At the end of the school day, Alma stood in the doorway, waving goodbye to her students as they headed home. She smiled as they called out choruses of goodbyes and ran to their buses or to the sidewalk.
She waited until they were out of sight before returning to her empty classroom to straighten up for the evening. As she walked down the hallway on her way home for the night she felt a spring in her step that she hadn't felt for a long time. She hadn't realized how depressed she had become over the last few years, but all of that was washed away and she felt like a different person, and more like herself again.
On her way out, Alma stopped to talk to one of her fellow teachers.
"So how do you like working here?" Bernice asked.
"I love it," Alma replied. "I'm just so glad to be teaching again. Everyone here has been so nice."
"It is a great place to work and we're all glad to have you here."
"It's so nice to be around people again and to be able to get away from the house and Mother for awhile."
Bernice nodded. "Oh, I agree. I love my cats like they were my children, but it's nice to have other people to talk to once in awhile," Bernice laughed. "Which reminds me, I should get home. They'll be waiting for their dinner. I'll see you tomorrow, Alma."
When Alma arrived home she found Amanda in the kitchen, singing as she fixed dinner.
"Hi, Alma. How was your day?" Amanda asked.
"Great," Alma replied and went on to talk about her class and her students.
Amanda listened as she worked, amazed at how talkative and cheerful her sister had become. When Alma finished talking about her day Amanda said, "Well, it looks like everything is working out great. Dinner's almost ready. As soon as Andrew comes home we can eat." Amanda glanced at her watch. "I'm surprised he's not home yet. He must be working late."
When Andrew still hadn't called or returned home a few hours later, Amanda was worried. She told her mother and sister to go ahead and eat. She was going to wait for Andrew.
By the time Mona had gone to bed, Amanda was worried into a panic. It wasn't like Andrew to be late and not call. She was trying to decide if she should call someone at the office, or the police, or the hospital when the doorbell rang. Amanda jumped up and went to the door, prepared for the worst.
But she wasn't prepared for what she saw when she opened the door. It was Andrew leaning on that blonde actress she had seen him with before they got married. Immediately, Amanda's fear turned into anger. "What's going on here? Where have you been, Andrew?" she demanded.
"Don't be too mad at him, hon. He's had a rough day," the blonde, Vanessa, said.
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" Amanda demanded. The volume and tone of her voice drew Alma into the room to see what was going on.
Andrew cringed, "Could you lower your voice, dear?"
"Oh, I see. You've been out all evening with other women and drinking while I was here worried sick about you." Andrew tried to move closer to comfort her, but she pushed him away. "Why did I ever marry you?"
"I don't know," Andrew said sadly. "You deserve better than me, Mandy. You deserve a husband that can support you."
"What are you talking about?"
"I got fired," he said in a high voice as he swayed to keep his balance. "Townsend told me to leave and not come back."
"Why?" Amanda asked with concern.
"He thinks I'm a thief, but I didn't do it. I swear, I didn't, Mandy," he slurred.
"I know you wouldn't."
"I'm going to go," Vanessa said quietly as she moved towards the door. "Your car is at Barrett's Boardwalk if you want to pick it up."
"I'm sorry, Amanda. I'm so sorry. I've been trying to figure out what we're going to do," Andrew explained.
"We'll be ok," Amanda said, trying to sound optimistic. "You'll find another job and I can go back to work. We'll get through this."
As Amanda and Andrew embraced, Alma turned silently and headed up to her bedroom. Once the door was shut securely behind her, she started to sob. She could see where this was going. Amanda would start working again and she would be stuck at home again with Mother all day, everyday. She couldn't stand the thought of going back to the life that she had just finally left behind. She wiped away her tears and promised to herself that she would not let that happen.
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