Bad Blood by Mary Monroe Page A

in with me and Seth, I was not surprised.
    â€œGirl, you are a straight-up fool! Do you want to lose Seth? How long do you think he’s going tolerate having Albert in that apartment with you and him?” Mama yelled. I had waited until Uncle Albert had been with us for two weeks before I’d even told her about his dilemma. “As long as he’s been out there, don’t he have friends he could move in with?”
    â€œMama, he’s got a lot of friends, and I’m sure he’ll probably go stay with one of them as soon as he can. He just needs a place to stay in the meantime.”
    â€œWhat if one of his friends don’t take him in? What if he’s still there when you and Seth get married?”
    â€œMama, I am not sure when Seth and I are going to get married. Uh, we’ve changed the date twice.”
    â€œUh-huh. And with Albert in the mix, you might have to change it again.”
    â€œIf we change the date again, I’m sure it won’t be because of Uncle Albert, Mama. Uncle Albert has already been here a couple of weeks, and Seth has not complained about him one time.”
    â€œWell, like I been telling you all your life, you sure make a lot of dumb decisions.”
    â€œI know I do, Mama.”
    Unfortunately, my meddlesome girlfriends felt the same way. Right after my conversation with Mama last night, I called up Lucille “Lucy” Foster, my best friend and coworker, and told her about my new living arrangement.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with you, girl? And what’s wrong with Seth for letting you move Albert in?”
    â€œIn case you forgot, it’s my apartment. My name is the only one on the lease. Seth has no right to tell me who I can move in here and who I can’t,” I snapped. “And for your information, Seth agreed to this arrangement.”
    â€œI’m just afraid you bit off more than you can chew. You have enough stress in your life. I mean, you’re busier than ever at work. You have a wedding coming up. Now you’ve moved your hard-partying, hard-drinking gay uncle into your apartment. I honestly don’t see how it’s going to work out.”
    â€œUncle Albert is going to stay only a little while, and Seth and I will be at work during the day, every day.”
    â€œAll right now. You know I’m here for you, so if you need somebody to talk to, just give me a call.”
    â€œThanks, Lucy.”
    An hour after my conversation with Lucy, my other two close friends, Paulette and Patrice, stormed my apartment. I was glad I had dropped Uncle Albert off at the salon around the corner to get his nails done.
    â€œGirl, Lucy told us you’ve moved Albert in with you and Seth. Have you lost your mind?” Patrice hollered before I could even close the door behind them.
    â€œYou are not responsible for your uncle. He’s a grown man,” Paulette added, already heading for the portable bar.
    Since neither one allowed me enough time to respond, I just stood in the middle of the floor with my arms folded.
    â€œHow long do you think Seth is going to put up with Albert’s antics?” Patrice asked, joining Paulette at the bar.
    â€œIt’s going to be for only a few more weeks,” I finally said.
    â€œThen what?” they asked at the same time.
    â€œThen Uncle Albert will move out.”
    â€œBaby girl, once he’s able to get around without those crutches, he’ll have to go out and look for another place. That could take some time. It took me almost three months to find the place I just moved into,” Paulette said, rubbing the side of her cute heart-shaped face. A knitted cap covered her thick brown hair.
    â€œI’m going to start looking for a new place for him myself tomorrow. That way he’ll already have a place to go to when his leg heals,” I replied.
    â€œWho is going to be responsible for his moving expenses?” Patrice asked.
    â€œI will take