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check.
    Soon after, the waitress processed the payment and brought back the receipts. “Thank you so much, and please enjoy the rest of your day.”
    “You, too,” they both said. Melanie wrote in the gratuity amount, signed one of the copies, and they left for the parking lot. When they arrived at their automobiles, they hugged each other, said their good-byes, and drove in opposite directions.
    Melanie went to her condo.
    Alicia rushed to the mall.

Chapter 3
    P hillip tried his best to concentrate on the sermon he was writing, but he just couldn’t do it. Not with all the problems he and Alicia were already having. He loved his wife, more than life itself, but he hadn’t counted on her being so stubborn about her ridiculous spending habits. He’d been trying to reason with her, but no matter what he said, she didn’t seem to be happy living a normal life. To her, normal meant expensive worldly possessions, it meant top-of-the line luxury, it meant Donna Karan, Dolce & Gabana, Ralph Lauren, and dear God, just yesterday he’d even seen an outfit by St. John. He hadn’t wanted to search through her closet, but his curiosity had gotten the best of him and he hadn’t been able to help it. But then, a part of him was glad he had, because he’d seen loads of clothing that he’d never seen before and he knew it was all brand new. Alicia had quietly and cleverly, or so she thought, removed every one of the price tags, probably hoping he wouldn’t notice one way or the other, but Phillip knew for sure that she’d just purchased most of it over the last two months. He knew because this wasn’t the first time he’d sneaked into her closet. He’d felt bad about doing it all the other times, too, but now his top-secret closet explorations had become commonplace. He’d becomealmost obsessed with seeing what she was going to buy next; however, it was that sixteen-hundred-dollar off-white St. John’s pantsuit that pushed him over the edge. Shoot, if you asked him, she was way too young to even like St. John’s clothing styles, but then again, Alicia had very high standards and for all he knew, she’d purchased it mainly for status and also because of how much it cost. The tags were missing from that outfit, too, but Phillip had found it online and was quickly able to confirm the dollar amount. He hadn’t wanted to believe his eyes when he’d seen the actual numbers, but now he knew his wife had a problem—he knew she was a shopping addict.
    Phillip glanced over at the bronze-framed wedding photo sitting on his desk, then picked it up and drew it closer to him. The day he’d married Alicia had been the happiest day of his life, and he’d known for sure that they would remain happy with each other for the rest of their lives. And they still could if only Alicia would come to her senses and realize all the trouble she was causing them. If only she’d take a long look at all the money she was tossing away and recognize the damage it was doing to their marriage. If only she’d think about the negative effect it was already having on their plans to have children in a couple of years or so.
    Phillip could still remember the first day he’d laid eyes on Alicia and how he’d known right away that he was going to marry her. He’d known this with everything in him because he’d never been more attracted to anyone so quickly. It was true that she was a beautiful young woman, but he’d been drawn to everything about her. He loved her smile, her mannerisms, the way she talked, the way she walked, the way she laughed; even now, he still felt the same way—that is, with the exception of her spending habits.
    Phillip sighed deeply, returned the photo to his desk, andleaned back in his chair. He was so frustrated and wondered what it was going to take to get through to Alicia. Maybe he could convince her to talk to a counselor. Maybe there was some sort of local support group meeting like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics