Fat Fridays (22 page)

“We’ve ordered pizza for later.” Betsy pulled a bottle of red wine out of Karen’s bag and held up a container of juice. “The lemonade is for Tiffany.”

“Good thing Beau is away at a golf tournament with his father or I never would have been able to make it,” Tiffany said. “What’s going on, Sukie? You’ll have to tell us everything.”

“Let’s see what we’ve got to eat.” Lynn lifted a large bowl of salad out of one of the bags. “This is the only healthy thing we brought.”

“M-m-m-m, chocolate chip cookies,” Tiffany said, looking into another bag. “Maybe I’ll allow myself to have one.”

Betsy frowned. “One? How about two? Here, hand two to me. I’ll break them in half. There. Remember, a broken cookie is half the calories.”

They all laughed.

Sukie’s spirits lifted as she set out plates and bowls for the cheese and crackers, pretzels, cookies, chips and salsa they’d brought with them.

“Looks good,” said Lynn, eying the food. “It’s what I call going on a junket.”

Sukie smiled at Lynn’s play on words, amazed by Lynn’s resilience in face of the constant fear under which she lived. Seeing her friends gathered in the kitchen to cheer her up, Sukie went to each one and hugged them close.

The evening was still warm. Twilight had yet to fill the sky. They carried food and drinks out to the patio, pulled chairs into a circle around the table and sat like chattering teens at a hen party.

Carol Ann waved her hand in the air to catch everyone’s attention. “Sukie, you weren’t at lunch to hear about my date with John last weekend.” She gave Sukie a triumphant look. “I think he’s
the one
. His condo is beautiful and he says he wants me to think about moving in with him. He knows I’m saving money for a house but says we could get a good deal on this condo. A doctor bought it for an investment but wants out.”

Betsy and Sukie exchanged worried glances. 

“Isn’t he moving awfully fast?” Sukie said.

Carol Ann’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. She clasped her hands together, joyfully. “He says he loves me. Really loves me.”

At the suddenness of Carol Ann’s plans with someone who’d once hit her, Sukie wasn’t sure what to say. But then she’d already proved to herself and everyone else that she had no ability to judge men.

At the silence in the group, Carol Ann’s brows formed a vee. “Why can’t y’all be happy for me? This is what I’ve wanted all my life.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” said Lynn. “There are a lot of bastards out there. Believe me, I know all about them. If it weren’t for all of you looking out for me, I would have moved. I’ve never been able to stay in one place too long.”

“No word, no inkling of trouble?” Betsy said.

Lynn shook her head. “Not yet. The minute I hear or feel like he’s near, y’all be the first to know. You and the sheriff.”

Sukie hid a shiver. The fear of Lynn’s ex showing up haunted them all. Just yesterday, a man, a stranger to her, had stared at Sukie as she got out of her car at the grocery store. Her heart froze to a stop. It wasn’t until another woman got into a truck with him and drove away that Sukie was able to take a calming breath.

Now, she turned to Betsy. “Did you and Karen have a good time in New York?”

Betsy grinned. “It was great. Karen won the trip as part of a radio promotion by the local Smooth Jazz station. It included everything—our hotel room, meals, a tour through Radio City Music Hall and tickets to a show.” She glanced at Karen, her expression soft with fondness. “We had such a special time together.”

Sukie observed the affection between Betsy and Karen and smiled.

Carol Ann wagged a teasing finger at Betsy. “I saw the way you smiled at Karen, Betsy. Better be careful! People might start to talk.”

Betsy’s cheeks turned white, then bright red.

Karen looked down.

Sukie sucked in her breath and waited for Betsy to say something. As far as she knew, Betsy hadn’t mentioned a word to the others about her relationship with Karen.

“Omigod!” Carol Ann’s eyes rounded. “You two?”

“Don’t look so worried,” Tiffany said to Betsy. She smiled at the two of them. “If you two are happy together, it’s more than most couples have.” She turned to Carol Ann. “Stop acting so shocked. Who are you to judge?”

“Who are you to act so high and mighty?” Carol Ann shot back. “You’ve got it all—a rich husband, his famous family, fancy cars, a big diamond, everything.”

“It might not be everything,” Sukie interjected, hoping to stop a fight before it got nasty.

“What do you mean by that?” Carol Ann glared at Sukie.

All eyes turned to Sukie. She glanced at Tiffany.

“What she means,” Tiffany said, “is that I live with a man I’ve grown to despise. He and his family dictate how I’m going to live, what I should look like, everything. They even want me to continue to dye my hair blond so I’ll fit into their all American image. The one thing they haven’t made me do yet is quit my job. That’ll happen when the baby is born, so they’re not pushing it. Then I’m to be given enough time to recover from this baby girl so I can make a boy for them.” Tiffany’s lips trembled.

Total quiet descended.

“That’s called abuse.” Lynn’s lips twisted into a grimace. “It don’t have to be physical, ya know. If he controls your movements, calls you stupid and other names, and tells you what you can and cannot do, it’s abuse. Sound familiar, Tiffany?”

Tiffany’s eyes filled. She nodded. “That’s exactly what it’s like. His mother and father are part of it, too. I’d never even be here with y’all if Beau wasn’t away.”

As if on cue, Tiffany’s cell phone rang. She glanced at it. “It’s him.”

“Better get it.” Lynn’s voice held urgency. “Keep his suspicions at bay. We’ll all be quiet.”

Tiffany rose and walked away from the group, phone to her ear.

“I had no idea,” Carol Ann whispered. “Did you, Sukie?”

Sukie nodded. “Some. It’s not good, especially when it’s all said and done in a smooth, sophisticated way. Strangers wouldn’t suspect it’s so bad. Image is everything to the family and Tiffany has been told she’s not to let anyone else know anything about the family situation.”

“We have to be there for her, help her in any way we can.” Betsy studied each one of them in turn. “Right?”

“I’m there,” Sukie said.

“Me, too.” Carol Ann looked sheepish.

“You bet your ass.” Lynn flexed her fingers as if she wanted to punch someone out. Studying the ferocious look on her face, Sukie suspected Lynn could do just that. It gave Sukie some comfort to know Lynn was so strong.

“I had a friend in the same kind of situation,” said Karen. “We have to be very careful not to make circumstances worse for her than they already are.”

Tiffany returned to the circle. “Beau doesn’t know I’m here. I told him I was sitting outside on the patio at home which is why I didn’t hear the home phone ring. But I can’t stay too late.”

Betsy checked her watch. “Well, let’s make the time count. Our pizza should be here soon.”

“So, Sukie, are you going to tell us about you and Cam?” Carol Ann asked.

It seemed like a good time to get it all out in the open. Sukie held nothing back. She told them how her children had reacted to the relationship, Ted’s objections, the gossip she’d overheard from women in the neighborhood, her encounter with Debbi, and Edythe Aynsley’s threats to her job.

“The final blow was when Cam referred to me as a babysitter with privileges. That really hurt. So I’ve ended it. It just seemed like the sensible thing to do.” Sukie’s stomach knotted at the memory of his car roaring down the street, away from her.

“Whoa,” said Tiffany. “Don’t you think you might have made a mistake? Cam was teasing about the babysitter bit, wasn’t he?”

“I don’t think so. He’s eight years younger than I am...”

“Pooh!” said Karen. “Age means nothing when you reach a certain point. You started having children early and he’s a little late. So what?”

“There’s got to be more than that going on with you,” said Betsy.

Sukie reached inside for some deeper answers. “I guess the real issue is that I can’t believe he’d want me when he could have his pick of anyone. And my children are upset by the idea, more so than I would’ve guessed. I can’t do anything to destroy my relationship with them.”

“I know what you mean,” Betsy commiserated. “Richie moved in with me for a few days while he and Sarah were fighting, but he couldn’t wait to leave when I finally told him about Karen and me.”

Karen shook her head. “I tried to tell her not to discuss it with him, not while he had so many problems of his own to work out.”

“Richie took it all wrong, told me I’d destroyed the memory of his father and that he wasn’t sure he could ever forgive me.” Betsy took a tissue from her pocket and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry, Sukie. Here we are, come together to cheer you up, and we’ve all ending up crying or coming close to it.”

Sukie took hold of Betsy’s hand. “Isn’t that what friends are for? Sharing laughter and tears?” She turned to the others. “We have to stay together and be strong. For each one of us. Right?”

The other women nodded.

Betsy put away her tissue and gave them a devilish grin. “Strong? It reminds me of a quote from Judith Viorst. ‘Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands—and then eat just one of the pieces.’”

Laughter spilled out over the patio. Sukie passed the chocolate chip cookies.

The doorbell rang and Sukie left to get the pizza. Tiffany joined her.

“I’m glad I have you alone for a minute,” Tiffany said. “Beau wondered if you could come to dinner tomorrow. His father is going to take us out and he wanted you to join us. Muffy is away again.”

Sukie’s lips parted in surprise. “You’re kidding. Why would he want me to come? To fill in for Her Highness while she’s away? I don’t think so. Besides, I’ve already promised Rob and Madeleine I’d have dinner with them.”

Tiffany looked miserable. “I told him I didn’t think you could do it, but Beau made me promise to ask you. I think his father likes you.”

Sukie took a deep breath. She wanted to help Tiffany, but there was no way she wanted to be more involved with Beau’s family. Sukie placed a hand on Tiffany’s shoulder. “Call me or come here anytime you want. Any of us would be glad to help you.”

Tiffany nodded. “I know. I don’t know what I’d do without you and our Fat Fridays group.”

Sukie’s mind stayed on that thought as she and Tiffany worked in the kitchen and prepared to call the others inside. Fat Fridays, which had begun as a way to celebrate the end of the work week, had become so much more that. The women had formed a real support group for each other. Though they were of different ages and backgrounds, each of them would do whatever was necessary to help the others.

It was good their relationships had deepened to this extent, thought Sukie. She had the uneasy feeling more heartache lay ahead. 

C
arol Ann left the party at Sukie’s and made her way home. Pulling up to her parent’s small, run-down house, she parked in the driveway and studied it with dismay. If everything worked out the way she hoped, she’d soon be out of there.

Fisting her hands, Carol Ann vowed not to give up on her dreams. She’d prove to the women in Fat Fridays she was no moron, that she could move forward with her life with a man who loved her. Frustration gnawed at her. The other women sometimes treated her as if she were a baby. But she wasn’t one. Not anymore.

She hadn’t told the other women about the way John talked dirty to her or the way he liked to make love—fast and furious. Even now, just thinking of it, her pulse raced. He was the first guy who’d ever told her that he loved her. She’d been even more flattered when he told her that he wanted to live together.

A sense of pride filled her. John was ambitious and wanted nice things. Like her. He’d told Carol Ann that he had everything planned out. They’d use her money for a down payment on the condo. In a few years, they’d sell the condo and move up to a house like Sukie’s. Maybe someday they’d even join the country club and play tennis and golf. Carol Ann could hardly wait. It would be a far cry from the life of her parents. 

Longing for the day when she could leave, Carol Ann went inside the house and tiptoed past the living room, hoping to get to her room without anyone hearing her. She’d just reached her bedroom door when her mother appeared in the hallway.

“That you, Carol Ann? You be quiet now, hear?”

Carol Ann clenched her jaw and bit back a nasty remark. Her Daddy had taken a stick to her when she’d sassed her mother as a child. Carol Ann had never forgotten the sting of it. She sighed. She was still that child to them. Nothing in their house ever changed. She couldn’t even make it safely to her room without having her mother spy on her.

Though she wanted to slam the door in her mother’s face, Carol Ann said softly, “Goodnight, Mama.”

“G
oodbye. Thanks for the ride.”

Hoping to appear nonchalant, Lynn climbed out of Betsy’s car and glanced around, searching for the figure that haunted her dreams. It seemed so unfair to be forced to live life this way. Her ex should have been jailed for years and years for all he’d tried to do to her child, her body, her soul.

“Go ahead inside, Lynn. We’ll wait for your signal before we leave.” Betsy waved Lynn toward the door.

Lynn lifted her hand in farewell, stole another quick glance around her and hurried inside the apartment building. She’d purposely chosen an apartment on the third floor, thinking it would give her more options to escape should she spy the bastard she’d like to see dead.

She stood inside her small apartment, keeping the door behind her unlocked until she had a sense that she was alone. Then locking the door, she crossed the living room and turned on the light next to the couch. She flicked it on and off several times to let the other women know she was safe inside.

Taking off her clothes, she wondered at the size of them, remembering when she’d been young and thin and happy, thinking she could build a better life than she’d known growing up in her small hometown in Iowa. Vain, her mother had called her. Glancing at herself in the mirror and turning away, Lynn knew she had no real reason to be vain any longer. She looked older than her years. Heartache had changed her face into a duplicate of her mother’s – lined and hollowed out by the life she seemed unable to escape.