Page 31 of Waiting for Friday Night

“I’ll be able to handle it,” Quinton said confidently. “No matter what they throw at me.”

It couldn’t be worse than what he’d heard from angry fans in the stands in high school and college. Not to mention the people who criticized everything he did from sports reporters to couch coaches online. Quinton had formed a thick skin.

“You say that now, but I’m telling you. Shania being your kid is going to be a problem.”

“Shania being my kid is my problem. Not the team’s, not the school, not the district and damn sure not any of the other parents. I’m not the kind of person to let this change the way I coach. I’m still the same Quinton Evans.”

Zachariah sighed and shook his head. “I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“And I appreciate that.” He really didn’t. He wanted to tell Zachariah to kiss his ass and get out of his office, but he wouldn’t. Zachariah really was trying to be a good assistant coach and colleague. “Trust me. I’ve got this.”

“Quinton is Shania’s what!” Tracey’s yelp echoed across the lake.

Halle placed a hand over her face. She, Tracey and Imani sat on their boulder close to the banks of Ridgeview Lake. Their high school hangout spot that they’d turned into their adult hangout spot after Imani moved back to Peachtree Cove. When they were teens the boulder at Ridgeview Lake was a place where they could talk without being overheard by their parents. As adults, the lake was a place where they could slip away to and forget their responsibilities for a little while. Today, Halle suggested the lake because she needed to slip away and the privacy to tell her friends what happened.

They were in their typical setup. A blanket spread out, with Solo cups filled with cheap wine instead of soda and homemade charcuterie spreads on paper plates versus eating whatever junk food they’d get from a convenience store.

“Can you not yell it so everyone in Peachtree Cove can hear you?” Halle said from behind her hands.

There was a tug on her arm. She dropped her hands from her face. Imani gave her arm a gentle squeeze before raising a brow.

“Are you for real?” Concern filled her friend’s eyes and voice.

Halle slowly nodded. Tracey’s eyes narrowed and she leaned in closer. “How? Not once since he moved here have you said anything about you two hooking up.”

“Because we never hooked up.”

Tracey shifted and waved a hand as she shook her head. “Nah, that’s what I don’t understand. You got to explain to me like I’m in kindergarten. Simple words because this ain’t making sense.”

Sighing, Halle held up her cup. “Pour me some wine before I tell you this story.”

Tracey quickly lifted the bottle and poured rosé into Halle’s cup. Halle took a fortifying sip before spilling the truth she’d kept to herself for nearly fourteen years. She was barely able to get the story out; Tracey and Imani kept interrupting her for clarification.

“Why would you do that?” Tracey.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Imani.

“Where did you go?” Tracey.

“How did you get this idea?” Imani.

Halle threw up her hands. “Can you give me a chance to get the story out?”

Tracey pursed her lips. “You’re not talking fast enough.”

Imani patted Tracey’s arm. “Okay, let her talk.” She looked back at Halle. “Just talk quickly.”

Halle uncrossed her legs to fold them and rest her chin on her knees. “I told you why I did it. I felt so alone after losing my dad. Suddenly, I realized I was all that was left of them. No one would talk about or remember them once I was gone.”

Imani frowned. “That’s not true. I remember them. What happened to your mom is the reason I became a doctor.”

Halle gave her cousin a small smile. When Halle’s mom had died after complications with her pregnancy and the poor medical care she’d received, Imani had decided to become a doctor. She was a dedicated and great OB-GYN.

“A part of me understood that, but having my aunts and cousins remember or tell me things were going to be okay didn’t feel like enough. I wanted my own family. I wanted to share the love they’d given me with someone else. I was interning at that private school and when the principal mentioned that’s how she’d had her child... I thought it was a good idea.”

“Why on Earth would anyone artificially inseminate a twenty-two-year-old?” Tracey asked. She pointed to Imani and Halle. “I clearly remember both of you saying I was too young to get married, but you can have a whole baby on your own?”

Halle sat up straight. “For the record, that was Imani who said you were too young.”

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