Dana lowered her eyes. “Our friendship got complicated.” Her lips twisted as she added, “This is a good moment for Lisa. I don’t want to get in the way.”

  “I get it, hon. I’ll make the donation.” Jeff placed the flyer back on the table. He was about to pick up his spoon to take another bite of his dessert when his eyes connected with the pregnancy test.

  He looked stuck, like he couldn’t move, so Dana got up, put the pregnancy test in her hand, and stood in front of Jeff with the plus sign showing.

  Jeff blinked and blinked and blinked. A tear rolled down his face. He looked up at Dana, questions in his eyes. “I’m going to be a daddy?”

  “Facts, baby, facts.” She tried to act nonchalant about it, but her face broke, and she was crying right with him.

  Jeff jumped out of his seat, picked Dana up, and swung her around. “I can’t believe it!” he kept saying. He kissed her lips as he put her feet back on the floor. “I love you so much!”

  “I love you too, babe.” Then she said the thing she hadn’t believed could ever happen for her. “We’re going to be happy, aren’t we?”

  Chapter 23

  “He wants a debate.” Lisa had come down to the basement apartment to visit with her father.

  “Who wants a debate?” David asked.

  “Mike Barnes, the oh-so-obnoxious one who thinks I should get out of this race because he deserves to be on the city council more than anyone else.”

  “Does he know you were on the debate team in high school and you and your team brought the trophy back to Boys and Girls High School?”

  “Obviously not.” Lisa balled her fists. “I want to beat him so bad.”

  “Careful, Lisa. Remember: vengeance belongs to the Lord.”

  “I know, Daddy, but he was so sure of himself when I saw him at the 79th Precinct a couple weeks ago. And the thing that really gets my blood to boiling is he isn’t even from Bed-Stuy. He grew up in New Jersey and moved over here when he became a police officer.”

  Her father shrugged. “Sometimes outsiders can see what a community needs better than the people who have been in it all of their lives.”

  Wagging a finger at her father, she said, “Whose side are you on? I mean, you did tell me I should run for city council.”

  He nodded. “I did, and I think you would be an asset. But others on the council will have ideas different from yours. I want you to be willing to listen. I want you to be a good leader.”

  This from the man who would yell and scream in church meetings when he didn’t get his way. Pastor Jonathan got so tired of her dad’s antics he tried to vote him off the deacon board. Her father had been saved by two votes. Lisa didn’t let him get away with his don’t-do-what-I-do-but-what-I-say comment. “Daddy, you never listened to anybody when you thought you were right about a matter at the church or at your store.”

  David looked at her with eyes full of the wisdom only age could bring. He said, “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. The chief of them being, I once thought I knew best about everything and wouldn’t listen to anyone.

  “My foolish ways cost me some friends.” He shook his head and grinned. “I’m thankful your mama put up with me until the end. But I think she always knew the good Lord would knock some sense into my head.”

  “And you think I need some sense knocked into my head now, is that it?”

  “All of God’s children need some sense knocked into them every now and then. I wish I had known that when I was younger. But I’m more settled now . . . I’ve learned to pray more and to listen for God’s soft answers.”

  * * *

  After speaking with her father, Lisa went home and helped Kennedy with her homework. She then practiced with John for the debate.

  “Daddy thinks I need to be humble about it, but I want to crush Barnes in this debate.”

  “Don’t worry—you’re going to smoke him. You’re really good at presenting your argument. Keep in mind the reason you want to be on the city council.”

  Lisa nodded. “I have a heart for the underprivileged kids in our neighborhoods. I want to make sure they have access to a quality education and access to after-school programs that will give them the tools they need for higher education.”

  John lifted a finger. “I know you have a heart for the kids, but what about the adults? What can you do for us?”

  “A lot of the Bed-Stuy residents are underemployed. I want to bring more job-training programs to the neighborhood . . . when one rises, we all rise.”

  Standing up from his spot on the sofa, John clapped. “You got this, Lisa. You got it.”

  Lisa pumped her fist in the air. “Yes!”

  They sat back on the sofa together. John took her hand in his. Hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Have you thought about what you’ll say if the credit issues come up during the debate?”

  With a catch of her breath, Lisa put a hand to her heart. “Do you really think someone would be so low? I mean, this is a local election. None of us have enough money to hire investigators to dig into the other candidate’s background.”

  John nodded. “You might be right, but let’s say the subject comes up. What will you say?”

  Lisa tapped her chin a few times. “I guess the only thing I can say is the truth . . . I am the victim of identity theft.”

  * * *

  Lisa prayed she had practiced enough to give the answers her constituents were looking for during the debate with Mike Barnes. The event was being televised on one of the local channels. Lisa doubted if many viewers would watch their debate, but she still put in the work.

  She and John walked into the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA and went into the area where the debate would be held. About a hundred chairs were set out for constituents. The podium and four chairs were at the front of the room. John took a seat in the audience, and she walked behind the podium.

  Besides herself and Mike Barnes, Shelly Devine and Art Stewart also were running for the city council seat being vacated by Councilman Brown. The four of them took their seats. The moderator sat behind a desk a few feet away from them. A microphone was connected to the desk, and he sat facing them. The moderator explained the format: each candidate would have an opportunity to make an opening statement, then the moderator would ask them questions and give them each two minutes to answer.

  Lisa knew this borough like she knew the back of her hand. She was confident she brought heart, skill, and know-how to the table. So when it was her turn at the podium to make her opening statement, Lisa stared out at the constituents in the room. Only half the chairs were filled, but she made sure to smile and greet them as if the room was wall-to-wall with people she knew and loved. “Some of you may know me from the years I worked at my father’s corner store. I may have bagged your groceries or even carried them to your home.

  “Through the years, I have worked at social services and tried my best to treat our people in this community with dignity. I’ve tutored some of your children and volunteered at homeless shelters or wherever I was needed. I’ve done all this for the love of Brooklyn. No other place in the world could lure me away. I was born in Bed-Stuy; I live, love, and work in Bed-Stuy. And that is why I believe I am the perfect person for the city council seat, and I hope you will give me your vote.”

  She sat back down and silently prayed the people heard her heart and believed she would be the best person for this position. But then Mike Barnes took to the podium and started bragging about having been a police officer. “Bedford Avenue, Halsey Street, Lewis Avenue, Fulton Street. I walked my beat on all these streets. I’ve gotten to know the people in this community during good and bad times. The people have talked to me about what works in Bed-Stuy and what doesn’t. I plan to take this knowledge with me to the city council if you cast your vote for me.”

  The moderator then asked the candidates the first question. “One of the main things members of the city council are charged with is creating a budget that reflects the needs of the community. How have your past experiences prepared you for doing such a thing?”

  Shelly walked to the podium and tried to make a joke with her response. “I can barely balance my checkbook, so I’m going to need help from the other council members. Hopefully someone good with math.”

  The constituents laughed as Shelly sat back down.

  Lisa stood behind the podium. She adjusted the microphone and said, “I balance the checkbook in my household, and I can promise you, the numbers come out right every month.”

  The constituents smiled and clapped.

  “But seriously,” Lisa continued. “Working on the budget for our community is simply about understanding the needs of our community. For one thing, we need an after-school program so our youth can receive help studying for their SATs or get tutoring on some of the subjects they don’t understand.