Page 54 of Waiting for Friday Night

“If it wasn’t a big deal, you wouldn’t have texted me.”

“Mom,” Shania said, almost in a whine.

“Fine, we’ll talk about it when we get home. In fact, tell Kayla to take you home.”

“Why?”

“Tracey has some stuff she’s taking care of here. I’ll meet you at home and we can talk about it.”

The argument ended with Bernard storming out and Tracey cursing at the door. Halle sighed. She’d make sure her friend was okay and then she’d find out who she had to go off on for daring to insult her daughter.

Seventeen

Shania was already at home when Halle finally made it there. Getting Tracey to calm down after Bernard left hadn’t taken that long. Her friend was already convinced he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to and that she was going to wait for him to out himself. Halle had again tried to convince her to just go ahead and confront him, but for some reason Tracey hesitated. They had been married for twelve years; she supposed she could understand why Tracey wasn’t ready to just pull the plug on her marriage. Still, if Halle got proof before Tracey did, she wasn’t going to hesitate to give Bernard a piece of her mind and a foot to the ass.

Shania was in the shower when Halle got home, so she went into the kitchen and made a bag of popcorn and poured two cups of grape soda, Shania’s favorite, even though Halle hated the flavor, and sat on the couch in the living room. She pulled up her streaming service and clicked on Living Single. Halle’s mom had loved that show and she still felt connected to her whenever she watched it.

Shania came out a few minutes after Halle was settled. She wore a pair of gray joggers and an oversized white T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back tight in a ponytail and her face was freshly scrubbed. She fell onto the couch next to Halle smelling like the rose-scented body wash they shared in the house’s one bathroom. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and pointed at the television.

“Season one again?”

Halle nodded. “Yep, I thought I’d start from the beginning.”

“Even though you like season two the best.”

“Sometimes you’ve got to go back to where it all started.”

Shania nodded and reached for the cup of soda. Halle watched her for a few seconds before reaching over and running her hand over Shania’s hair. Shania smiled before pulling away.

“I’m fine.”

“Tell me what happened?”

Shania sighed and took another handful of popcorn. Halle let her munch and get her thoughts together versus pushing. After she’d finished the handful and washed it down with the soda, she spoke.

“Some boys on the team were talking about test tube babies. One of them said their mom called me that. They’d never heard that before, but once they understood the meaning, they thought it was funny.”

Halle clenched her hands into fists. “Did they say that to you?” She tried to keep her voice calm even though she was ready to find the kids in question and give them a lecture on feelings and what wasn’t appropriate.

“Nah, they were talking in the hallway. I overheard them.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. I didn’t know what to do. I mean, they aren’t like my best friends, but I thought we were cool. Me and Deandre played together in middle school.”

Deandre Brown. Halle knew him and his mother. She was definitely going to have something to say the next time she saw Natasha Brown.

“I’m sorry that you had to hear that. Especially from kids you thought you could trust.”

“I was upset, but then Coach Q came out of nowhere. He heard them and was all what did you say? And don’t ever let me hear you say that.” Her voice filled with admiration as she spoke, and a smile broke out across her face. “He said he wouldn’t stand for bullying on the team. He said we were all supposed to stick together and that he wouldn’t accept anyone getting in his business or gossiping about one another on his watch. It was really cool.”

It sounded pretty cool. She was impressed that he’d taken up for Shania. “What did the boys say?”

“Nothing really. They straightened up and apologized. I thought maybe it would come up at practice, but it didn’t.”

“Why are you frowning?”

“I don’t know. Coach Q was different. He’s never been overly nice to me, but he’s always been helpful. He seemed kind of... I don’t now...like he was avoiding me today.” Shania’s eyes met Halle’s. The concern in her daughter’s expression made her heart twist. “Do you think he’s regretting finding out that I’m his daughter?”

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