Sweep Me Off My Feet

“Angie,” Candy said again when Angela took another bite of her pizza. “You cannot tell me that everything changed. If anything, it should have changed for the better. Changed to keep you pushing forward?”

Angela took a long, deep breath.

“Angie, do you remember how good life was? How amazing it was to blow two grand on shopping and feel nothing?” Candy asked, and Angela nodded.

“I remember.”

“Wouldn’t it be great to go back to those days? Just you and me going about town getting all the shoes we want, taking off to a cabin?” Candy got off her seat and walked over to the sink. “Maybe go to some tropical island like Ibiza, as I was saying earlier, or Cancun.” She looked at Angela over her shoulder. “It is always the perfect time of the year to visit Cancun.”

Angela opened her mouth to say something, but Candy did not give her a chance.

“Or if you are looking for something a little more local that still offers some diversity, Hawaii.”

Angela laughed.

“Seriously, Hawaii? Candy, do you even imagine me running around the beaches of Hawaii with a toddler running around?” She took a bite of her own slice. “I gave up any thought of normal life and fun when I had Brandon. I have another thirteen or fourteen years to go and then he will be in college. Maybe an Ivy League and then, and only then, will I even entertain the idea of taking some time off.”

Candy shook her head as she opened the fridge.

“You cannot be serious!” She pulled out a pitcher of iced tea. “There are a whole lot more women out there having children and living their lives. Take Beyoncé for example. Real boss lady. Got her first child and still toured the world. Gave birth and went right back to work…I mean, when she was not working, she was taking in the sun. So, why shouldn’t you do the same?”

“For starters, Beyoncé is a literal queen and I am not sure about this, but I am sure that she has some help. You know, nannies and such,” Angela pointed out. “That is probably why it is not such a hassle for her being out there with her kids.”

“So, what? We could get a nanny to come with us so that you can get your sexy on while we are out there,” Candy said as she turned around to get glasses from one of the shelves. “You do realize that the whole idea behind getting away for a vaca…” Her voice suddenly trailed off and Angela turned around to look at her wondering what happened.

“Oh fu*k!” Angela thought when she saw Candy holding the stack of bills she had kept away from her line of sight. She had completely forgotten that she had placed the bills on the same shelves the glasses were which meant that she had not done such a good job hiding the evidence of her problems.

“Angie, what the hell is this?” Candy asked as she looked at her. She put the glass she was holding down on the counter and began flipping through the bills in her hand. “Sweetie, you are barely holding on…I mean, gas, your trash and recycling, heating…” Candy shook her head.

“Candy, it is not such a big deal,” Angie said calmly as she put her slice down and reached for a napkin.

“Yes, it most definitely is,” Candy persisted as Angela walked up to where she was and got two glasses before she poured the iced tea into them. “This shows that your heating and gas could be turned off at any time. Even now.”

Angela took a long, deep breath.

“Not necessarily. I have made a plan with the landlord.”

Candy rolled her eyes.

“You made a plan with the landlord? Really?” she asked. “And what kind of a plan would this be, pray tell?”

Angela walked back to her seat.

“Keep your damn voice down,” she hissed as she looked at Brandon who was now making truck noises as he ferried his building blocks from one side of the floor to the other.

“Look at him. He is lost in his own world,” Candy pointed out before she walked over to her best friend. “What plan is this you speak of?”

“It is not what you think,” Angela said, and Candy rolled her eyes again.

“If you are thinking of the obvious way that women get things, then you couldn’t be further from the truth. I would never think so lowly of you, but I cannot help but wonder what it is that you have planned with the landlord.”

Angela bit her lip unsure of whether she should divulge the truth to her best friend or not. She was not proud of the fact that she sometimes found herself struggling to make ends meet, but at the same time, she was not comfortable telling the one person she thought she could tell anything that she had been working against the store she worked. That was the one thing she had kept secret for so long and she longed to keep it that way.

“Angie,” Candy said again. “What arrangement?”

“My employee discount at the store. He uses it every so often, especially when my earnings have not been as much as I would have wanted them to be.”

Candy was silent for a long time before she took a seat next to Angela.

“Come back to the club,” she said in a soft voice. “Come back to the club and get out of this misery already!”

Angela buried her face in her hands and suddenly began sobbing to Candy’s surprise. Candy put her hand on Angela’s and looked at Brandon who had now turned his attention to them.

“Got to the bedroom. Bran shouldn’t see you like this,” Candy said before Angie quickly walked into the bedroom. Candy took a slice of pizza and walked over to where Brandon was and smiled at him.

“Is Mama all right?” he asked in a concerned voice, and Candy nodded.

“Of course she is all right. She just got a little excited because of the gifts I brought for her. Why don’t you eat this and then you can go on playing with your new truck? Okay?” she asked, and he nodded. She gently stroked his chin before she walked into the bedroom to find Angela on the bed, sobbing.

“I cannot go back there, Candy. I mean, just the thought of it brings back thoughts of him…and how badly he treated me when I told him that I was pregnant…”Angela rubbed her temple. “Candy, I can’t.”

“I hate to sound like a bi*ch, but I have to be the voice of reason here. If anything happened, let’s say there was an emergency or something and you needed money? What would you do? Because I would rather have you in the club than on a corner swinging dope.”

Angela looked at Candy and brushed off a tear.

“It would not come to that, ever.”