Read Online Red Light Wives by Mary Monroe - Free Book Online Page A

bags of freshly washed items. “Now you better be carryin’ a boy. I put too much into this thing to end up with a girl,” he teased. It was so nice to see him in such a good mood. He had gone from one extreme to the other, proving to me that just about any man could be turned around.
    Â 
    I didn’t tell Daddy and Etta that I was pregnant until I could no longer hide it. Daddy slowed down from his numerous affairs long enough to give me a hug and a pat on my stomach.
    â€œAnd you better do everything that doctor tells you to do. I don’t want my first grandchild to come here with no water head or nothin’,” Daddy told me, a proud look on his face, glancing at his watch before he dashed out the door less than a minute later.
    A few moments after Daddy’s abrupt departure, Etta looked me up and down, shook her head, then let out a deep sigh. “I sure hope that baby don’t come into this mean world with them big boat-ass feet like you got,” she said, smirking. Her eyes were on the doorway that Daddy had just trotted through. Etta’s harsh words didn’t bother me as much as they used to. If anything, I felt sorry for her now. It had to be hard being married to a man who led so many women around town like the Pied Piper.
    Larry got really excited when I told him that the doctor said I was having a boy. And even though he continued to drop off used clothing that his nephew had outgrown, I spent a lot of money and time at the mall, buying things for the baby. And that’s exactly where I was when my whole world came crashing down around me.
    Dr. White released me on a Saturday afternoon, three days after I’d delivered my son. “Lula, I see you’re still just as tense as you were the other day,” he said, standing a safe distance away from me.
    I didn’t even respond, even though I had cooled off a lot. I felt bad about being such a bitch to other men because of Larry. And I did manage to give Dr. White a big smile before I left the hospital.
    My great big, baldheaded, fierce-looking stepsister, Verna, drove me home from the hospital in her huge truck. She fussed all the way about how I’d let Larry make a fool out of me. “If I didn’t love you so much, I’d drag you outta this truck and beat your brains out. I’m spendin’ the night with you, to make sure you all right—and to make sure that punk-ass Larry don’t show his face. ’Cause if he do, I’m goin’ to raise so much hell, they’ll put me on the cover of The Enquirer .” Verna sucked her teeth, glanced at me and shook her head. “I ain’t never understood you straight women when it comes to men. I didn’t even know Larry that well, but I had his number. All them fairy tales he told you about havin’ four roommates, no money, blah blah blah.” Verna paused and rolled down her window. “That shit makes me hot just thinkin’ about it,” she said, fanning her face with her hand.
    I was too weak to argue with Verna. It never did me much good anyway. I was glad that she was looking out for me. I sat there like a mute, all the way home.
    I returned to work a few days later, like nothing had happened. But Larry was gone from my life forever, and so was my son. Verna had taken care of the burial of my baby. She had arranged a memorial service at the funeral home and to my surprise, my mean stepmother, Etta, showed up with flowers. The word mean didn’t describe her on this emotional day. She cried almost as much as I did. That meant a lot to me, and it had a lot to do with my quick recovery. I knew then that not every “bad” person was all bad.
    A day after I returned to work, I got a call from Odessa while I was on my lunch break. Even though Odessa wasn’t that much older than me, I’d allowed her to take on a maternal role in my life. The same as I’d done with my stepsister, Verna. My mother