Fat Fridays (23 page)

“Men,” she uttered with disgust. Her father hadn’t threatened to kill the family but he’d destroyed it anyway, with his drinking.

Sighing for what she couldn’t change, Lynn put on her nightgown and slid into bed. From the bedside table, she picked up the photograph of a young girl with dark curls and sparkling brown eyes.

Lynn’s eyes filled as she stared at the picture. She pressed her lips to the glass.

“Someday, Baby Girl, Momma is going to see you again.”

B
etsy pulled into her driveway, pushed the button on the garage door opener and drove the car inside the garage. She sometimes felt as if she and Karen were playing parts in a mystery television series. In order to keep her affair with Karen quiet, they’d ended up sneaking around like international spies, entering and exiting her home, cloaked in secrecy, hoping no one would see them.

The garage door closed behind them. Karen opened the car door and climbed out. Betsy followed suit, and they went inside.

Lingering in the kitchen, Karen turned to her. “So how do you think it went, Betsy? The women in the Fat Fridays group seemed to accept us.”

A sense of pride filled Betsy. “Sukie thought everyone would be fine with it. I’m so glad they were.”

“Me, too.” Karen threw her arm around Betsy’s shoulder.  “It’s a good group.”

Betsy nodded. “I wish Sarah and Richie would feel the same way about us. What am I going to do if Richie doesn’t come around?” Her eyes filled.

Karen gave her a steady look, then, drew her close. “I don’t know about Sarah, but, Betsy, Richie is your son. I think he’ll come around.”

“I hope so.” Betsy gazed at the woman she loved, wondering how her life could be so mixed up. “Come on. Let’s get settled for the night. It’s been another long day.”

S
unday morning, the sound of the phone jarred Sukie awake. She checked caller ID. Elizabeth. Sukie sat up and grabbed the phone. “H..hello.” 

“Mom? I’m so sorry about what I said the other day,” Elizabeth exclaimed in a rush. “You’re right. You can live your life the way you want. I just don’t want you to get hurt. You know?”

Relief trailed through Sukie, leaving a warm path behind. Elizabeth hated confrontation as much as she did. “It’s all right, honey. It’s over. I’ve decided not to see Cam anymore.” Her voice caught on the last sentence.

“Damn. He hurt you, didn’t he?”

Sukie worked hard to downplay the pain she still felt. “I guess I was just a diversion for him. He’s fairly new in town...”

“Oh, Mom, I’m so sorry. Is there something I can do? I wish I could come home for a few days, be there for you.”

At the concern she heard in her daughter’s voice, her whole body softened. “That’s sweet, Elizabeth, but I’ll be all right.”

“Mom? I spoke to Dad and told him I knew the money for my tuition had already been set aside. He got really mad, but I wanted him to know he couldn’t hide that from me. He said it didn’t change things between you and him and he was going to talk to you about selling the house. Maybe I can help by getting a full scholarship for next year. I’m going to look into it.”

Working hard to keep from drawing Elizabeth into the battle between her and Ted, Sukie ground her teeth together. It was their fight—not Elizabeth’s. And Sukie intended to fight tough.

“Mom? I’ve gotta go. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Elizabeth.” Sukie hung up, proud of the strong young woman she’d raised.

Later in the day Sukie headed over to Rob and Madeleine’s house. It was a small, attractive brick ranch, much nicer than the first place she and Ted had owned when they’d started out. Madeleine had a flair for taking something simple, like a set of pillows, and dressing up a hand-me-down leather couch. Because of her, their first house was a real home.

Sukie loved her son. Almost twenty-five, Rob hoped to rise to partner in the large accounting firm where he worked. Though he looked a lot like his father, with the same hazel eyes, Rob’s curly brown hair came from her. Sukie liked to think Rob’s personality came from her, too—he’d turned out to be a nice, generous, thoughtful man. 

Sukie greeted Rob and Madeleine with heart-felt hugs and eagerly followed Madeleine upstairs to the baby’s room. Charming hand-painted nursery rhyme characters populated a yellow banner bordering the pale blue walls. A white wicker chest and white spindle crib sat waiting for the tiny baby Sukie and everyone else couldn’t wait to see.

“It’s adorable.” Gazing at the rocking chair, Sukie anticipated the day when she could finally hold her grandchild in her arms. “How many weeks left?”

Madeleine rubbed her bulging stomach. “The doctor thinks about six. I’m ready now, but he won’t induce labor unless it’s necessary.”

Sukie smiled affectionately at her. She turned to go, but Madeleine pulled her back.

“I’m sorry about you and Cameron Taylor. You sounded so happy when you began dating him. Ted is the one who got Rob riled up. It was really rotten of him to try to blame his job change on that sort of gossip.”

“What are you two talking about?” Rob said, joining them.

“Ted’s new position,” Madeleine answered.

Rob frowned. “When Citizens Fidelity and Trust bought out Williston Savings and Loan, Dad thought he’d naturally be made president of the new bank. Then Simon Prescott from Citizens interviewed him and mentioned he’d met you through the Library. Soon after, it was announced that Dad was to be transferred to the boonies to ‘help them achieve their growth objectives.’ He’s convinced he would’ve gotten the job of President if word wasn’t going around town about you dating a much younger man.”

Sukie’s nostrils flared with frustration. “Doesn’t your father understand that it was his own behavior that tipped the scales against him?” 

“Ted’s drinking could also have contributed to the decision,” added Madeleine.

Rob studied Sukie. “What happened to the two of you? Dad went crazy and so did you. I don’t know what to think about any of it.”

“If it will make you feel any better, I’m not dating Cam anymore.” Still hurting, Sukie swallowed hard.

“Sukie, you should be able to date anyone you want,” Madeleine said with conviction. “You can’t let narrow-minded people make that decision for you.”

“Right now, I’m worried about finances. Ted is trying to weasel his way out of paying Elizabeth’s tuition. He’s been telling her I’m going to have to sell the house.”

Madeleine snorted. “It’s Emmy Lou. She wants a new house on the lake, a new car and everything in the world for that baby. She’s furious you wouldn’t give her the cradle and we got it instead.”

Sukie’s pulse bubbled at the news. Emmy Lou was such a greedy witch.

“I don’t think Dad is all that happy with her,” Rob said. “He sure doesn’t act that way.”

Sukie didn’t really care if Ted Skidmore was happy or not. He’d ruined any chance of sympathy from her. Downstairs, she helped Madeleine put the meal together—pot roast and vegetables done the old-fashioned way in a Dutch oven.

Watching her son attack his food at dinner, Sukie said, “I’m going to make casseroles for you to freeze for when the baby comes.”

Rob’s eyes lit up. “How about some of your lemon chicken casserole?”

Pleased, Sukie grinned. By the time she left in the evening, Sukie felt in sync with Rob once more. Madeleine, bless her heart, would always stand by her.

Driving by the mailbox at the end of her driveway, Sukie remembered she hadn’t picked up the mail from Saturday. She parked the car in the garage and walked down to the mailbox, pausing to study the stars sparkling in the ebony sky. Somehow she’d work things out with Ted, but selling the house at this stage of the game was not going to be part of it. 

Sukie gathered the assortment of magazines, letters and ads from the mailbox. A folded piece of paper fell to the ground. She picked it up and tucked it in the stack of mail, her thoughts still on Ted and the house.

Sorting through the mail in the kitchen, Sukie came upon the folded paper. Thinking it was an ad for lawn services or perhaps a note from Betsy, she opened it and staggered back.

“
BITCH!
” in shocking, bold letters marched across the page.

Sukie’s stomach knotted like a tightened fist. Was it some kind of sick joke? Her jaw tightened. Had Ted gone completely off his rocker? Was he now resorting to this juvenile kind of retaliation? Her heart pumping overtime, Sukie held onto the edge of the kitchen counter. She punched in Ted’s cell number and tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for him to pick up.

“Yeah?”

All the fury Sukie felt over his shenanigans came pouring out of her. “What are you trying to prove, Ted? How could you leave me a slimy note like that?”

“What in hell are you talking about?”

“The note in the mailbox, the one with the word bitch scrawled on it. Are you that mad? That childish?”

“Whoa! You’ve got the wrong guy,” he snapped. “Stop blaming me for things I haven’t done. You know what, Sukie? That note says it all.” 

Sukie was too stunned to form words. If not Ted, then who else could hate her enough to leave a note like that?

“Goodnight,” she managed to say and hung up. 

Thinking of Lynn, she quickly phoned her. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, what’s happening? Did you see someone lurking around, someone suspicious?”

“No, nothing like that, just an ugly note in my mailbox. I thought it was Ted, but he said it wasn’t.”

“Do you think you should call the sheriff?”

“No, it’s probably the kids in the neighborhood. They’ve been acting up lately. Glad you’re fine. Talk to you tomorrow.”

Still upset, Sukie checked the lock on all the doors and sank onto a kitchen chair, racking her brain for clues as to who might have left the note for her. Cam wasn’t that kind of person. Certainly Edythe Aynsley wouldn’t do anything so common. But someone had. Who? 

Sukie left a kitchen light on and made her way upstairs, trying to convince herself that it was nothing more than a prank. A nasty one at that.

###

J
ulie greeted Sukie with a smile when she arrived at the library. “Some of the books you ordered arrived early this morning.”

“Great.” In addition to some of the old classics, she’d ordered some popular contemporary picture books. She sat at her desk and pulled out the preliminary report she’d written on Friday to present to the Board of Directors today.

The phone rang as Sukie finished editing the report. “Sukie? It’s Tiffany. I have to talk to you. I got into a big fight with my mother-in-law last night and I’m scared.”

“Scared? Why? Did she threaten you?”

“Not exactly. I told her to stop trying to control me. I said I was going to work as long as I could and I was going to continue to see my friends. She doesn’t like you, Sukie, or any of my friends. She said the Fat Fridays group was full of misfits. And, Sukie, she had all of you investigated by someone on Regard’s staff.”

“Wha-a-a-t? What right does she have to do that?” Sukie could well imagine the dirty kind of details any investigation like that could dig up.  And would it jeopardize Lynn?

“I’m sorry.” Tiffany’s voice ended in a sob. “They’re hateful people. I won’t drag you into my life any longer. I’ll resign from Fat Fridays.”

“Resign? No. You. Won’t.” No one, not even Muffy Wright was going to destroy the group Sukie had come to love. “You’ve got to make a stand, Tiffany. We’ll all help in any way we can.”

Tiffany sniffled. “Thanks. I was hoping you’d say that. Uh, oh! My boss just walked in the door. Gotta go.”

Sukie sat at her desk, outraged.

Julie dropped off a load of the new books on Sukie’s desk. “Anything wrong?”

Sukie shook her head. She needed time to digest what Tiffany had told her. She had nothing to hide, but the others might not feel so comfortable. Especially Lynn. And Betsy hadn’t come out to the community yet.

Still stewing about the situation, Sukie gathered her papers and headed into the conference room for the board meeting. If good fortune were with her, Edythe Aynsley wouldn’t be there. No such luck. Edythe’s strident voice could be heard all the way down the hallway.

Sukie took a seat at the conference table next to Julie, acknowledging smiles from everyone but Edythe, who managed to avoid meeting Sukie’s eye. At the proper time, Sukie gave the board members a brief summary of the activities she’d overseen in the last month, along with a financial summary of the money spent on new books. “Any questions?”

Edythe waved her fingers annoyingly. “As you are someone just temporarily filling in and without a degree in library science, I would certainly hope Julie oversaw the purchase of the books, and that you didn’t encourage her to buy any books about burping dogs and the like.”

Sukie’s temper reared its ugly head. “I believe you mean the book about
farting
dogs.”

Edythe’s bright red cheeks brought Sukie some satisfaction.

“As a matter of fact,” Sukie continued, amidst chuckling from others in the room, “that was one of the books we considered purchasing. Although it has been requested many times, Julie and I decided to postpone buying it because so many other books are also in demand. Any more questions?”

Edythe’s eyes bored into her the entire time Sukie responded to questions from members of the board. Sukie tried her best to ignore Edythe’s glares but antagonism rose from her like a poisonous green mist. 

After the meeting ended, and Sukie and Julie were alone in the conference room, Julie spoke quietly to her. “You’ve made a real enemy of Edythe. Be careful, Sukie. She wields a lot of influence in different circles.”

“Edythe’s never given me a chance to prove myself,” Sukie said, frustrated. “After seeing me with Cam, she made up her mind to get rid of me.” 

“You may be right, but you need the job and I need you.”

Sukie realized she’d been foolish to let her temper loose, but she’d felt so bombarded by so many people’s expectations lately that she’d been unable to hold back. 

“Speaking of Cam,” Julie said, “he’s offering to give money back to the people who took his computer class and lost out on the last two classes. He says he taught everyone the basics but he’d wanted to do more. It seems he’s been very busy, working weekends and traveling a lot.”