Page 59 of Happy Is On Hiatus
“That’s right,” Vi said. “So what does he need?”
“Probably ten percent down to get him out on bail,” Hale said. “Sharae, you and I’ll go down there on Monday to get things squared away.”
“Yes, sir,” Sharae replied.
And just like that both those topics of conversation were officially closed. Her father was most likely going to put up the money to get Tariq out of jail. Either that or he was going to appeal to the commissioner for Tariq to be released on his own recognizance. He’d tell him that Tariq had been working part-time at the church as a sexton, and he was actively involved in his daughter’s life. If Tariq didn’t know aboutthis baby, it wasn’t fair to punish him for not taking care of the child. But Hale was almost certainly going to tell Tariq to get a DNA test so he could do right by the child if it was his.
It just made Rita think of what her mother had said when they’d been at lunch about women not always telling the truth. Rita knew that it was plausible that Tariq’s newest baby mama and the one Nate was shacking up with were lying to get what they wanted. But she also knew there was just as good a chance that they weren’t, and while she didn’t give a damn how Nate’s situation turned out, she whispered a silent prayer that Tariq got things straightened out as soon as possible.
Glancing into the living room forty minutes later, nobody would’ve known the two bombshells had been dropped during this impromptu crab feast. After they’d all eaten their fill, Necole had gone into the living room and turned on the stereo her grandparents still had. She’d figured out a way to plug her phone into the dated system and had started playing current music. She, Taryn, and Jemel had been in the middle of the floor dancing and singing along for too many songs to count while Rita and Sharae helped the Aunts clean up their mess.
“Oh wait, c’mon, Vi, that’s your song, baby,” Hale called into the kitchen.
Rita watched as her mother came out just the way she’d expected, with her hands already up in the air, fingers snapping as she sang the first few lyrics to the “Booty Call” line dance song.
“Yeaaahhh.” Aunt Rose came out right behind her. “Big girls, let me back it up,” she sang, and Rita and Sharae shared grinning faces.
“Here they go,” Sharae said. “They love this song.”
“Yes, they do,” Rita added when Aunt Ceil came out of the kitchen too.
In the next moments, the Aunts were in one row, and Taryn, Necole, and Jemel were in another, each of them doing the moves to the song. Aunt Rose especially loved the part when they had to back it up, tossing her behind around with as much gusto as a twenty-year-old.
“That’s why she always has a man,” Sharae said.
“You ain’t lyin’,” Rita added.
“C’mon, y’all two. Stop acting like old maids,” Aunt Ceil yelled to them.
With a shrug, Rita stepped up first. “They’re just gonna keep trash talkin’ if we don’t.”
Sharae agreed, and they joined in on the dance, laughing and joking when somebody missed a step. Hale had pulled out his phone to record them. He did that from time to time, saying it was good to preserve these moments with family, to have something to share with future generations. Rita let all her cares go and danced for she didn’t even know how long with her most favorite women in the world. It was just what she needed after the couple of weeks she’d had—just what they all needed.
Chapter 22
TAKIN’OUT THE TRASH.
On Monday at exactly two o’clock in the afternoon, Rita pulled out a chair and sat across the conference-room table from Nate.
They were at Sharon’s office. The dark-oak table had a glass top installed and could seat eight on both sides, two at the ends. Nate’s attorney, Chris Rebonowitz, was a man Rita knew well. He’d been to dinner at their house and to both Taryn’s and Necole’s dedications at the church. At one point she’d considered him a family friend, in addition to being their attorney. Now, when she glanced over at him, she gave him the same cordial nod she’d given Sharon’s assistant when she walked in.
“Do we want to put this all on the record?” Chris asked when Sharon sat in the seat next to Rita.
“The record will be reflected in our final settlement agreement. But for posterity purposes, we can record this meeting.” As if she’d known this would be an issue, Sharon opened a folder and pulled out a stack of papers.
Passing one to Nate and his attorney, and then another to Rita, she said, “If everyone will sign saying they agree to the meeting being recorded, we can begin.”
Rita signed her name, staring down at the “McCall” portion. Did she want to change her name? She hadn’t considered that until this very moment but suspected that before this meeting was over it would probably come up.
She’d been Mrs.McCall for twenty-three years. And before that she’d been Miss Henderson. Who was she going to be when this was all over?
“Okay, with that out of the way, we can get started,” Sharon said.
Her lawyer had another thicker file that she opened. Rita opened her book and turned to the page where she’d taken notes on her previous conversations with Sharon. She’d rewritten the notes twice so that the three pages were a neat outline of all the points of discussion in the marriage. Again, she found herself staring down at the page. Had this all boiled down to a series of bullet points on a paper? All the love, devotion, time, and energy she put into this marriage. The union that she’d thought would be forever.
“Rita, are you okay?”
She jumped at the touch of Sharon’s hand on hers. Looking from Sharon across the table to where Nate sat, she held his gaze.
