think we’ll be in good shape. You get busy on the shopping list and going to the market. I’ll be home in a little while. Meet me there so we can get started?”
“Sure. Mama, is everything all right? You don’t sound like yourself.”
“Oh yeah, honey. I’m fine. Just fine. See you in a bit. And give that handsome husband of yours a kiss for me.”
“Okay, Mama.” Louetta could hear the laughter in Martha Maye’s voice, and it warmed her heart to know her daughter was so happy now.
She hung up, and her mind went back to Jimmy Dean. She kept picturing his smirk. What on earth was that boy up to? Did he just want some kicks to humiliate an old woman? It didn’t make sense. But one thing she was sure about: he didn’t know who he was messing with.
He sat in his fancy office with his big feet inside shiny loafers propped on his solid mahogany desk. He shifted his size 11B’s from side to side slightly so he could admire the bright shining pennies in his shoes against the polished brown leather. He was forty-one but felt twenty-one. Or he would if he were free. Not tied down with a ball and chain. What had he been thinking when he married her? Probably let his hormones do the thinking for him. She was so hot back then; he’d been like a rat on a Cheeto. If she wasn’t so needy, maybe he could tolerate her. And that mindless drivel that constantly fell from her mouth. But the thought of divorcing her and losing half of everything he owned made him sick to his stomach. Ugh.
He shook his head in disgust and turned his swivel desk chair so he could look out the window. It was a beautiful June day in Goose Pimple Junction. Flowerpots were brimming with flowers outside each business. Fresh fruit was displayed attractively outside Fern & Moody’s General Store. His office was one block off the town green, but if he sat in his chair just right, he could see most of the shops on the main block of Pearl Street. He whirled back around in his office chair when he heard an email alert on his computer. An evil grin came over his face as he began to read the email. He was annoyed when the phone rang and interrupted his reading. He picked up after one ring. “I tell you what, my woman is driving me crazy,” came the whiny voice on the other end of the line.
“Yeah, I hear ya. Mine too.”
“I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. Ya know? If I ask for a divorce, I’ll have to give up a fortune. If I stay, I may go insane,” whiny voice said.
“I know exactly what you mean, believe you me.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I wish I knew. I wish I knew. But I’ll tell you one thing: make sure you know who to talk to about a divorce, if it comes to that,” penny loafer warned.
“Oh yeah? Is one better than the other?”
“One’s better than the other. But the other is the one you want if you know what I mean.” Penny loafer glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was nearby. “Look, I’d rather we talk in person. You free later on this afternoon? I’ll stop by and see you.”
“Sure. I’ll be here,” whiny voice said before the line went dead.
Mama always said . . . It’s better to look good than feel good.
“O h, honey, I am so sorry,” Caledonia’s best friend, Paprika Parker, said as they sat in her kitchen. A heavenly aroma of blueberry coffee cake wafted in the air. Caledonia had just told her friend about her husband trouble.
“You know what my mama always said though.” Paprika sucked on a lemon wedge before plopping it in her glass of tea.
“She said a lot of things. Which one are you talking about, Spice Girl?”
“If it’s got tires or testicles, you’re gonna have trouble.”
Caledonia smiled wearily. She was too melancholy to laugh. “You don’t think he’s having an affair, do you?”
“Oh, now darlin’, don’t you go thinking that way.” Paprika stood to check on her children playing in the yard. Satisfied they were all right, she returned to the
“Sure. Mama, is everything all right? You don’t sound like yourself.”
“Oh yeah, honey. I’m fine. Just fine. See you in a bit. And give that handsome husband of yours a kiss for me.”
“Okay, Mama.” Louetta could hear the laughter in Martha Maye’s voice, and it warmed her heart to know her daughter was so happy now.
She hung up, and her mind went back to Jimmy Dean. She kept picturing his smirk. What on earth was that boy up to? Did he just want some kicks to humiliate an old woman? It didn’t make sense. But one thing she was sure about: he didn’t know who he was messing with.
He sat in his fancy office with his big feet inside shiny loafers propped on his solid mahogany desk. He shifted his size 11B’s from side to side slightly so he could admire the bright shining pennies in his shoes against the polished brown leather. He was forty-one but felt twenty-one. Or he would if he were free. Not tied down with a ball and chain. What had he been thinking when he married her? Probably let his hormones do the thinking for him. She was so hot back then; he’d been like a rat on a Cheeto. If she wasn’t so needy, maybe he could tolerate her. And that mindless drivel that constantly fell from her mouth. But the thought of divorcing her and losing half of everything he owned made him sick to his stomach. Ugh.
He shook his head in disgust and turned his swivel desk chair so he could look out the window. It was a beautiful June day in Goose Pimple Junction. Flowerpots were brimming with flowers outside each business. Fresh fruit was displayed attractively outside Fern & Moody’s General Store. His office was one block off the town green, but if he sat in his chair just right, he could see most of the shops on the main block of Pearl Street. He whirled back around in his office chair when he heard an email alert on his computer. An evil grin came over his face as he began to read the email. He was annoyed when the phone rang and interrupted his reading. He picked up after one ring. “I tell you what, my woman is driving me crazy,” came the whiny voice on the other end of the line.
“Yeah, I hear ya. Mine too.”
“I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. Ya know? If I ask for a divorce, I’ll have to give up a fortune. If I stay, I may go insane,” whiny voice said.
“I know exactly what you mean, believe you me.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I wish I knew. I wish I knew. But I’ll tell you one thing: make sure you know who to talk to about a divorce, if it comes to that,” penny loafer warned.
“Oh yeah? Is one better than the other?”
“One’s better than the other. But the other is the one you want if you know what I mean.” Penny loafer glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was nearby. “Look, I’d rather we talk in person. You free later on this afternoon? I’ll stop by and see you.”
“Sure. I’ll be here,” whiny voice said before the line went dead.
Mama always said . . . It’s better to look good than feel good.
“O h, honey, I am so sorry,” Caledonia’s best friend, Paprika Parker, said as they sat in her kitchen. A heavenly aroma of blueberry coffee cake wafted in the air. Caledonia had just told her friend about her husband trouble.
“You know what my mama always said though.” Paprika sucked on a lemon wedge before plopping it in her glass of tea.
“She said a lot of things. Which one are you talking about, Spice Girl?”
“If it’s got tires or testicles, you’re gonna have trouble.”
Caledonia smiled wearily. She was too melancholy to laugh. “You don’t think he’s having an affair, do you?”
“Oh, now darlin’, don’t you go thinking that way.” Paprika stood to check on her children playing in the yard. Satisfied they were all right, she returned to the
Similar Books
Random Victim
Michael A. Black
The White Voyage
John Christopher
Grave Intentions
Lori Sjoberg
The Tainted City
Courtney Schafer
The Delicate Matter of Lady Blayne
Natasha Blackthorne
The Passover Murder
Lee Harris
Yours for the Taking
Robin Kaye
Cooking for Picasso
Camille Aubray
Crash Deluxe
Marianne de Pierres
Falling for Owen
Jennifer Ryan