Secret Sundays
CHAPTER ONE
CAROL ANN
Sometimes dreams can come true, thought Carol Ann Mobley, gazing at her surroundings. Not happily-ever-after ones, not for her, but living in this place and about to entertain her friends was probably the closest she would ever come to it. On the flip side, the baby she was carrying but never expected and the baby’s father she didn’t really know were both parts of something that wasn’t a dream but more like a nightmare.
Carol Ann could hardly believe she really lived at the Glenview Apartments. If it hadn’t been for Tiffany Wright’s help in making those arrangements, it might never have happened, and she’d still be living with her disapproving parents. Tiffany, bless her heart, had left a lot of furniture behind for Carol Ann. Without it, the apartment would be bare.
Filled with satisfaction, Carol Ann stepped out onto the small balcony that overlooked a sweeping lawn and the woods beyond. The hardwood trees edging the lawn were bare, but the tall evergreens interspersed among them gave a lush green feel to the landscape. She never tired of the view.
Carol Ann checked her watch and went back inside to make sure all was in order. After spending years of clipping decorating ideas from magazines, she was finally able to put a few of them to use. Carol Ann fluffed the pillows on the couch and straightened the collection of candles on the mantel of the fireplace. In time, she might be able to add more decorative things to the room, but for now she was saving most of her money for the baby.
At the sound of the doorbell, Carol Ann raced to greet the women of the Fat Fridays group. Excitement pulsed through her in satisfying beats because they’d accepted her invitation to a Sunday afternoon of watching movies. It was the first time she’d entertained them in the apartment. Without their help, she’d still be stuck at home caring for her parents, cleaning their house, and trying unsuccessfully to make her mother happy. Their visit made everything in her life seem so … so normal.
Carol Ann opened the door and grinned at the five women who stood before her. She treasured her time with them—thankful for their companionship, the support they gave one another, and the sharing of a lot of laughter, especially when Betsy Wilson was in town.
“Hi, y’all! Come in! Come in!” she said, waving them inside.
Tiffany, the youngest of the group at twenty-nine and her closest friend, carried Vanna, her baby daughter, inside.
“Hi, sweet girl,” Carol Ann crooned, taking a moment to study the five-month-old they all doted on. She, like her mother, was a beautiful blonde.
“I’m hoping she’ll go to sleep,” said Tiffany. “I’ll set her down in her seat over in the corner.”
“No, you won’t. I’ll snuggle her for a while because I’m here for just the weekend.” Betsy held out her arms to take the baby. “She’s such a darling.” She beamed at them. “You know what they say: ‘Babies are such a sweet way to start making people.’ And after dealing with some of the people on my flight from Miami, I need a baby fix.”
Carol Ann laughed with the others. Betsy Wilson, fifty-eight and the oldest in the group, was always coming up with crazy sayings. She now lived in Miami with her partner, Karen McAvoy, but it was she who’d formed the luncheon group of MacTel employees and who’d invited her friend, Sukie Skidmore, to join them.
Wrestling with a large potted palm they carried together, Sukie Skidmore Taylor, Grace Jamison, and Lynetta Greene followed Betsy inside.
“Where do you want it?” growled Grace. She spoke directly and sometimes in a tough manner, but they all knew it hid a scarred, tender heart.
Carol Ann indicated a spot inside the front entry, and with sighs of relief, the three women set the heavy plant down.
Sukie straightened and gave Carol Ann a hug. “It’s another something for your new home. We thought it would add a nice touch of greenery to the apartment.” Sukie was everyone’s favorite. She’d brought the women even closer when they’d helped her accept that, after being dumped by her husband in a humiliating, public way, a younger man truly loved her.
“This plant should be a nice addition,” said Grace. “Especially now that winter is coming.”
“We know how much you like to decorate your place,” added Lynetta with a smile.
Carol Ann clasped her hands together and worked to blink away the threat of tears. “Thank you so much!”
“Did you bring the movie?” Tiffany asked Sukie.
Sukie smiled and held up a DVD. “Yes, I borrowed it from the library.”
Carol Ann chuckled. Sukie was a part-time employee at the local library, the only one among them who didn’t or hadn’t worked at MacTel.
“Fried Green Tomatoes never gets old,” said Grace.
“I brought this to celebrate.” Tiffany held up a large brown paper bag. “The fixings for margaritas! Carol Ann, I can make one without tequila for you.”
“And I have chocolate for everyone,” said Lynetta. At the sounds of approval, her dark eyes gleamed in her brown face.
Carol Ann smiled. Lynetta was as much fun as Betsy.
“Okay, follow me,” Carol Ann said to Tiffany, leading her into the kitchen. “Guess you pretty much know where everything is, so help yourself.”
Tiffany laughed, found the blender under the counter, and pulled the contents of the bag out and onto the counter. She filled the blender with ice and went to work preparing margaritas.
Carol Ann carried the popcorn, chips, salsa, and other snacks into the living room. She’d just set the food down on the coffee table when her cell phone rang. She checked caller ID.
Her mother.
With a sigh, Carol Ann clicked off.
No sooner had she ended the call when her mother rang again. Carol Ann knew from experience her mother wouldn’t stop calling until she reached her. Reluctantly, she clicked onto the call.
“Yes?”
“Carol Ann, you weren’t in church today. I want to know why.”
Trying to control the anger that began to pulse through her, Carol Ann slipped into her bedroom. “What I do on my own is my business now, Mama,” she managed to get out in a civil tone.
“Now, Carol Ann, you know as well as I do that you can’t just abandon your family without consequences. You should be prayin’ night and day to be forgiven. You’ve left me all alone to take care of your daddy. After all I’ve done for you, it’s time to come home, hear?”
“Mama, I’m not coming home and being your slave again,” said Carol Ann, grateful now she’d been forced to leave. “I’m even paying for someone to clean the house for you like I did.”
“Humph. Your sister refuses to do her duty by us. But I expect you to do right by us and come back home to take care of us.”
“Mama, I’m not moving back home,” Carol Ann said. “Never, NEVER, NEVER!”
“Now you listen, young lady …”
Trembling, Carol Ann pushed the button to end the call and collapsed on the bed in tears. She’d tried to always be a dutiful daughter and to help her parents, but they’d all but choked the life out of her. Even now, she’d escaped them only because her mother didn’t want an unmarried, pregnant daughter at home to shame her. That is, until her mother realized how much work Carol Ann had always done for her, even when berating her.
Carol Ann pounded a pillow in frustration. Her mother had always made it seem as if life had treated her unfairly, and that it was somehow up to Carol Ann to make things easy for her. Carol Ann gritted her teeth and sat up with fresh determination. She was sick and tired of being made to feel this way. She wiped her tears away and drew a couple of calming breaths before heading back to her friends.
When she entered the living room, five pairs of eyes stared at her.
“Are you all right, hon?” Sukie asked her.
“My mother thinks I should go back home and take care of her.” Carol Ann’s voice quivered with emotion.
“And that’s when you said ‘Never?’” said Grace.
Miserable, Carol Ann nodded.
Tiffany began to clap; the others eagerly joined in. The sound of their applause thundered in Carol Ann’s ears—a sweet song of approval.
“’Bout time you told her to get lost,” Grace said.
“Yes,” agreed Betsy. “Some parents force us to destroy the person we really are. Don’t let that happen to you, Carol Ann. You’re so much more than just a servant to them or anyone else.”
“Hear, hear!” exclaimed Sukie, giving her an encouraging smile.
“She thinks I should be praying in church for what I’m doing …” Carol Ann began.
“Honey, we’re praying for you too,” said Lynetta. “But your life needs to be your own. Know what I mean?”
Feeling better, Carol Ann drew a deep breath and nodded. Lynetta was right. From now on, her life would be hers alone. And Sundays like this, when she wouldn’t have to account to anyone else, would be what she’d think of as her Secret Sundays.
Sukie came over to her, gave her a hug, and tugged her toward the couch. “C’mon, let’s get settled. Tiffany’s taken care of getting drinks together, and you’ve made a lot of nice refreshments. What could be better? Friends together in your own apartment!”
Sitting on the couch surrounded by friends, Carol Ann pushed aside thoughts of her mother’s unrealistic demands. In her early thirties, and expecting a baby on her own, she needed to think of her own survival. She could do it. She had a family of friends and would soon have a small family of her own. And if it was a baby girl, she’d never, never, never expect her daughter to give up her life to care for her. She’d give her baby wings to fly.
After toasting Carol Ann and her new home, the women settled around her and focused on the movie. It felt good to Carol Ann to cry along with the others. They understood her tears weren’t all related to the movie, but then she and each of her friends had shed tears for one another. Grace had even taken a bullet to protect them. And sometimes those tears had been shed for joy, like when Sukie had finally married Cameron Taylor, the hot, new guy in town. Her heart lifted as her gaze swept around the room.
She thought of another southern movie they’d once shared and smiled. The next time her mother called to nag and scold her, Carol Ann imagined herself saying, “Frankly, Mama, I don’t give a damn.”
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