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Heidi could do nothing but shake her head. She knew better than to encourage any of them. As things stood, she was going to miss bedtime by hours, which irked her.
“What do you mean, silly?” Mother asked. “What’s silly about my question?”
“I’m not with anyone,” Nana said. “You see anyone here? You told me not to bring Fran, so here I am, listening to you talk on my birthday. Talk, talk, talk. Lord, have mercy on you. Lord, have mercy on all of us.”
“Momma!”
With the pretense of rubbing her eye, Carine shielded the side of her face and cut Heidi a look. Out of the left side of her mouth, she whispered, “Who’s Fran?”
“Ask her,” Heidi whispered back.
“Seriously?”
Heidi let her eyebrows float. “I’m curious now, too.”
Carine shrugged and dropped her hand. “Mrs. Murray—”
Both turned toward her.
“Uh, sorry. Ms.Eunice. Who’s Fran?”
Nana’s eyes lit up. “Fran’s my—”
Daddy emitted a deep, ponderous sigh.
She wagged a rheumy finger at her senior citizen son. “You stop that. I’m an old lady, and I can do and say what I want. And it’s my birthday.”
“Has she been drinking?” Kalimah whispered.
That was a question Heidi didn’t know the answer to.
“The only reason you’re even in this world right now is that back in my day, a lady couldn’t have no nice friends,” Nana muttered.
“Wait…” Kalimah whispered.
Heidi tried to get a glance of her in her periphery. She could just barely make out the young woman’s dark eyes going increasingly round.
Heidi had always thought Kalimah had an impressively honed intuition for a person her age, and Heidi was curious to find out what she thought was going on. Heidi had no clue.
“What do you mean you couldn’t have no nice friends?” Daddy asked on the tail of an indignant huff.
“Hey, James, you want a beer?” Tim asked.
“No, thank you, son, I’m driving.”
“Let me know if you change your mind.” Apparently, Tim had caught on to whatever Kalimah had. He was wearing his,“Oh, hell”face.
Valerie must have been on the brink of discovery herself. Her forehead was furrowed, and her lips parted with concentration.
I guess I’m on the boat to nowhere tonight.
Heidi crossed her eyes.
“You had plenty of friends when I was coming up,” Daddy said to Nana. “Nice ladies, all of them.”
Nana took her time sipping her decaf. She had to keep stopping to adjust her dentures.
Should have waited to put them back in, Nana.
