“Hi, honey. I just left the office, which means I’m running late for dinner, so what would you and the kids like me to pick up on my way home?”
“Oooh, I was really looking forward to a good home-cooked meal tonight.”
“I’m sorry, but there’s no way I have time to make anything at this hour.”
“Not even a quick stir-fry? I’ve been eating out all week and I don’t think my heart can take much more of it.”MORE +
“Mom! I know what kind of cake I want for my birthday,” James announced as he burst into the back yard where Mom was blowing up balloons for his birthday party.
“Is it chocolate cake from Big Mama’s Famous Bakery? Because that’s what you’re getting.”
James stopped short, looking crestfallen. “You’re not baking my birthday cake?”MORE +
“Yes! I was hoping you would make brownies for the bake sale,” Julianne said when she walked in the back door and smelled the brownies Mom had made for that night’s dessert.
“What?”
“The bake sale. Remember?”
“What bake sale?”
“The one I told you about.”
“Try again.”MORE +
This is the tenth part in a series, so if you have not done so already, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, and Part IX before continuing.
Alicea had been afraid Fiona would flaunt her righteousness in front of her and taunt her with an endless onslaught of, “I told you so,” but Fiona didn’t do any of that.MORE +
This is the ninth part in a series, so if you have not done so already, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, and Part VIII before continuing.
When Alicea got home from work Monday night (trying to explain the giant bruise on her face to her coworkers had been interesting), she found the purse she had forgotten at the bar Saturday night lying on the floor in front of her door. It came with a note from Sven apologizing and asking her to call him. He had already left several voice and text messages and Alicea had ignored them all.
Alicea picked up the purse, checked to make sure the contents were the same as when she last saw it (they were), brought it inside and promptly threw away the note.
She was in the middle of putting some leftovers in the microwave for her dinner when her phone went off. Thinking it was Sven again, she went to silence it, but as she did, she happened to see the name on the screen: Fiona.MORE +
This is the eighth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII before continuing.
“So, you’re coming over to my place on Wednesday, right?” Sven said.
“What? I thought we were done with that,” said Alicea.MORE +
This is the seventh part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI before continuing.
“Hey, Alicea, there’s someone here you should meet. This is Erin.” Fiona presented a woman who was a little taller than Alicea and who smiled warmly as she shook Alicea’s hand. “Erin was just telling me about her narrow escape from Creepy Sven.”MORE +
This is the sixth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V before continuing.
“Maybe after this we could go back to my place?”
“I shouldn’t,” said Alicea. “I’m wiped. It’s been such a long week that, as much as I love hanging out with you, I really need to get home and get some sleep.”
“Of course,” said Sven. “I get it.”
“But I’ll see you next week for sure.”
“What about Wednesday?”
Alicea froze. “Wednesday?”MORE +
This is the fifth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV before continuing.
“Hey, Kira and I were just talking about going to see the new Marvel movie on opening night this week, who’s coming with us?”
“Oo! I am!”
“Me, too.”
“Definitely.”
“Alicea?”
“Sorry. I can’t. I have plans.”
“It’s not with that creepy Sven guy is it?”MORE +
This is the fourth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II and Part III before continuing.
“I brought you a souvenir,” Alicea said the first time she and Sven got together after she and her family got back from vacation.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Sven said in the half-hearted way that told Alicea he didn’t mean it.MORE +
