Free Fridays by Pat Tucker Page B

Linda had sucked her teeth and put the overnight bag down on the sofa. “Them poor kids. It don’t matter how many times Daddy tracks her down and drags her back to Miss Sadie’s. That crack is way more powerful than Daddy and Miss Sadie put together.”
    â€œLinda, hush now! Not in front of the kids. They can’t help that their Mama is sick.”
    â€œShe ain’t sick; she’s a crackhead, Big Mama.”
    â€œLinda! I said hush your mouth!”
    â€œOkay, Big Mama, okay. You ain’t gotta go getting all worked up. But the truth is the truth. We ain’t gotta talk about it, and just because we don’t, that don’t mean Rhonda ain’t a crackhead.”
    â€œShoo.” Big Mama had waved her arm toward the door. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be? Get on up out of here before you upset these kids.”
    â€œBig Mama, we old enough to be home by ourselves. I don’tknow why Mama don’t trust us. Leslie is almost sixteen,” Leela had said.
    Rhonda’s son, Darnell, had run into the kitchen. The nipple of his bottle hung between his teeth and he squealed with laughter.
    â€œGet on out of here, Linda. What time you coming by to pick up the girls?”
    Linda had shrugged and shuffled out of the front door.
    Leela remembered being around Rhonda’s kids throughout her teenage and young adult years. There were times when Rhonda was clean for months on end; then one day, she’d vanish.
    Miss Sadie would show up with a sad story and Pah-pah would leave to go help look for her. Leela shook the memory from her thoughts. She adjusted herself on the bed, stabbed at her pillow, and squeezed her eyes shut.
    She was determined to get some sleep. No more thoughts of her grandparents, Samantha and Bill, or even Riley.

CHAPTER
9
    L eela felt like she was being pulled in several directions and none of them was where she wanted to be. By the time she got up and moving Saturday morning, Riley was gone.
    She knew he probably left to go play basketball with his friends like he did most Saturday mornings, but the fact that he left without looking in on her was hurtful.
    Her phone rang. Before she reached for it, she knew it would either be her mother or Samantha. After Samantha’s revelation that she’d be going on a cruise they’d both daydreamed of doing for years, Leela wondered whether their friendship would survive Samantha’s new single status.
    â€œHey, Ma, I’m getting ready to walk out the door now,” she said into the phone, once she realized it was her mother calling.
    â€œOkay. I was just calling to let you know we’ve changed restaurants,” Linda said.
    Once she got the updated location, Leela left the house and thought again about her husband. Sadly, she admitted to herself that something wasn’t right with Riley. Leela didn’t know whether she was feeling emotional because of how he left the house or if she was internalizing everyone else’s issues.
    She arrived at the restaurant and rushed to greet Big Mama and her mother. Leela placed her purse onto the back of the chair and settled into her seat. “How’s Pah-pah?”
    The moment the question left her lips, Leela felt like she had somehow betrayed her grandmother.
    â€œYou know you can call him and find out,” Big Mama said.
    Leela looked at her grandmother, but her eyes quickly darted to her mother when she spoke.
    â€œI wouldn’t call that filthy dog,” Linda said about her father.
    Big Mama looked between the two and focused her attention on her granddaughter. “This is gonna be a challenge for all of us and it’s not gonna be easy, but it’s perfectly okay for you to continue your relationship with your grandfather.”
    Linda’s face contorted into a frown. “Oh no the hell it’s not,” she howled.
    â€œLinda. Yes it is. You’re gonna have to find a way to forgive your