Free Fridays (12 page)

“It's not that. We just, something came up and we need to go,” Leela said.

The waitress looked back and forth between her and Riley. She seemed very disappointed about the change in plans. She leaned in closer to Leela, “Listen. I'm real sorry about all of this. I could see if my manager would be willing to knock something off the price. You know, because of the wait,” she offered.

Leela raised a hand to stop her. “Seriously, it's okay. We really
do need to go. Thank you for the offer, but we'll just take it to go; it's no big deal.”

Reluctantly, the waitress turned, and left without another word.

“Leela, I'm not talking about a free for all. I'm not even suggesting an open marriage.”

“Then what were you thinking?” she asked. Leela could hardly mask her disdain as she looked at him. She noticed everything: his occasional eye twitch, his stone-faced stare that she figured were supposed to make her scared and back down. The man was more of a fool than she'd realized.

“I was thinking maybe one Friday out of each month, we get a free pass to do whatever. Maybe you want to go hang out with your girl and not constantly have to worry about getting back home. I'm not thinking about my wife screwing another man; that's not where I was going with this. It's one day out of a month for freedom. We can do something different together, or we can do something apart. No questions asked, no strings attached, no worry, no fuss. It ain't like I'm trying to go be with another woman. I guess I'm looking around at marriages that keep falling apart, and I don't want it to happen to us; that's it. Don't give it another thought. I don't want you doing anything that makes you uncomfortable. That's not what the idea was all about,” he said.

The way his wife looked at him made Riley very uncomfortable. He was still the man of their house and the truth of the matter was, if he thought something was good for their marriage or their household, she was supposed to be on board, few if any questions asked, period.

He'd let her have her moment. All the loud talking, swiveling her neck and shit she knew he'd never stand for, was becoming a bit much, but he'd give her a pass—this time.

•  •  •

Later, at home, Leela paid close attention to the way she and Riley moved around the house. She had lost her appetite, but Riley wanted to eat his food.

“I'm gonna take it downstairs. I wanna watch the game,” he said. He behaved like nothing had happened.

“Okay. Cool. I could use a relaxing bath,” Leela commented. As her husband prepared to walk out of the kitchen with his dinner from the restaurant, he stopped and turned to her.

“Listen, I love you, Babe. I'm serious when I tell you I don't want an open marriage. I just didn't want us to end up like our best friends or worst; look at your grandparents. We don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Oh, and about that party. I had no idea what it was until Bill dragged me there. It was no biggie, just one of those novelty parties that's popping up everywhere these days. And, I didn't hook up with anyone there.”

He held a straight face as he talked, but she wasn't sure she believed him. Leela had issues of her own, and there were other thoughts that kept her mind racing.

Was Samantha on to something with her new views on marriage? She and Riley had both changed over the course of their marriage. He wasn't the same man she had fallen in love with. She understood that couples could grow apart, but she didn't buy his explanation about the free Friday suggestion for a second. Maybe he was simply trying to give himself a way out. What if he'd been cheating all along like Bill, and feared getting caught?

The tub was calling her name, and she wanted nothing more than a tall glass of wine and a long phone call with Samantha about the evening's events. But she had become very cognizant of talking to Samantha while Riley was home. There were a couple of times she caught him listening to her conversation.

She never confronted him about it. She knew he'd deny it and
it would lead to a major argument, but she was aware for a fact he had done it.

When it happened the first time, she didn't make much of it. But the second and third time, she told herself to limit the calls and topics she discussed with Samantha while Riley was in the house.

“See, if it was Free Fridays, you wouldn't have any problems,” she muttered aloud. She had to laugh at her little joke.

As she climbed the steps, she felt her cell phone vibrate. It was at the bottom of her purse, so it would have to wait.

Immediately, she began to remove her clothes. She needed to relax and clear her head. Was Riley saying their marriage was in trouble and he thought he was sending her a lifeline?

On her side of the bed, once she dug her cell phone out, she realized the missed call was from her mother. Upon closer inspection, she noticed there were several missed calls. Instantly, Leela began to panic. She hoped nothing had happened to Big Mama or her grandfather.

With trembling fingers, she called her mother back. A shiver rippled through her as she listened to the phone ring in her ear. What was taking Linda so long to answer? Leela sighed hard.

“Hey, what's up? I see a few missed calls from you.”

“Where the hell have you been?!” Linda screamed.

Leela's heart sank immediately. Panic flushed through her veins and flooded her nervous system.

“Big Mama was admitted to the hospital. I've been trying to get you for hours! Damn, Leela.”

Leela felt like crap. “Oh my…where is…what happened?” She was frazzled. She couldn't focus on her ringing phone because her husband was filling her head with a bunch of bull, and here her grandmother was in the damn hospital.

“Okay, okay. I'm on my way. Where are you? What happened?”
Leela asked. She glanced around the room and tried to locate the clothes she had taken off.

“She fell. We're at Memorial Hermann, the Medical Center, not the one off I-10.”

“Did you call Pah-pah?”

“What the hell would I do that for?” Linda asked. “I don't ever want to see that sick bastard until he's lying in a pine wooden box. And even then, I wouldn't break my neck to go say good-bye.”

Leela sighed hard and ended the call with her mother. She quickly threw on some clothes, grabbed her purse and keys and left the bedroom. It wasn't until she strode to the front door and pulled it open that Riley's voice stopped her.

“Where's the fire?”

“My mom called. It's Big Mama; she's in the hospital. She fell,” Leela stammered.

“And you was just gonna storm outta here without telling me? Leela, what the hell has gotten into you?” he asked.

Riley snatched the keys from her shaking hands. Reflex caused her to flinch as if she might react, but she stopped herself. She couldn't stop shaking.

“You're not in any condition to drive. Where are we going?” he asked.

“Memorial Hermann.”

His take-control attitude and actions already made her feel better. He'd been right; she was in no condition to drive and should've told him about what had happened, but after that conversation at the restaurant, and they went their separate ways once at home, she wasn't sure how she should feel about her husband.

Inside the car, Leela turned to Riley. “Would you mind if we picked up my grandfather?”

“What kind of question is that?”

Leela quickly dialed his number and brought him up to speed. As she suspected, her grandfather was desperate to be by Big Mama's side. She didn't know how she'd get past her mother, but she felt it was the right thing to do.

When Riley pulled up outside of her grandfather's building, she confided in him that her mother would be pissed. Riley reached over and stroked her hand.

“Linda will get over it, 'cause when all is said and done, this ain't about her,” he said. “Now hurry up so we can get over to the hospital. I'll deal with Linda if she starts tripping.”

S
everal days after Big Mama was released from the hospital something had changed in Leela's mother and Leela didn't know what to make of it. As she listened to Linda on the phone, she wondered what her mother was going through. Linda was always good at telling other people how to solve their problems, but she rarely talked about her own.

Growing up, Leela protected herself from her mother's erratic behavior by imagining herself being any place but there with Linda. Leela's older sister, Leslie, went away to college at the age of seventeen, and stayed away. Over the years, her visits slowed tremendously until they dwindled to a major holiday-only phone call.

“How far away are you?” Linda asked. “I'm less than ten minutes away.”

“I'm closer. So don't make a move until I get there,” Leela said.

“Okay. Well, hurry. We need to get this taken care of like yesterday.”

Leela ended the call and looked over at Riley. “Thank you for helping us with this.”

“You ain't gotta thank me for supporting you. We're a team, and I'm the captain of the team. That's what I'm supposed to do.”

They pulled into the parking lot of Leela's grandfather's assisted-living complex and got out of the car. A few minutes later, Linda pulled up, parked, and got out of her car.

“Oh, smart move to bring Riley,” she said to Leela. “How you doing, Ry?”

“Hey!”

All heads turned to Bill who jogged to catch up to the group.

“Sorry I'm late; what's up, Linda?” Bill said. He leaned over and pecked her cheek.

“Aeeey, Bill; long time no see. How are you?”

“I'm good, Linda. Good to see you. You doing okay?”

“I am now,” Linda said.

Leela looked at Riley. The expression on her face was one of skepticism. She wanted to hurry up because it seemed like Linda was in a friendly mood, and that was rare.

“Listen, we don't know what to expect up there and if things get outta hand, I wanted to make sure I had enough backup,” Riley explained.

•  •  •

Once organized, the four of them walked into the building and up to the registration desk. The building smelled like Bengay and Epsom salt. Leela wasn't sure how much she could stomach considering all that was going on.

“Hi, we're here to see the manager. I'm Linda Bishop.”

Leela and Riley stood off to the side.

“Yes, our director, Mrs. Shirley Williams, has been expecting you,” the receptionist said.

Leela followed behind her mother into a small office. Shirley was a hefty woman with brunette hair and blue eyes. She was friendly and greeted the group with a massive smile.

“Linda. I'm glad you guys called when you did. We didn't want to have to kick your father out, and we felt like something wasn't right, but he's such a private man, we didn't know how to help him.”

“I understand, and thanks for letting us know. He doesn't know what's about to happen, but when we're done, no one else should have access to his apartment. If we move him to one of the lower levels closer to the common areas, that might help,” Leela said.

“Okay, so do you guys want to call the police or do you think the building security is adequate?” Shirley asked.

“Oh. We're good. Let's go,” Riley said, as he motioned in Bill's direction.

The women looked at each other, then followed behind Riley and Bill. They felt better knowing the men were there.

Outside her grandfather's door, Leela insisted they knock first.

“I don't want him to feel like we're just bursting in and making all these changes,” she said. “We still have to respect his privacy.”

Linda rolled her eyes, but didn't put up a fight.

Slowly, the door creaked open and Darnell peeked out. He didn't open the door completely and tried to pull it in front of his body as he stood and talked.

“Ah. What the hell you want now?!” he yelled at Leela.

Riley pushed the door open wider and they all marched in.

“Get yo' shit and get up outta here. I don't give a damn where you go, but you can't stay here anymore!” Linda yelled.

Darnell looked around as if he was considering whether he was truly outnumbered. When he eyed Bill and Riley, he seemed to retreat a bit.

Leela rushed to her grandfather's side. He eased up from the sofa and looked disoriented.

“Pah-pah, it's okay. We're here to move you to another apartment. We don't want you to stay here anymore.”

When it looked like Darnell wasn't going to move, Riley stepped forward and said, “So, Bruh, where's your stuff? Is it back there? You need some help or what?”

Darnell's narrowed eyes traveled up and down Riley's frame. It wasn't hard to tell what he might have been thinking, but when Riley stepped forward, grabbed his arm and led him toward the bedroom, he didn't resist. Bill was hot on their trail.

Once the bedroom door opened, Linda balked.

“What the hell is all these people doing up in here? Y'all all livin' up in my daddy's apartment?!” she yelled.

“He my daddy, too,” Darnell muttered.

“Your free ride is over. You, yo mama, yo sister, and everybody else! The gravy train has dried up! Y'all don' drained my daddy of every penny he had. Get the hell out!”

This was a nightmare. Leela knew there was no way she wanted to end up like her grandparents, or even Samantha and Bill for that matter.

As Linda carried on and made threats of arrests, Leela prayed Darnell and his entourage would do the right thing.

“
Y
ou should do it!” Samantha's eyes were wide and her entire face came alive as she sat across from Leela in the family room.

Riley was out of town on business, so Leela had invited Samantha to visit a few days. It was like the old days. They were spending time together, laughing, sharing good tea and enjoying it.