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  Secret Sundays

  Fat Fridays Group – Book 3

  By

  Judith Keim

  Wild Quail Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, public or private institutions, corporations, towns, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. This book may not be resold or uploaded for distribution to others.

  Wild Quail Publishing

  PO Box 171332

  Boise, ID 83717-1332

  ISBN# 978-0-9982824-9-7

  Copyright ©2018 Judith Keim

  All rights reserved

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER TWO | SUKIE

  CHAPTER THREE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER FOUR | SUKIE

  CHAPTER FIVE | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER SIX | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER SEVEN | GRACE

  CHAPTER EIGHT | LYNETTA

  CHAPTER NINE | GRACE

  CHAPTER TEN | SUKIE

  CHAPTER ELEVEN | GRACE

  CHAPTER TWELVE | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN | GRACE

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN | GRACE

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER TWENTY | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO | SUKIE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR | SUKIE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX | LYNETTA

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT | GRACE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER THIRTY | GRACE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE | SUKIE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR | GRACE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT | SUKIE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER FORTY | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE | GRACE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE | GRACE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR | SUKIE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE | GRACE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN | SUKIE

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER FIFTY | SUKIE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE | GRACE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR | LYNETTA

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE | GRACE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX | SUKIE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER SIXTY | SUKIE

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE | CAROL ANN

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO | TIFFANY

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE | LYNETTA

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR | CAROL ANN

  Author’s Note

  CHAPTER ONE | SHEENA

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  BOOKS BY JUDITH KEIM

  CHILDREN’S BOOKS BY J. S. KEIM

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my readers. I consider all of you special friends. If I had my own Fat Fridays group, I’d invite all of you to join me, no calories counted!

  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.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  SUKIE

  Sukie drove into her neighborhood and automatically headed for her old house before remembering it was Tiffany’s house now. She turned around and headed down the street toward the home she now shared with Cam.

  As she pulled into the driveway, Cam greeted her from the front yard where he’d been playing with his three-year-old daughter, Chloe.

  Seeing them, Sukie filled with deep joy. She parked the car and got out. This house and they were her home.

  “Mommy! Mommy! You’re here!” Chloe cried, running to her, her blond hair flying behind her like a dove’s wings.

  Sukie swung the little girl up in her arms, hugged her to her breast, and set the squirming child down. Chloe had never known her birth mother. She’d signed Chloe over to her father, so she could go off on her own, giving Cam and Sukie a precious gift that could never be replaced.

  “Hi, sweetheart,” Cam said, kissing her on the lips.

  “Me too, Daddy,” cried Chloe, jumping up and down by his side, holding up her arms to him.

  Laughing, Cam lifted his daughter into his arms, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and set her down. Prince, their golden retriever, greeted Sukie with a wagging tail and waited for her to pay attention to him.

  Sukie rubbed his silky ears and turned to Cam. “Did you have a nice afternoon?”

&n
bsp; Cam nodded. “While Chloe took a nap, I finished the project in the garage. How about you?”

  Sukie felt the smile on her face. “It’s always so nice to have time with my group of friends, and it did Carol Ann a world of good to have us in her new home. There’s hope for her yet. She finally told her mother she’s never going back home.”

  “Good,” said Cam. “I like Carol Ann. She deserves to be happy.” He looped his arm around her shoulders. “And so do you.”

  “Oh?” Sukie said, playing along with his sexy grin.

  He laughed. “Later. Come with me. I want to show you what I’ve done.”

  He led her to the garage. “I’ve installed additional cupboards along the back and added wall racks on both sides to hold all the stuff left over from combining our households.”

  Sukie looked at the boxes of things from each of their homes. She wondered what, if anything, her son and daughter-in-law might want someday and what treasures the girls—her daughter, Liz, and Chloe—might enjoy.

  “Thanks. It looks great, but we’ve still got too much stuff. In another year or so, we can weed through things again. But, for now, this is perfect.” Sukie was happy she’d decided to sell the house she’d shared with Ted. After Ted’s very public betrayal in their small town north of Atlanta, moving into Cam’s house was a fresh start for her.

  She cast a glance at Cam, finding it hard to believe that of the women in town who’d all but drooled over him, he’d fought for her. Younger than she, he’d been patient with her as she’d struggled to recover from her crumbled marriage. By doing so, he’d earned the trust of her grown children.

  Cam nudged her. “What’s with the silly grin?”

  Her smile broadened as she looked up into his blue eyes and stroked away the caramel-colored hair that hung above them. “You make me happy, Cameron Taylor.”

  “As do you, Mrs. Cameron Taylor.” He chuckled. “That feels so good to say. Guess we proved to all those ... those ... gossips in town that age doesn’t have to make a difference. You may be a grandmother, but you’re hot, Sukie.”

  She arched her eyebrows. “A very young grandmother, thank you.”

  “Oh, yes,” he said, pulling her to him. “Very young, very sexy ...”