Free Fridays (18 page)

It was a message from Malone and it was sweet and short.

I MISS YOU!

Leela looked around. She didn't dare respond to Malone's text message. She was just glad her husband still hadn't returned from the concession area.

There was no denying that she was now officially doing wrong. She thought about how put-out she was when Riley first presented the idea of Free Fridays. Now, she felt herself counting down the weeks and days until the next month.

It didn't help that Samantha seemed to do everything she could to help Malone. Leela thought about the conversation she'd had with Samantha just before she'd left Samantha's place.

“I can't be here. I can't be alone like this with him. I can't do this,” Leela said in a panicky voice. Her adrenaline raced as she moved around the room, scared but excited. She needed to get her stuff together and get home before her husband sent out an official search party.

Samantha giggled like they were schoolgirls enjoying the sweetest joke.

“Listen, I wasn't supposed to say anything, but the guys are trying to plan a trip for us next month,” Samantha said once her giggles subsided. She threw up her arms in mock defense. “Hold up; hold up before you start going all ballistic; we're planning it around the next Free Friday. That way you won't be acting all holy and stuff,” she said.

Leela froze. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers. Her mouth slowly fell open, until it nearly hit the floor. She couldn't believe her ears.

“Before you go all ham on me, it wasn't my idea,” Samantha defended.

“Have you heard anything I've said? Are you even listening to me?” Leela asked.

Samantha shrugged. “What?”

“Sam! I am married! I can't just run off with you, Malone and Kent! We are not kids on a double-date!”

“Girl, please! Why are you tripping? I said we're planning it around your next Free Friday.” Samantha shrugged again. “Can you imagine what Riley is doing during his free time? And if he's with Bill, Girl, please!”

For a moment, Leela stood and watched her friend. She didn't understand why Samantha behaved like they were back in their college days. Although they didn't know each other then, that was the last time that Leela had thrown caution to the wind and behaved as irrationally as Samantha was suggesting.

Samantha danced around the room. “Girl, Malone is totally feeling you. All he does is talk about you. I'm just glad you guys found each other, because he is so sweet!”

Leela looked on as Samantha talked about the trip and how much fun they were going to have.

Suddenly, Samantha stopped and looked at Leela. She twisted her face and said, “Somebody, please, call the Pope, because apparently, we have a saint!” She said it in the most dramatic way, before she opened the door and walked out.

“Babe!”

“Babe!” Riley's loud whisper interrupted Leela's thoughts. She jumped up and helped him by grabbing some of the snacks he struggled to balance in his hands.

“Sorry,” Leela said.

“What were you doing? Daydreaming?” he asked, as he settled into the seat next to her.

“Shhhhh,” said Leela as she stuffed her mouth with popcorn.

She knew for a fact that her husband didn't want to know what she had been daydreaming about. Even as the movie started, she thought about how pissed her husband had been with her lately.

“I don't want you hanging out with her! It's just that simple,” Riley had said.

Leela wasn't ready for a fight. She needed a shower so she could wash Malone off of her skin. While the soap would help with that, she couldn't think of anything that would get him out of her system.

Once things settled down with Riley over the amount of time she'd been spending with Samantha, they agreed they needed some time together.

That was where the movie came in. But for the life of her, Leela couldn't keep her mind on the movie, Riley, or their marriage.

•  •  •

Days later, Riley was still puzzled by the sudden deterioration of his home life. He grabbed the cell phone and answered before it rang for a second time.

“I just want to see you,” the whining voice said.

Riley rolled his eyes as he listened to Natasha begging on his cell phone. He felt anxious, but the anxiety had nothing to do with Natasha. He hadn't changed his position on her. It didn't matter how many times he told her there could be nothing more between them, Natasha wouldn't let up. A part of him admired her persistence, although he'd never tell her that. Riley knew any compliment or positive comment would be like a green light, telling her it was okay to keep up the pursuit.

“Hey look, I can't talk to you about this right now,” he said, with one eye on the door. His voice was low as he approached the master bedroom.

“Why not? I really need to see you. Can you get away for about an hour?” she asked.

The desperation in her voice made Riley curious, but he had bigger issues than Natasha. His mind was fixed on whether he had made a major mistake with his wife.

“No, I can't. Hey, listen, I'ma have to holler back at you at another time.”

“But, Riley,” he heard her voice say as he moved to end the call.

What was going on over at Samantha's? Why did Leela need to spend so much time over there? Could Bill have been right all along? Was he too blind to see what was happening literally underneath his nose?

Riley shook the thoughts from his head. He was second-guessing himself at every turn and it was driving him crazy. He stepped into the bedroom and heard the shower running.

Quietly, he moved across the room and picked up Leela's cell phone. Instinct told him to put it down. But he reminded himself that as the man of the house, everything in it technically belonged to him. It wasn't an invasion of her privacy. And just as he was about to lay it back down, it vibrated. A text message came through; it was from Mary.

I hope everything is good with your grandmother.

Riley put the phone down. Mary must've been a co-worker or something, although he couldn't be sure. This mess was driving him crazy. Free Fridays was supposed to save the marriage, not turn him into a crazy detective who snooped around on his wife out of fear she was cheating.

Riley was doing something he'd never thought was possible and it chilled him to his core.

He was losing control.

L
eela strolled through the busy, crowded restaurant. Aromas from seafood dishes, fried appetizers, and fruity cocktails mixed in the air and tingled her senses, as she made her way toward the table near a large window. She was meeting her mother and grandmother for a late lunch, and while her stomach growled a bit with every step she took, there was another emotion that was more overpowering.

It was the Thursday before the next Free Friday and Leela couldn't calm her excitement.

“Big Mama, you look so good; I'm glad to see you're feeling better,” Leela said as she approached the table.

Her grandmother stood, and the two hugged and kissed. The minute her grandmother took her seat, Linda chimed in. “Umph. Ask her why she's suddenly glowing all over the place,” she snarled.

“Cut it out,” Big Mama said to Linda and swatted at her arm playfully.

Leela looked between the two, a bit uneasy; she wasn't sure what she should say.

“I don't care why you look great. I'm just glad you're out of the hospital and you're starting to look like the Big Mama I've known all my life,” Leela said with genuine excitement, as she pulled out a chair and took a seat.

“This is all your fault, you know,” Linda added.

Leela whipped her head in her mother's direction and frowned.
“My fault? What did I do?” The confusion on her face was hard to ignore.

“You brought that loser to the hospital and ever since, those two have been two peas joined at the hip,” Linda said. She motioned toward Big Mama.

Before Leela could respond, Big Mama spoke up.

“Linda, I don't expect you to ever forget what your father did. It was wrong. It ended our marriage, and I will never forget, but you must forgive him. If you can't do it for me, Honey, do it for yourself. You've got to free yourself of the extra baggage and the energy you devote to it.”

“I can't. I will always hate him. I can't even stomach the fact that you can look at him even though you know that he's a lowdown cheating dog,” she said.

Big Mama reached over and touched Linda's hand. “But, Sweetie, that's what I'm trying to tell you. No one is saying you should forget what happened; I don't think any of us can. But if you carry around all of that hate, it's going to destroy you. He didn't do that to you; he never broke the vow of being your father. He provided for you, was there emotionally and you never went to sleep hungry or in fear; he's still your father.”

“I guess you agree with her, huh?” Linda said, as she motioned toward Leela.

Leela shrugged. “I kinda do. I'm still mad and hurt over it all. But that's their issue, not ours. Besides, I'm glad we got Pah-pah away from those leeches. I know what he did was wrong, but I guess I kinda felt like that's between him and Big Mama, and if she's able to move past it, I think we should too.”

Despite what she said, Leela felt like such a huge fraud. How could anyone turn to her for moral advice? There were days she literally feared being struck down by lightning.

“Oh! I forgot. Why would I expect someone who's taking part
in some open marriage mess to agree that when you take a vow, it should mean you don't carry on a secret life with another lover,” Linda said sarcastically.

Leela sat dumbfounded. Warm embarrassment quickly washed over her as she searched for the words to throw back at her mother.

When Big Mama's eyebrows knitted in confusion, Leela wanted to reach across the table and smack her own mother. But she knew better. Instead, she sat and quietly wished she could vanish right where she sat.

Leela simply went through the motions over lunch. Her mind was filled with comments her mother had made when she'd first turned to her for advice about Free Fridays. Now, after she had all but suggested her daughter use an open mind approach, she ridiculed her choice? Leela fumed as she sat there. Thank God she had already confessed it all to her grandmother.

Leela was pissed at Linda, but she was determined not to ruin lunch. For the first time in a very long while, that part of her life was beginning to look like she remembered it. Now if only she could find the happy medium and pull her home life into something similar, she might be able to make it.

•  •  •

A worrying thought entered Leela's head as the liquid burned what felt like a fiery trail down her throat. She was fucked up! There was no other way to put it. All that was missing was the blurry vision and the slurred speech.

“No more for me!” Leela managed the minute her voice came back. But her eyes were still watering as she tried to fight off the effects of the alcohol.

“Fucky, fuck!” Samantha stammered. “You are such a lightweight! What's that, three rounds?”

Leela sighed and turned her blurry eyes to her friend and partner
in crime. “Uh, excuse you! That's three rounds of shots on top of three top-shelf margaritas!”

“What's taking them so long?” she asked.

Samantha shrugged and drained her glass.

“But we're just getting started. It's Free Friday! It's Free Friday,” Samantha sang and wiggled in her seat. The way her arms flared in the air and the number of eyes that took notice told Leela she should brace herself for an interesting evening.

“Hey, their next round is on me,” a man said, as he slid close to the bar and stood in the space behind Samantha.

He was tall and husky. He wasn't fat, but it looked like he'd allowed his once muscular body to slip away.

“Oh, I'm good. No more for me,” Leela quickly volunteered, then hiccupped.

“What about you, Thickness? Lemme buy you a drink, since Slim over there can't hang,” he said.

“Oh nah, Playboy, we got this,” another voice said.

Leela looked up to see Malone and Kent approach. Malone walked up and kissed Leela full on the mouth. He even slipped her a little tongue, which she accepted, as if it was the most natural thing to do.

The other man looked back and forth between Samantha and Kent as if he didn't understand. But when Samantha turned her full attention to Kent, the man eased away from the spot behind her and made his way to the other end of the bar.

“Can't leave the two of you alone for a few minutes, huh?” Kent said, as he summoned the bartender.

“What can I get for you?” the bartender asked.

Kent looked around, then said, “Give me Herradura Tequila with lemon juice on the rocks.” He looked over at Leela and Malone. “What y'all drinking over there, Bruh?”

Malone turned and said, “I'll take a beer, but my girl says she needs water.”

“Water? What? It's still early. She going on water already?” Kent asked.

“Lightweight,” Samantha added. “Baby, I wanna try your drink.”

As they talked, Malone's words swam around in her head.

“My girl says she needs water!”

When did she become
his
girl? She was very married, but when he kissed her on the mouth, Leela didn't resist. Suddenly, she eased closer to him and snuggled up as if doing so was another natural thing to do.

Everything happened so quickly. From the hotel lobby bar to the room with a view, Leela's head was spinning. She wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol or the sheer adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Behind closed doors, Malone wore a sly grin, and his eyes were ablaze with lust as he hovered over Leela. When his mouth covered hers, she shivered with excitement and raw intensity. By the time she came up for air, she painstakingly groaned his name.