Fat Fridays

by Judith Keim

  “Shall we begin?” Sukie said to the restless children, and looked up to see Cameron approach, Chloe in hand.

  “Hi, Chloe! Come join us.” Sukie smiled at her, trying her best not to stare at the jeans that perfectly outlined Cameron’s trim, masculine, unmarried body.

  Chloe ran over to Sukie and sat next to her, fitting into the curve of Sukie’s side. Her light pink granny gown set off her pale curls.

  As she read a Dr. Seuss book, Sukie loved the sound of the words on her tongue. By the time Sukie ended the session with Goodnight, Moon, a number of children were all but asleep, their tousled hair a rainbow of colors and styles.

  Chloe climbed into Sukie’s lap and nestled against her chest. Sukie held her close, inhaling the clean smell of her shampoo. She continued to hold Chloe even as parents came to pick up their children and departed. Cameron was the last to appear.

  “Chloe? Ready to go?” He sounded out of breath, as if he’d been running.

  Chloe clung to Sukie and shook her head. “I want to stay here with Miss Sukie.”

  Sukie smiled at Cameron and rubbed Chloe’s back. “I think we both needed a hug tonight. I understand you two are alone.” Chloe’s eyelids fluttered sleepily, and closed.

  He nodded. “It’s always been that way.” He trailed a finger down Chloe’s cheek. “Her mother took off right after she was born,” he explained quietly.

  Sukie gently patted Chloe’s back. “That’s too bad. She’s such a beautiful child, and so sweet.”

  “Yeah, she is.” Tenderness softened the angles and planes of his face. He held out his arms.

  Sukie placed Chloe in them and felt a stab of emptiness.

  Chloe whimpered and settled in his embrace.

  Cameron’s blue gaze rested on Sukie. The yearning in his eyes sent a shiver of awareness dancing through her. Sukie looked away and back again, lost once more in his gaze. Damn! He was the sexiest man she’d ever met.

  Cameron cleared his throat, and stepped back, breaking the sexual tension between them. “Why don’t I wait for you to lock up so you don’t have to leave alone in the dark?”

  “Yes, that would be nice.” Sukie turned to get her purse, mortified by the fantasies that had crept into her normal, practical thoughts. It was as if divorce had brought out a different side of her or maybe it was realizing how shallow her marriage to Ted had become.

  Cameron followed her to her car and waited until she was safely inside it, before walking toward his SUV.

  Sukie opened her window. “Thanks, Cameron!”

  He turned back to her. “It’s Cam, and you’re welcome.” He paused and walked back to her. “I see how you are with Chloe. Is there a chance you could help me out occasionally? With babysitting?”

  Sukie swallowed hard. While she’d been fantasizing about his body and what he could do with it, making dreams of nothing, he’d been assessing her as a babysitter!

  “Sure,” she said, her voice hollow. “Give me a call sometime.”

  Sukie drove home, thinking she’d better pick up a romance novel. It was the only such excitement she was likely to experience in the coming months.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  SUKIE

  Waiting for the other women of Fat Fridays to arrive, Sukie set glasses, soft drinks, bottled water, and white wine on the kitchen counter and slid a chicken casserole in the oven. They’d all been excited to get her invitation for a casual get-together, and she was eager for the opportunity to get to know them better. They were such a diverse group.

  The women’s chatter outside her door signaled their arrival.

  Sukie ushered them inside. “Drinks are set up in the kitchen and the casserole is in the oven.”

  Everyone fixed themselves something to drink, and they congregated in the living room.

  Tiffany leaned back against the couch and let out a sigh. “I can’t stay long. Beau thinks I’m working late on a special project. Even though he’s out with his buddies, I shouldn’t push my luck.”

  “Why are you letting a man control you like that?” Lynn growled.

  Carol Ann shook her head. “Honestly, Lynn. Why are y’all so against men? Beau’s a doll!”

  “You’ve got your head in the sand, Carol Ann. No man is good enough to call all the shots,” Lynn sputtered.

  Tiffany said nothing, though her cheeks grew pink.

  “I don’t understand. Why do you feel so strongly?” Sukie asked. There was more than normal frustration in Lynn’s voice.

  Betsy winked. “It must be that mysterious past of hers.”

  “C’mon, spill,” said Tiffany, giving Lynn a smile of encouragement. “You’ve never told us about yourself, yet all of you know more about me than my own in-laws.”

  Lynn twitched uncomfortably in her seat. After a moment, she straightened with a look of resolve. “Okay. You want the truth?” She drew a quivering breath. Her eyes became pools of sadness. “I’m not Lynn Hodges. My real name is Grace Jamison.”

  “Wha-a-a-t!” Betsy’s shrill cry pierced the shocked silence.

  Sukie’s jaw fell. “What are you saying? Why would you change your name unless...”

  “You’re not wanted by the cops or anything like that, are you?” Carol Ann fell back against the couch, looking as if she’d been punched in the stomach.

  Tiffany’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What are you running from?”

  Sukie thought back to all the times Lynn had remained reticent about her past while the rest of them chatted away about anything and everything. It could mean so many things.

  “Ssh. You can’t tell anyone what I’ve just told you.” Lynn spoke in a tremulous whisper. “Nobody knows about my aliases. I couldn’t talk about it, you see. It might mean my death.” She twisted her hands in her lap.

  Sukie stared at Lynn with shock. Lynn had always remained aloof, unreachable, but now all her vulnerability showed.

  Betsy put an arm around Lynn. “You’d better tell us the whole story, hon.”

  Lynn had clutched her fingers together so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Now, tears flowed down her cheeks. “Six years ago, my ex-husband almost killed me and my daughter, Misty. She was only ten, but we survived.”

  Looks of horror distorted the faces of the other women in the room, mirroring Sukie’s repulsion.

  “Misty got away with some bruises and a few stitches, but he broke my arm as I was protecting her. He had a knife but I fought him for it.” She held up her hand. A scar ran along the side of it. “The other scars you can’t see.”

  Imagining the frightening scene, feeling the terror of it, Sukie struggled to breathe.

  Tears ran down Lynn’s cheeks, but no sound came out of her open mouth.

  Observing her, Sukie had the odd feeling this way of crying was something Lynn had done for a long time, the pain so deep inside her it could not emerge.

  “Oh, Lynn, what an awful, awful thing,” murmured Betsy.

  The pain on the faces of the other women told Sukie they were as upset as she. Sukie went to Lynn, handed her a napkin to dry her eyes and gave her a hug. “It’s okay, Lynn. We’re here for you.”

  Betsy, Carol Ann and Tiffany rose and hugged Lynn in turn, their faces ghostlike in their whiteness.

  “What happened to your ex? Did he go to jail?” Betsy asked, clearly distressed.

  Lynn nodded. “Yes, but they let him go after eighteen months. His lawyer claimed he’d been rehabilitated from his drug addiction and was no longer a threat to me or society. Fat fuckin’ chance. After he got out, he threatened to kill me and Misty, no matter how long it took or where we went.”

  “Why?” Sukie’s own eyes filled.

  Lynn stemmed a fresh flow of tears with the napkin and took a deep breath. “He was convinced Misty wasn’t his child. He thought I’d screwed around with a friend of ours while he was on the road, driving the truck. No matter how much I told him it wasn’t true, he wouldn’t believe me. He wouldn’t even believe a DNA test! The man he
accused of screwing me happened to drown in a nearby pond. I know damn well my ex had something to do with it, but I could never prove it. That’s when I took off with Misty. No matter what anybody else said, I knew the sick bastard wouldn’t give up until he’d killed us too.”

  “What happened to Misty?” Tiffany placed a protective hand over her stomach.

  It took Lynn a moment before she could speak. “I sent Misty to a distant cousin he didn’t know nothing about and took off on my own. I had to do something to keep her safe, you know?” Lynn blew her nose. “I just couldn’t let him get to her.”

  Sukie felt sick to her stomach. She thought about Elizabeth and all the happiness they’d shared through the years and couldn’t imagine Lynn’s pain. “I’m so sorry, Lynn. I truly am.”

  Studying her, Sukie realized Lynn wasn’t nearly as old as she’d once thought. Years of running and hiding must have aged her. Worry lines etched her face and her hair had gone gray in places, but Sukie now guessed Lynn to be in her late thirties or early forties.

  “What other names have you used, Lynn..., I mean Grace?” Carol Ann asked awkwardly.

  “Six or seven—Susan, Linda, Mary Ann, anything but Grace. Go ahead and call me Lynn. I’m used to it now.” Her voice became bitter. “I have a sense of when I should move, change my name and begin a different life. He’s one of those guys who’s a real smooth talker, able to convince a judge he’s changed. But when he’s alone with me, he can’t control his temper. He has a violent streak to him that will never go away. He’s been in and out of jail, but I know enough about the way he operates to believe he’s gonna follow me here. He always finds me.” She gave each of them a look of such misery Sukie felt her heart stop then start again.

  “I’m tellin’ ya, he’s a sick, evil man,” Lynn said. “I should’ve left here a few weeks ago, but you’ve become such good friends and I’m so tired of running and hiding, I couldn’t make myself do it.”

  Sukie felt cold, so cold. “We’ll help you. We’ll go to the sheriff and tell him your story. You can give him a description of your ex-husband, get help.”

  Lynn let out a derisive laugh. “What can the sheriff do? Get a restraining order for someone I can’t see? Someone I haven’t faced in years? Every time I thought I’d seen him or heard his voice, I’d take off. The thing is, unless he actually attacks or threatens me personally, there’s nothing they can do.”

  The women sat together in the living room, silent, bonded together by all Lynn had told them.

  Sukie’s own problems now seemed small. Filled with determination, she stood.

  “The rest of you begin to take notes, while I get our dinner ready. We need a basic description of Lynn’s ex. I’m sure he’s changed since Lynn has seen him, but it’s a start. Write down any other data that would be helpful to the sheriff.”

  “Lynn shouldn’t be alone. She can move in with me,” Betsy said.

  Lynn shook her head emphatically. “Thanks, but no thanks. That’s exactly why I can’t stay here. If you help me, you’re in danger too. He thinks anyone who is a friend of mine is in on the betrayal. I’m tellin’ ya, he’s really screwed up.”

  Sukie left them talking in the living room and rummaged through the refrigerator for the ingredients for a salad.

  Betsy joined her. “I can’t believe it. No wonder Lynn has always been so quiet. Bless her heart, she’s had it tough.”

  “We’ve got to help her.” It sickened Sukie to think how Lynn’s ex had ruined her life and that of their daughter.

  They sat and ate dinner, bouncing ideas around as to how they could help Lynn. By the time they finished their meal and reviewed the notes they’d made, it was dark.

  “Tomorrow, I’ll go see the sheriff,” Sukie said. “We’re not going to give in to this maniac, Lynn.”

  Tears filled Lynn’s eyes. She rose from the dining room table, and they all gathered around her in a protective circle.

  “Okay, I’ll stay a while longer. I want to fight the bastard once and for all and then I’m going to get my daughter.”

  They hugged each other, no longer simply women meeting for lunch; they were each other’s staunchest allies, willing to fight to protect one of their own.

  ###

  Sukie stopped by the sheriff’s office. Bill Michaels listened to the whole story and accepted the notes she handed him.

  “I’ll see what I can do, but without direct threats, as Lynn told you, nothing much can be done. I’ll have my men drive through her neighborhood from time to time and check up on her apartment. Let me know immediately if you have anything else for me to go on. Otherwise, it’s a waiting game.”

  The days moved forward. Sukie followed her normal routines but she knew things would never feel the same to her or the other women.

  A somber group met for lunch on Friday.

  Sukie decided to bring the issue into the open. “Lynn, I don’t know how you do it, watching out for yourself, wondering if and when your ex might appear.”

  “Yeah, all y’all, it’s really spooky,” said Carol Ann. “I’m always looking over my shoulder, wondering if he’s near.”

  “Me, too.” Tiffany’s shoulders shook. “It’s weird. I’m afraid to go outside alone in the dark.”

  “Yeah, well you can’t let him control you that way,” said Lynn. “That way, he wins. You gotta be careful, but you gotta go about your normal stuff. Remember, it’s not you he’s after. Like I told you, I get a sense of when he might be near. When that happens, I’ll let you know.”

  “Lynn’s right,” said Betsy. “As FDR once said, ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself’. We have to keep living our lives.”

  They all nodded, but until he was caught Sukie knew she’d never feel safe.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CAROL ANN

  Carol Ann climbed out of bed, aching all over. She didn’t dare wake her parents. They slept in on Sunday mornings. No way did she want them to catch her like this.

  She slipped on a tee shirt and jeans, tiptoed into the kitchen and snatched up her car keys, grabbing hold of them tightly to keep them from rattling and giving her away. She started for the front door and hurried back for her cell phone. S-l-o-w-l-y, she opened the front door and snuck outside, closing the door quietly behind her.

  Climbing into the car, Carol Ann scolded herself. She’d been dumber than a box of rocks and needed to talk to someone. She punched in Sukie’s number, praying she was at home.

  Sukie answered right away. “H-h-ello?”

  “Sukie? It’s Carol Ann. Can I come over?” She couldn’t stop her voice from shaking.

  “Are you all right?” Sukie asked. “You sound upset.”

  “Yes...no...” Carol Ann’s eyes flooded at Sukie’s concern. Sukie had quickly become the center of their group, which had grown even closer now that they were helping Lynn.

  “Hurry along, hon. I’ll be here waiting for you.”

  Tears blinded Carol Ann as she hung up. Sukie wasn’t like her parents. She wouldn’t scold or nag or tell her she was stupid as all get out.

  Carol Ann drove to Sukie’s, cut off the engine and sat outside in the car, taking deep breaths. After a few minutes, she got out, walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell, swallowing hard at the idea of having to confess what had happened.

  Sukie opened the door with a smile that disappeared in a hurry. “Good heavens!” she gasped. “What happened? Your black eye...”

  The fresh tears Carol Ann had been holding back ran down her cheeks. “It was John, the insurance guy I met for drinks last night.”

  Sukie put an arm around her. “Come inside. I’ve got coffee made. Extra strong. I think we’re going to need it.”

  Carol Ann collapsed at the kitchen table. Sukie poured each of them a cup of coffee and took a seat in a chair opposite her.

  “Tell me everything.” Sukie studied her with a worried look.

  Taking a sip of hot coffee, Carol Ann tried to pull herself togethe
r. She drew a deep breath. “It started out real nice. He’s good-looking and not afraid to throw money around. He said we should start out the evening with a glass of champagne.”

  “Champagne? I don’t know of any place in town who serves champagne.”

  Carol Ann swallowed hard. “He drove me to Buckhead. That was another thing. He seemed so polished, like he knew all the hot spots.”

  “You drove with him? Alone?” Sukie’s cheeks flushed an angry pink that Carol Ann recognized.

  Seeinghow upset Sukie was, Carol Ann felt about five inches high. Words stuck in her throat.

  “Oh, hon,” Sukie said, shaking her head. “The dating services warn you to meet new dates in a safe place and to avoid riding in a car alone with them until you get to know them.”

  Carol Ann held up a hand. “I told him no, but he said with gas prices high and all the cool places bein’ located in Buckhead, it’d be stupid for us to take two cars. When he said it that way, it made sense,.”

  Sukie nodded. “I can see how it might seem logical, but...”

  “I know I shouldn’t have done it.” Carol Ann fingered the puffy area around her eye. “But he’s really hot and he’s a good talker. We had a good time.”

  “So, what happened?”

  Carol Ann gulped. She didn’t want Sukie to think she was totally stupid, though, in truth, she knew she’d acted dumb as an ox.

  “Go ahead. Tell me,” Sukie said softly.

  “I had a lot to drink. More than I’m used to. When we got back from Buckhead, he dropped me off at the bar outside of town, where we’d met. He walked me to my car like a real gentlemen. Then he said he wanted to come back to my house, maybe have a nightcap. I knew what he meant. I told him I couldn’t; I lived with my parents. Dumb, huh? But what else could I say? It’s the pitiful truth.” Carol Ann sighed again. Her whole life was stupid.

  “I told him that having a date didn’t mean we had to end up in bed together. He got mad and called me a bitch. I tried to push him away. We struggled a bit and he shoved me up against my car. That’s when he...he hit me.”