AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve been too angry with him to have any kind of rational discussion about what happened. I plan to talk with him tomorrow night. I’m giving him an ultimatum. Either he signs up at Alcoholics Anonymous or finds someplace else to live.”
“That’s a start,” Charlene said mildly, “but it’s not enough.”
Adrienne didn’t want to hear any of Charlene’s psychobabble. There was something else on her mind. “Stop. I’ve got something to tell you.”
“Good news, I hope?”
“Very good news. Come on, I’ll tell you while you’re washing my hair.”
They went into the bathroom. Charlene turned the water on as Adrienne knelt on the floor with her head hanging over the tub. The cold tile was hard beneath her knees. “Why don’t you and Dan have bath carpet?”
“Because you have to wrestle with them to fit them into the washing machine. Then you can’t put them in the dryer because the foam rubber will melt off. The back of the darn thing has to hang over the shower rod until it is dry enough to put back on the floor. Too much work.”
“Lazybones,” Adrienne grumbled. “And what happened to the bath mat?”
“It was old. We threw it out.”
“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to get in the tub without a mat in it? What if you slip and fall?”
“What if you talk about what is really on your mind instead of complaining about my bathroom?”
Warm water cascaded over Adrienne’s head. There was a pause and a squishy sound when Charlene squeezed the shampoo bottle. Finally, Charlene massaged the shampoo through her hair and began to scrub her scalp with her fingertips using vigorous circular motions.
“Lloyd has offered to lend me the money to get out of debt,” said Adrienne.
“What does Mel say about that?”
“I didn’t tell him.”
The fingers stopped moving. “How much money are we talking about, girl?”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
“What?! I know you’re feeling really desperate, Adrienne, but you can’t commit Mel to something like this behind his back.”
“Mel didn’t make these bills,” Adrienne answered irritably, “and I don’t expect him to help me pay Lloyd back. So it’s none of his business.”
Charlene refilled the pail and rinsed the shampoo from Adrienne’s tresses. “Sounds like you’ve already decided to take Lloyd up on his offer.”
“I guess you’re right.” Had there ever been any real doubt about it?
Charlene relathered her head. “Be careful, girl.”
“If Mel finds out, I’ll deal with it then.”
There was a hush, and then Charlene said, “That is not what I meant and you know it. Things are starting to get way out of hand, Adrienne.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Adrienne replied stubbornly.
“Sure you do. This may have started off as a platonic friendship between two old high school chums, but it is turning into something else.”
“No, it isn’t. Lloyd knows that I am not going to sleep with him. I already told him that.”
“You haven’t taken his twenty thousand dollars yet.”
Adrienne couldn’t suppress a giggle. “Okay, you may have a point. I’ll just have to make it clear to Lloyd that I’m not interested in him romantically. I’ll say it just before he puts the check in my hand.”
Charlene wrapped a towel around Adrienne’s head and helped her to a standing position.
