Fat Fridays (12 page)

As Sukie was gathering her papers Cam appeared at her side.

“How are you doing?” His voice was low and melodious.

“Uh, just fine,” she mumbled, aware Edythe was heading their way.

Edythe held out her hand to Cam. “Cameron, I’m pleased you’ve taken such an interest in the library. We need young men like you to help us old matrons out. Don’t we, Sukie?” Her smile was venomous.

Speechless, Sukie stared at her.

Edythe straightened her shoulders and moved away, calling to another board member to wait for her. 

“I think she froze you with that look of hers,” Cam whispered.

Sukie nodded, alarmed by Edythe’s hostility towards her.

Julie hurried over to them. “What happened with Edythe? She looked ready to strike out at someone. Edythe Aynsley is someone to watch, Sukie. She can be very destructive. I suspect she might be a little jealous of you. I just hope she doesn’t ruin your chances here.”

“Jealous of me? Why?”

“For a lot of reasons, Sukie,” Cam said. The “you-are-so-hot” look he gave her made her believe he might be right. Any woman alive would want a man to gaze at her like that.

###

A
fter all the board members had left and things were quiet in the library, Julie came over to Sukie’s desk. “Sukie? Can we talk?”

Sukie nodded, and braced herself for bad news. 

Julie pulled up one of the kid-sized chairs. Her body folded upon itself, knees on chest, as she took a seat, but there was nothing childish about her worried expression or her troubled sigh. 

“I’m sorry to have to even bring this up, but I just got a call from Edythe. She noticed the attention Cam was giving you and wanted me to warn you that as the children’s librarian you have a special obligation to behave in a seemly way. Those were her words, not mine.”

Sukie felt her body sag. “Why is she doing this to me?”

Julie looked off into space and began to play with the thin silver bracelets on her left wrist. Their tinkling sounds broke the ominous silence between them.

“Edythe hasn’t been happy for a long time. She married a man much older than herself, thinking, I suspect, that her days would be happy because Arthur Aynsley was a very wealthy man. It didn’t turn out that way. He left her for another woman. An older one. All of Atlanta was aghast at the news. Edythe moved to what they called their country home up here in the northern suburbs and has become our voice of society, if you can call it that. She’s a bitter, angry woman.”

“And obviously hates me,” Sukie added, wishing she’d never met the woman.

Julie gave her a thoughtful look. “So, do you and Cam have something going?”

Sukie stared at Julie with confusion, wondering what to say.

Julie waved her hand in dismissal. “Don’t answer that. It’s none of my business. But you know what a small town this is. Even though we’re growing by leaps and bounds, it stays a small town in many ways. It pays to be careful.”

After Julie left her, Sukie’s mind raced. She and Cam hadn’t even gone out yet and it was already causing all sorts of trouble for her because of the age difference. She’d thought that kind of thinking had long since disappeared. It was the twenty-first century, for God’s sake!

Drained of all energy, Sukie drove home from work, still upset by the day’s events. She was a private person, used to successfully fulfilling every task, but she had the uneasy feeling that she’d have to fight for both her privacy and respect. 

At home Sukie poured herself a glass of red wine and took a seat at the kitchen table, trying for perspective as she reflected on the day. For a moment she wondered if she should cancel computer classes with Cam, then reminded herself of the bigger picture. She needed training. And the way things were going at the library, she’d better prepare for a different job. Edythe Aynsley was a formidable woman. Her maliciousness was already at work.

Sukie checked voice mail and listened to a message from Mr. Prescott’s bank. Ted, it seemed, had not paid the mortgage as promised. Furious, Sukie called him at the office. He answered with a crisp hello.

“Ted? It’s Sukie. I received a phone call from the bank regarding the mortgage payment. Haven’t you paid it yet?”

“Sukie, we’re going to have to rethink our agreement,” Ted said in an irritating tone he’d used on their children when they were especially rambunctious. “With a baby coming, I’ve got new family responsibilities.” His tone was smug.

Sukie gritted her teeth. “But you and I agreed...”

“That was before I knew about the baby. Emmy Lou says we can’t stay in the condo, that it isn’t big enough. I was thinking maybe we could make a trade...you know, even though we’d agreed to something different...”

“A trade? This house for your condo? You’ve got to be kidding!” Sukie realized he wasn’t kidding at all; he was that dense. “Pay the mortgage, Ted, or I’ll see you back in court.”

Rocked to the core, Sukie slammed down the phone. It had taken a much shorter time for Ted to back out of what he’d promised her than she’d thought. She’d fight him on it, of course. She had to. This house was hers in every sense of the word. She was the one who had cared for it, nurtured her family inside it and now needed the familiarity of it to make the other transitions in her life more tolerable as she worked to become an independent woman able to survive on her own.

Though she was no longer hungry, Sukie made herself eat a cup of soup before class. Taking computer courses was just one way she’d prepare herself for the uncertain future.

###

C
am looked up from his paperwork and smiled at her when she hurried into computer class. Sukie’s spirits lifted. Throughout the class, she listened carefully to him as he went over some of the finer points of various programs.

“Next week, we’ll go over some extra things you can do on the computer to make your life a whole lot simpler,” he announced at the end of the session.

Sukie gathered her materials together, grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

“Sukie? Wait!” Cam called. “I need to ask you something.”

Puzzled, she stopped. The two other women remaining in class glanced his way and hurried out of the room.

Cam grinned at her. “I have to entertain a businessman and his wife from out of town on Friday. I was wondering if you’d join us for dinner.”

A date?
Sukie wanted to say yes, she really did, but she knew it would be better for her, for him, for them, if she didn’t.

His smile faded. “What’s the matter?”

“Edythe Aynsley called Julie after the board meeting and asked her to warn me about unseemly behavior, as she called it. Ted is trying to back out of our spousal agreement, and I can’t do anything to jeopardize my job.” She hated the way tears stung her eyes.

Cam’s look of sympathy soothed her. “A bad day, huh? That Aynsley woman needs to be shaken. I told you, Sukie, she’s jealous of you.”

“Yes, but...”

“You’re not serious about letting her dictate how you spend your time, are you?” His voice held a hint of disapproval.

An inner debate began in her head. Even in those few moments they’d had together, he’d made her feel whole in a way she’d never known. The idea of their being together was crazy and yet so wonderful. Confused, she covered her cheeks with her hands.

Cam tilted her chin and stared into her eyes, silently seeking permission. Then his lips covered hers with a sureness that made it seem undeniably right. Desire swept through Sukie.

When they pulled apart, Cam’s lips spread. “Like I said last night, let’s see where this takes us. We’ll take it one step at a time, beginning now. What do you say? Will you go with me on Friday?”

Sukie drew a deep breath. This wasn’t really a true date. She’d be with other people. It was just dinner. A business dinner. Right?

T
iffany lay in bed, miserable. She’d thrown up until there was nothing left inside her. She pulled the silky gold covers of their king-sized bed up to her neck. No way could she consider going to work, even if it meant she’d miss the Fat Fridays lunch.

She’d been reading that raging hormones could make you think crazy thoughts, but Tiffany swore every time she raced to the bathroom to barf, Beau looked proud and happy. It made her want to scream at him. She rubbed her belly in slow circles and asked herself how any teeny, tiny baby could make her feel so sick.

Beau poked his head through the bedroom doorway. “You take care of our son while I’m at work.”

Tiffany groaned. His parents had gone nuts when he’d told them about the baby. They’d immediately declared it had to be a boy to carry on the family name. It made her feel woozy to even think of it. If the baby was a girl, she’d have to face their disappointment.

Again.

Beau went off to his job at the law firm of McDonough and Stiles—a job his Dad had landed for him. A job he hated.

Tiffany rolled over and closed her eyes, relieved to be left alone in the bed her in-laws had given them. Her thoughts drifted as she lay there. She rubbed her belly from time to time, telling herself she felt fine, that things would work out.

At the clicking sound of the front door being unlocked, Tiffany froze. Her heart pounding so hard she grew light-headed, she sat up. The cleaning lady wasn’t due until Monday. Was it Lynn’s ex? Would he attack her like he’d done to Lynn and their daughter?

Tiffany rose on shaking legs, tiptoed to the top of the stairs and peered over the railing. Ready to call 911, she gripped her cell phone.

Shit!
Her mother-in-law was heading up the winding staircase, carrying two large plastic bags.

“What are
you
doing here?” Tiffany asked, furious at the intrusion.

Muffy jumped guiltily.

Seeing the look of fright on the face of Beau’s mother, Tiffany couldn’t help the sense of satisfaction that filled her. It served Muffy right for coming in unannounced.

“What am I doing here? I might ask the same of you,” said Muffy, all composed once more. She stared at the old tee shirt of Beau’s that Tiffany had worn to bed and sniffed. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work? Is everything all right with
our
baby?”

Trying to control her irritation, Tiffany shrugged. She hated it when Muffy said
our
baby, as if she’d been the one throwing up. “I didn’t get much sleep last night so I decided to take the day off. I still feel sick.” 

“Oh, pooh, Tiffany, it’s just part of the process.” Muffy moved past her and set the bags down on the hall carpet. “When you hold that little boy in your arms, it will all seem worth it.”

“It might be a girl...” Tiffany began.

“Nonsense.” Muffy waved a hand in dismissal. “Not in this family. I don’t even want such a thought mentioned aloud. Regard needs to know there’ll be Wright men following in his footsteps. When you come from a prominent family like his, it’s very important to know the family name will go forward.”

At Muffy’s words, Tiffany’s stomach churned. But she’d be damned if she’d throw up in front of her. “What’s in the bags?”

Muffy gave her a sly smile. “I ordered a whole set of towels with the Wright monogram on them. Black lettering on white terry. I detest colored towels, don’t you?”

“But...but I just bought towels to match the bedspread I picked out. Dark green won’t show dirt and besides...”

Muffy picked up the bags and marched into the master bath.

Tiffany watched helplessly from the bathroom doorway as Muffy took the green towels from their racks and threw them down on the floor. “Let’s see how these new ones look. Beau knows he can’t get away with wiping unclean hands on a white towel. That’s how I trained him to wash up correctly.”

Tiffany turned on her heel and climbed back into bed, too tired to fight her mother-in-law. It was always like this.

Muffy came into the room and stood over her. “This morning sickness of yours should be over soon. I suggest you get up and get going before long. Be ready for Beau when he comes home tonight. A man needs to come home to a clean house and an attractive wife or he’ll end up not coming home at all.”

Tiffany blinked in surprise. Did Muffy really believe all that ‘50’s bullshit? In today’s world, it was so old-fashioned, it was laughable. And whose fault was it that she was in this wretched condition? Didn’t Muffy get that?

Muffy waved. “Okay, dear. I’ve done my good deed for the day. I’m off to a luncheon with a friend and then Regard and I are going to meet our favorite senator for dinner in Atlanta. Give Beau all my love. And don’t dawdle in bed too long.”

She left, and Tiffany curled up in a ball, wondering how her life had gotten so out of control. She didn’t even know who she was anymore.

S
ukie arrived at Anthony’s restaurant shortly after noon and wove her way through the noisy lunchtime crowd to the back booth where Betsy, Carol Ann and Lynn sat chatting. 

“Hi,” she said, sliding into the booth next to Betsy. “Where’s Tiffany?”

“She called in sick.” Betsy gave her a worried look. “That poor girl has gone through hell with this baby.”

Sukie clucked her tongue. She wished there was more they could do for Tiffany.

“Here’s the waitress,” said Lynn. “We’d better order. We’re running late.”

As soon as they’d all ordered the special—chicken and goat cheese ravioli and side orders of garden salads - Carol Ann launched into the latest responses to her online dating post. She made everyone laugh when she told about the date with a guy who’d posted a picture of his handsome roommate instead of himself.

Carol Ann turned to Sukie with shining eyes. “Guess what! There’s a new guy at work, a consultant named Cameron Taylor. He’s a total looker. I keep trying to come up with excuses to deliver mail to his office, anything to get his attention, but he mostly ignores me. All the women are crazy for him. There’s a rumor racing through the office that he’s got some hot date this weekend.” 

“Yeah. His date must be gorgeous, because like Carol Ann says, this guy is something else,” Betsy said.