Authors: Nicholas Maze
“Diane?”
“Oh my goodness. Hey, Marla.”
“Is something wrong”, asked Marla as she sat across from her.
“I’m done.”
“Done with what?”
“With this. This snooping around and invading people’s privacy. I want nothing to do with it.”
“Diane, you can’t stop. We have to find out what’s going on. We have to find out who this note belongs to.”
“Who cares?! Maybe we weren’t meant to know whose it is.”
“Diane, what happen?”
Diane went on to tell Marla the re-enactment of everything she saw and how Michael may have spotted her. As she told the story, she was still disturbed by what she had been through. Marla listened in disbelief. She was upset and heartbroken, expecting the worst. Thoughts started running in her head again of whether this was payback for what she had done in the past. Once Diane finished, Marla hesitated to tell what she saw. She was too busy thinking about the health of her marriage and what was to come. “Marla? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Marla realized she had to tell what she saw, but worried about how Diane would take it. Marla decided to tell her small pieces at a time, giving her the “long version”. Once Diane heard all she needed to hear, she put her head down and quietly cried to herself. Marla quickly got out of her seat, sat beside Diane, and placed her arm around her.
“What is this, Marla?”
“This is reality.”
“How do I go home? How do I face this?”
“Well, you have to remember that we both have heard some things that leave us to question our husbands, so right now we can’t point fingers. We still have to determine who it belongs to. We still don’t know what the others have discovered.”
“This is what I feared.”
“Yes. No one wants it, but we can’t live in a lie. We have to know the truth. We have a reason, Diane. We’re not looking for trouble. We found something that has to be addressed.”
###
Angie walked into her living room with a bottle of wine. Rhonda and Stephanie were sitting beside one another on the loveseat. Both were still in amazement. They had went through a bottle of wine already. Although Rhonda and Stephanie had reason to worry, Stephanie’s situation was a lot lighter, because Rhonda didn’t actually witness anything. Rhonda, on the other hand was fired up about Angie’s report. Especially since Angie was making it seem worse than what it was. “Girl, he might as well laid his head on her breasts, how close she had them up on him. I seriously believe he could’ve kissed them. ….It was getting so hot in that lobby, I had to get up and leave.” Being intoxicated, Rhonda was ready to leave and attack Jimmy. Stephanie 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.”
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. I’ve always liked your cooking the best.”
“You think I actually care if you like someone else’s cooking?”
“Then, what is it?”
“I can’t just have some time to myself?”
“Time to yourself? Since when did this start?”
“Jim, it’s not the end of the world. I’m still here.”
“I don’t understand you at times. Well, I’m gone. I can’t be late.”
“Don’t have too much fun at work.”
Jimmy angrily walked out, as Rhonda continued to get dressed for work. A smile appeared on her face, feeling as if she got one on him. “I will never understand that woman.” Jimmy quickly started his vehicle and pulled out without looking and not noticing the car coming towards him. The vehicle hit Jimmy dead-on, on the driver’s side. The sound of the crash, outside startled Rhonda as she rushed to the bedroom window to see who it was. Once she noticed Jimmy’s vehicle badly damaged and him lying unconscious, she rushed out of the house in shock. “Jimmy! Jimmy!” She kept yelling for him as she made it to the vehicle. She went to the passenger door to get to him. Rhonda began to shake Jimmy in hopes of waking him. He slowly became conscious, but barely. Police and paramedics arrived, after being called by the other victim. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry, baby”, said Rhonda as she continued to kiss his face. Being a huge man, the paramedics struggled to get Jimmy out of the vehicle. Eventually, they got him on a stretcher and carried him to The Covering Hospital, where Rhonda worked.
Rhonda followed in her car, behind the paramedics and kept an eye on Jimmy as they got him checked into emergency. One of Rhonda’s co-workers noticed her standing by Jimmy.
“Rhonda! What happen?”
“Hey, Tracey. Jim was in a bad accident.”
“Oh, no. Is he responsive?”
“Somewhat. They want to get him hooked up and see how badly hurt he is.”
“Rhonda, I hope everything is okay.”
“I’m praying. Tracey, my phone doesn’t work inside this area. Can you contact Roger for me and let him know I’m here with my husband.”
“Sure thing.”
“Thank you.”
Tracey reached for Rhonda and gave her a hug, before looking for Rhonda’s supervisor, Roger.
###
As usual, Stephanie was in her kitchen preparing her cup of coffee to start her day. Stephanie was a financial advisor for Donner & Sons, a small, family-owned investment firm. As she prepared her coffee, Reggie walked in stretching, wearing his underwear.
“Got that ‘Morning Joe’ going?”
“You know it. I have to have my fuel to start my day.”
“Yeah. Have at it.”
“Did you do anything, yesterday?”
“Yesterday? Nah, I didn’t really have much to do.”
“You just sat at home all day?”
“Yeah. You know me. On my days off, I try to chill and do nothing.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. It’s always important to get your rest in.”
“How was your day, yesterday?”
“Different.”
“Different. In what way?”
“You know. Life is full of surprises. But, every day is a new day.”
“That’s right, baby.”
“Well, let me get out of here. I need to make some stops, before I get to work.”
“Well, let me get my morning sugar, before you go.”
“No. You haven’t brushed your teeth.”
“What that mean? You ain’t never cared before.”
“New day.”
“That’s cold.”
“Have a good day.”
Stephanie quickly walked out of the door and went through her smartphone to text Rhonda. [Stephanie: He lied right to my face and said he was home, all day.] After sitting in her car for a while and not getting a response, she put her phone away and went to work. Once Stephanie made it to the parking lot of her job, she pulled her phone back out and called Angie.
“Hello?”
“Angie.”
“What’s up, girl?”
“Sorry to call you so early. Have you heard from Rhonda?”
“Not since last night.”
“This Reggie is a trip. He tells me, he was home all day.”
“Y’all gone learn.”
“I was hoping Rhonda could check him out on the job.”
“I got you. You know I’m enjoying this.”
“Alright. You something else”, said Stephanie while laughing.
Angie ended the conversation with Stephanie, as Marla knocked on Angie’s door and walked in.
“What’s up, Marla?”
“Anything new?”
“Well, Stephanie just called and wants me to check up on her boo. So, I’ll be filling in, again.
She said she hasn’t heard from Rhonda.”
“I hope she hasn’t done anything crazy.”
“Who you telling?”
“Did y’all come up with anything, last night?”
Angie went on to tell Marla all the details, along with her additional ‘fillers’. How she told the story about Jimmy, sent Marla into shock. Angie almost made the situation seem like an erotic story. The only thing she didn’t add was Jimmy and Crystal having sex. Marla was amazed by the story and had to ask, “Nobody else saw this?” Even when she talked about Rhonda spying on Reggie, she gave it her own twist. Marla was almost sold on the note belonging to Jimmy or Reggie by how Angie told each situation.
“And, the UPS driver touched her breast”, asked Marla.
“I told you. I had to get up and leave. It was too much for me.”
After day one, things had went completely opposite from what was planned. Now, it seemed as if every woman had a reason to believe they were being cheated on. And, Angie’s ‘extras’ didn’t help either situation. Marla started having second thoughts about what they were doing, but at the same time she felt she had to know. The entire time Marla was in Angie’s office, Tina kept walking by. After a while, Angie noticed Tina’s spying and cut the conversation short.
“I seriously don’t know what to do with her”, said Angie.
“Maybe I’ll invite her to lunch and eliminate any friction that may exist.”
“Thanks. I knew I hired you for a reason.”
Marla laughed.
“It remains to be seen what will come from this.”
“Whatever you need for me to do, let me know.”
“Sure will. Thanks.”
“Since I haven’t heard from Rhonda, I’ll do as I did yesterday.”
Marla just knew there was no way possible that Stanley would have lunch at the same place, two times in a roll. Being able to catch him leaving the restaurant, yesterday was a one in a million chance. So, she decided to have lunch with Tina. To her surprise, Tina didn’t hesitate to say yes. In reality, Tina just wanted to be nosey and find out why Angie was spending so much time with the new hire. She figured that she could get in good through Marla. Or, at least find out what they were talking about.
Marla offered to drive and took Tina to one of her favorite spots, Luigi’s Sub Shop. Although it was further away from her new job, Marla had a craving for one of their excellent steak and onion subs. When they walked in, the place was beyond packed. Every seat was taken at the counter, where Marla usually would sit. They decided to have a waiter seat them at a table. The waiter gave them a chance to look over the menu, while he prepared their drinks. Although Marla was seated at a table, she was still spotted by Jeffrey, who worked the counter.
“Is that my Marla”, yelled Jeffery.
Marla smiled and playfully covered her face with her menu. Jeffrey rushed to her table and gave Marla a big hug and kiss.
“Where have you been my love?”
“Making some changes.”
“Really? I was worried. I hadn’t saw you or your friend, Kevin.”
Hearing his name disturbed Marla. She still had a negative view of Kevin.
“Well, I’m back.”
“Great! Did they take you all’s order?”
“Not yet. I want….”
“Hush. You want the half with cheese, mushrooms, and peppers. Salt and vinegar chips, and diet cola with a lemon.”
Marla blushed.
“And, for you doll”, Jeffrey asked Tina.
“What she’s having sounds good. I’ll do the same.”
“Gotcha. Coming right up.”
After Jeffrey left to put in the order, Tina started to relax a little. She realized how down-to-earth Marla was.
“You seem like cool people, Marla.”
“Thank you. So do you.”
“Thanks. Especially coming here. I would’ve never imagine you having lunch at a place like this.”
“Really? Why?”
“I thought you were the ‘bougie-type’. I guess I was wrong.”
Marla burst out in laughter, which drew attention of the people around her. At the same time, the previous waiter appeared with their food.
“Trust me. I know all levels. I’m down-to-earth, but I also know my role. In the professional arena, I keep it professional. I may make mistakes, but I never stray too far from my professionalism. That’s something to always remember. You don’t have to change who you are; just recognize your position and adjust accordingly.”
“Deep. I like that. How did you and Angie hit it off so well?”
“Position. I always enter a new situation, playing my role. As we learn each other, we discover things in common and grow from there. Angie seems to be a very cool person.”
“Yes. I can’t complain. She’s helped me out a lot through the years.”
“So, you should know what I’m talking about?”
“Yeah, in a sense. But…. Is it cool, if I’m honest with you?”
“Sure.”
“I wanted your position.”
Marla’s eyes widen as she quietly chewed her food and listened.
“And, I’m trying to figure out why it wasn’t offered to me.”
“Did you ask for it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you display it?”
“Display what?”
“The position. Anybody can say they want something, but you have to display why you deserve it. If you keep working your current position, then you are showing what you’re able to do; your current position. That extra mile….”
Marla was distracted, when she recognizes a woman walk into Luigi’s that looks familiar to her. She stares at the woman for a moment and quickly looks away as the woman walks by, heading to the bathroom.
“Something wrong?”
“You know how you’ve seen someone before, but don’t know where?”
“All the time.”