Free Fridays (11 page)

“I'm sorry. I've got so much going on these days. I've gotta figure out a way to get these people out of my grandfather's house, and at home—” Leela stopped speaking abruptly.

Samantha's face twisted in confusion. “And at home what?” she asked.

“What's a ‘no-spouse' party?” Leela suddenly asked.

A wicked grin stretched across Samantha's face and mischief danced in her eyes. “Why you ask?” Samantha leaned in close. “This guy I went out with a few weeks ago told me about it. Oooh, did someone invite you to one? I think it started up on social media sites, but I was like, it's a pretty cool idea.”

“What is it?” Leela asked. She couldn't hide the irritation in her voice. “I mean, I've heard of companies that have a no-spouse rule for their holiday parties, but we're nowhere close to the holidays.”

“Girl, it's a party where someone from your past invites you to come without your spouse so y'all can hook up,” Samantha said. When her eyes looked away, Leela could tell Samantha's level of interest had wavered since she didn't know what the party was all about.

“Like, to cheat?” Leela asked. Her stomach felt like it was tied in a dozen knots. Worry invaded her features. Only then did Samantha's focus return to her.

“Oh, wait a minute. Not you, did somebody invite Riley to one?” Samantha pursed her lips and leaned back a bit. “Umph.”

“So, you're trying to tell me people invite their exes to a party so they can cheat? What kind of foolishness is that?”

“I'm trying to tell you, Leela. Marriage ain't what it used to be. Honey, if you ask me, soon, we're gonna see people start to change the definition of what's considered a successful marriage.”

Leela frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Who says you have to be married 'til death do you part?”

“Uh, your vows; God,” Leela answered.

“Do you know how many people are not religious these days? Think how marriage has changed over time. People get married in a drive-through window or they go downtown. Same sex marriages are now legal. And people have already altered vows to pick and choose what they want to include. When was the last time you heard a woman say she'd obey her husband?”

“And what does all of that have to do with anything?” Leela asked. She had already started to dismiss Samantha and whatever point she was trying to make.

“No, hear me out. All I'm saying is this. Just because a marriage
ends in divorce, it doesn't mean it wasn't successful. I'm not talking about Big Mama and your grandfather. I still don't get that one; after fifty-two years, y'all should just hang in there. But what I'm talking about is cases where after five, maybe seven or even ten years, the couple has developed into different people and maybe want different things out of life. Why shouldn't they go their separate ways and call it a day?” Samantha put up her hand to stop Leela from interjecting. “Besides, once sex hits the A-B-C stage, it's really time to do something different.”

Leela's eyebrows bunched together as she listened to Samantha. It was obvious Samantha had given this lots of thought.

“You know, ABC sex, where you only do it on anniversaries, birthdays and Christmas!” Samantha said. “Of course, none of this applies if you have kids; that would complicate things. But if it's just two adults who still have some love for each other, but they feel they've done all they could together, it seems very appropriate to me that they should be able to move on,” she added. “The thrill is gone; the challenge no longer exists; and they've stunted each other's growth. Why stick it out?”

“Umm. Yeeaaah, what you're talking about, that's called dating,” Leela said.

Samantha rolled her eyes and picked up her menu. “Closed minds stay stuck,” she muttered.

“I'm far from close-minded,” Leela defended. “But call me what you want. When I took those vows, I didn't take them for five, seven or ten years, and I took them knowing that this was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. What's the point if you can just switch every five years?” Leela looked down at her nail bed. “Besides, I put up with a lot. All wives do. Do you know how many nights I don't get a wink of sleep? It's three in the freakin' morning and Ry gets a bad case of restless dick syndrome!” Leela
rolled her eyes dramatically. “It's exhausting, but it is what it is; you do what you gotta do, until there's a pill for that!”

Following Samantha's lead, Leela picked up her own menu. Her mind was supposed to be focused on food and drink choices, but it was stuck on the “no spouse” party and Samantha's suggestion for how the institution of marriage needed to be updated to fit the times and a restless generation.

“I have a very open mind,” Leela huffed.

“You are missing my point.”

“No. I think you've explained it very well. You want to change the institution of marriage and turn it into registered dating.”

“That's not what I said. And I don't have to explain it to you. But look all around you, Leela. Marriage is not what it used to be. We continue to evolve as a people. We change as we evolve. Why do I have to be considered a failure because I've outgrown my spouse? Why can't I simply find someone else who shares my new interests? Or better yet, why can't I have sex with another man who turns me on? I think people are afraid to publically embrace what I'm saying, but in private, or even when they're among like-minded people, their actions prove they agree.”

Leela had moved on. She didn't even respond as she perused the menu for possible options. But, as she prepared for dinner with Samantha, there was no way she could have known just how soon she'd be put to the test.

•  •  •

The splash of cold water woke his senses and felt good against his skin, but nothing could really fix what was wrong. The reflection that stared back at him in the mirror was one of a man he hardly recognized.

Riddled with guilt, Riley told himself he needed to move on emotionally. He was a man after all, and a real man is built to
handle the difficult and meet challenges head-on. He hadn't responded to any of the suggestive text messages from Natasha and when she sent him an MP3 of the song
Heels On
by Lady Saw, he purposely didn't listen to it, at first.

Startled at the sound of her voice, Riley jumped at the question.

“That's an interesting song, the lyrics,” Leela said as she leaned against the sink. “Where'd you hear it?”

Riley's eyebrows elevated slightly. He used a fluffy hand towel to dry his face. “Oh, that?”

“Yeah, I've never heard it before. Kinda raunchy if you ask me,” Leela said. “I can't even picture you listening to music like that,” Leela added, wrinkling her nose.

“Music like what? Reggae?”

Riley knew he needed to play it cool. What did she care which songs he listened to during his alone time? What the hell was she doing in the bathroom while he showered anyway?

“We haven't listened to Reggae since our trip to Jamaica, or was it the Bahamas? Either way, it's just odd to hear you listening to this. And, the lyrics are so graphic. They're just not you.”

Riley struggled to hide his frustration. He raised his right arm and ran the stick of deodorant under it. The lyrics were him more than ever. He tried to tell himself it wasn't fair that he was looking for a reason to find something wrong with Leela.

A sense of relief washed over him when the song went off. It looked like his wife was about to leave. Then suddenly, she turned and said, “Another graphic song? What's up with you lately?”

“Nothing. What are you talking about? Damn! It's music,” Riley snapped.

The look Leela gave him made him think she suspected there was more to it, but he knew his wife well enough to know she didn't want to go there with him.

When Leela walked out of the bathroom, he felt relieved. She
had no business questioning him about his music, or anything else for that matter. What difference did it make which music he chose to listen to?

•  •  •

Natasha would like the song. She was different from Leela. Natasha liked what he liked, she did what he said, and if she thought it would make him happy, she'd do it. No one was perfect. Just like Leela, Natasha had her faults, but more and more, Riley felt her open-minded approach to anything he wanted, had Leela beat—hands down.

Leela wasn't too headstrong, but there were times when she behaved like she had forgotten that he was in charge and that what he said was the rule of the house.

In the beginning, he loved the fact that Leela looked up to him and always looked to him for the right answer. He wanted his wife to feel like she could count on him.

Lately, she'd been working his nerves. He was frustrated, and her constant nagging didn't help. Riley released a heavy breath when she finally walked out of the bathroom for good.

He continued to listen to his music and think about everything he should've done with Natasha.

Dressed and ready to go, he stopped and looked at his reflection one last time. As he caught a final glimpse of himself, he decided it was time to present the idea to Leela.

He still loved her; he wanted their marriage to work, but he knew that unless they took action, unless they did something drastic, they were headed for disaster. After all, he was already flirting with it.

L
eela's eyes held a hint of alarm. She struggled to contain the sheer disgust and fury that was brewing deep inside and threatening to explode into all-out rage. Her husband must've fallen somewhere and bumped his head really hard.

As she listened, she blinked a few times and bit down on her bottom lip. What she really wanted to do was go upside her husband's head and knock some good sense into his ignorant behind. One good hard blow; that would do the trick.

“Are you guys doing okay over here?” The waitress smiled as she looked down on them. Leela didn't even notice as she approached. One minute her husband's words were flapping around in her head like trapped birds struggling to get out of a cage; the next the waitress was at the table.

“Yeah. We're good,” Riley quickly said.

“Okay, well, your food will be here soon, and I'll be back to check on you guys.” She smiled, shook her strawberry-colored hair, then turned and walked toward another table.

“Think about what I'm saying,” Riley said, the moment they were alone again. “It's the only way we're gonna make it.” He stared at her.

Leela listened carefully to everything he said and did her best to push away the heavy feeling in her heart. There was no way she could hit him in public; there would be many witnesses. Domestic violence charges worked both ways now.

She didn't realize he was finished with his plan until he sat wide-eyed and waited. His expression was anxious.

“Just so I understand you,” Leela began, “you want me to agree to an open marriage?” Her arched eyebrows crawled up her forehead. “And so that means we're still married, because that's what you want. But you also want to be able to screw other women. And let me guess, this all came to you after you met with one of those women at a no-spouse party, and you two hooked up. And I suppose the trip down memory lane was so good, that she's decided she wanted to keep seeing you? So, the two of you put your heads together and finally figured out a way to allow you to have both me and her. Now you bring me to this fancy restaurant to roll out your new plan like I'm supposed to get up and give you a round of applause?”

Leela was so pissed, she wanted to douse Riley with every liquid she could find, then flip the table over so it would land on top of him. Thereafter, she'd strut out of there.

“Leela, you serious? Why you trippin' right now?” Riley asked. He glanced around the crowded restaurant. “I thought you agreed to have an open mind.”

She chuckled and stared at him for a second. “Then after all of that, you ask me whether I'm serious? Like I'm the one with the fucking problem? You ask whether I'm serious?” she huffed.

Riley looked around the restaurant again, this time more nervously than before. The only thing he hated more than PDA was people who argued or fought in public. He couldn't believe his wife was about to behave like some untrained ghetto girl.

“You really thought that shit was gonna fly with me?” she asked through tight lips.

Leela noticed his left eye begin to twitch, but she refused to let up. “Oh, and this new arrangement of yours, am I able to fuck
anyone I want, too, or just you? I mean, I need to know
all
the rules,” she spat out.

“You really need to check yourself right now,” Riley warned. His face was void of any expression when he spoke. He hoped she was picking up on clues designed to help her. She knew good and well that he didn't play this kind of game.

Leela frowned. “You cannot be serious.” She shook her head in sheer disgust. “I can't believe this was your brilliant idea on how we can pump fresh new energy into our marriage,” Leela said. “And I need to check
myself?”
she asked. Her voice was laced with repulsion. She used a finger to stab at her own chest as she emphasized the words that flew from her mouth.

Riley cleared his throat. His eyes darted from the left to the right, and he took in their surroundings. From what he could tell, no one was concerned about the near-ruckus that was unfolding at his table. He looked at his wife like he really didn't understand her reaction.

Suddenly, the waitress was back. “Okay, I just checked and your food should be here in the next ten minutes.”

“Can we get it to go instead?” Leela asked.

Riley never looked at the waitress.

“To go? Is everything okay? I know it seems like it's taking a bit longer—” The waitress's green eyes expanded to double their size.