Manic: Confessions of a Wife

Manic Book 1: Chapter 4

Lori's lunch date, Valerie, is damn near 30 minutes late. This is already frustrating for Lori, who had to drive deep into the hood to meet her. As someone who doesn't usually venture into this area, Lori is already on the edge. As she looks up from her phone, she sees Valerie following the hostess. Valerie smiles at her, but Lori makes sure to convey her irritation by not smiling back at Valerie

Valerie thanks the hostess for showing her to the table, "I know you are upset, but I can't apologize enough," she says.

"Yeah, upset isn't the word," Lori replies, looking her up and down with a frown as she sits down. "Are you begging to get robbed or something? Here I am trying to blend in and not attract attention, and then there's you, with your 6-inch pumps and grand entrances like Miss Diana Fuckin' Ross. Did you drive your Maserati here?"

"It doesn't matter if I did or not," she says she starts to browse the menu, even thorough she knows it like the back of her hand. "But as I said before, I'm sorry. Why are you in such a mood?"

"I'm not in a mood," she snapped back. "I just don't understand why we had to come all the way down to this part of town."

"I'll pay for lunch since I was so late," Valerie sheepishly says.

"Oh, you were going to do that anyway," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Seriously though, was it necessary to meet here? Out of all the places! You just had to pick Aunt Kathy's. Their catfish ain't that damn good."

Valerie chuckles, knowing how Lori isn't too fond of Aunt Katht's Catfish. "Matthew tries to stay away from this kinda food. He has high cholestrol so he's all about baked fish, not fried. Also, I told you that we had to meet a place where I know that whore wouldn't come to. She acts like shes too good for the hood, but she doesn't know that I know her mama was a crack whore and her dad was a pimp, to say the least."

"Valerie, to say the least, how can you harbor so much hatred towards her? What has she done to deserve it?" Lori gasps, shocked by her friend's animosity. She hesitates before continuing, "I don't know if I should tell you the truth of what's going on because..." She takes a sip of her sweet southern tea, trying to gather her thoughts.

Their waiter, Tiffany, approaches Valerie, asking her what she would like to drink, followed with asking if she knows what she wants to order. Valerie tells her what she would like to eat and drink, then Tiffany turns to Lori. "And for you, ma'am?"

Lori hesitates before ordering since she hardly ever goes here. She tells the waitress that she will get the same as Valerie. She waits for her to walk away to continue their conversation. "I'm just trying to figure out if I should tell her the truth about what I know."

"No, I promise I won't tell anyone. I just want to know if I'm right about her." She takes a deep breath, "Malik always thinks I have some vendetta against her, but I don't." Lori side-eyes Valerie, "I don't!" She emphasizes.

"But what if you're wrong about her?" Lori asks, trying to understand the situation.

She leans in, "I have complete faith in my instincts about Savannah. I can see right through her facade."

Lori clears her throat, "Valerie, I have to be careful about what I share with you since it could jeopardize my job. If any of this gets out, we are going to have a serious ass problem."

"I complely understand, Lori. Don't worry, I won't let anything slip. We'll keep our friendship private, and I'll make sure to take all necessary precautions. You have nothing to worry about."

Lori, feeling relieved, "Thank you, Valerie. I didn't mean to come across as threatening. I just wanted to make sure things were okay between us."

Valerie, putting a hand on Lori's shoulder, "Of course, everything is fine. I value our friendship and I don't want anything to come between us."