I took a break the next morning during a school assembly to call up a detective agency . I figured they could put a tail on him and tell me whether he was cheating .
“ Look , lady ,” the guy said . “ Y ’ know how much that would cost ya ? You don ’ need a detective . You need a marriage counselor , maybe even a lawyer . If you have to call me , your marriage is already a train wreck . Save your dough .”
The following day , I asked Linda to meet me after school in the guidance office . It was a Friday , so we didn ’ t have labs to set up , and those cubicles , the only private places we had access to , would be empty .
“ Sure , no problem ,” she said with a coy , little smile .
* * *
“ So , what ’ s going on ?” she asked as we settled around the conference table . I closed the door . Even in the drab light of the cubicle , I could see how her sweater stretched out in all the right places .
“ Well , my neighbor told me she saw you and Tommy at the Alto Café last week .” My voice was false enough to sound friendly , but with the minutest twitch of her cupid-bow lips , I saw she caught my drift .
“ Yeah . He wanted some ideas for your upcoming birthday .”
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