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managed to get her to stay a little longer.
    “Like I said a few days ago, men ain’t no good.”
                  “You hit it on the nose, Angie”, said Rhonda as she raised her glass to toast.
    “Girl, I be knowing that stuff. Sometimes I think I’m a psychic, because I hit it right on the nose. I swear I could be a counselor.”
                  “You should be. The Angie Show.”
    “Girl don’t get me going. I’d be on there, reading minds.”
                                “I don’t know what he could have been doing that time of the day”, added Stephanie.
    “I would tell you, but I’ll wait. If you think long enough, you’ll know”, responded Angie.
    Rhonda raised her glass to toast to what Angie just said. Disgusted, Stephanie excused herself and stood to her feet. She had heard enough for the night and decided to leave. Eventually, Rhonda left as well.
     
    ###
    Marla and Michael laid in the bed, in the dark. Neither one had said anything, then Michael turned to Marla.
    “You know, I saw something odd today.”
                  “What’s that”, asked Marla, worried.
    “I believe Diane was at the job, earlier today. Have you talked to her, today?”
                  “Yes. You sure it was her? Why would she be at your job?”
    “That’s what I was wondering. I tried to see if it was her vehicle, but I didn’t know her license plate number.”
                  “Michael, that’s crazy. She isn’t the only one on the planet with that type of car.”
    “I guess you’re right. I just thought it was odd. I’ve never seen that car in the lot before.”
                  “It might’ve been from another company. Plus, how would Diane know how to get to your job.”
    “You’re right.”
                  “Did it scare you?”
    “Of course not. I just thought it was odd. It would be unusual to see her, but I wouldn’t be scared to see my sister-in-law.”
                  “Okay. Well, goodnight.”
    “Goodnight.”

Tuesday
     
    Stanley was sitting on his side of the bed getting dressed for work, while Diane still laid in the bed with her eyes closed. After a while, Stanley looked back at Diane. Normally, Diane was up and going. Any other morning, she would be up fixing breakfast for her family and watching her morning talk shows. Stanley was a little worried. He reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder.
    “Baby?”
                  “Yeah”, she responded in a groggy voice.
    “Is everything alright?”
                  “Yeah. Just tired.”
    “Do you need me to fix you anything? This isn’t like you to be laying around in bed.”
                  “No. I’m good.”
    “Okay. Well, I’m about to head out. I’ll check on you a little later.”
                  “Okay.”
    Diane never made eye contact with Stanley. Feeling depressed, she decided to get up and check on the kids. On her way out of the bedroom, she stopped at the vanity mirror next to the door and looked at herself with dissatisfaction.
     
    ###
    Rhonda and Jimmy were both preparing for work. Jimmy was going through the drawers, looking for a good pair of socks to wear as Rhonda came out of the bathroom from taking her shower. Jimmy settled on a pair that wasn’t the same, but looked almost identical.
    “You came home pretty late last night.”
                  “You noticed?”
    “Rhonda, do we have to start this again? I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
                  “I apologize. I’m good.”
    “If there is something I did wrong, please let me know.”
                  “I didn’t say you did anything. Is there something you should be telling me?”
    “Are you still tripping on me praising Marla about her cooking? If you need to hear me say it, no she doesn’t cook better than you.