Humans Only

The next morning, Muriel stepped outside of her house. The sun felt so good on her face. She closed her eyes and breathed in the country air. Today was going to be a great day.

The old biddy froze.

Wait… Is somebody crying?

Muriel opened her eyes and turned her head. Liz sat on the bench in front of the house. The old biddy tilted her head.

“Lizzie?” she asked. The younger woman looked up.

“He’s gone!” Liz wailed. Muriel had a confused look on her face.

“What?” she asked. Tears ran down the girl’s face. The old biddy walked across the path to the bench. Liz looked up at her with her lower lip trembling.

“He left me,” she wailed. “He’s been seeing another girl behind my back.” Muriel pulled her into her arms.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, dear,” she whispered. Liz cried up against her chest. A wave of unease washed over Muriel’s face as she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She looked up at the sky.

Now what do I do?

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The Sunny Plum’s bell jingled as the door opened. Annie and Tucker looked up to see a grinning William. Clover stood behind him, quiet. The couple had nervous looks on their faces.

“Did something good happen today?” Annie asked. William hummed as he practically danced into the café. He pressed his hand down onto the counter. Clover followed behind.

“Are you okay, mate?” Tucker asked. William grinned like a wild cat.

“Yes,” he said. “It’s a wonderful day!” The couple looked at each other in a strange way.

“What happened?” Annie asked. The old man looked like he was ready to fly away.

“It’s over!” he shouted.

“What are you talking about?” Tucker asked. William grinned him by the hands.

“Michael dumped Lizzie!” he said. “He left this morning! I have my house back!” The couple quickly looked at each other.

“Congratulations, I guess…” Tucker said, trying to get out of William’s grip. The old man threw back his head and laughed. Annie looked over at Clover. The younger woman said nothing but shook her head.

“Is Liz okay?” Tucker asked. William turned to her, grinning.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “She’ll be fine.” The couple didn’t look so convinced.

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Muriel happened to look up and see Clyde, Lewis, and Aisha walking down the path to her house. The old biddy could finally breathe.

“Muriel?” Aisha asked. The leader raised an eyebrow.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Muriel shushed her.

“He left me!” Liz wailed. “Michael’s gone!” The old biddies stood silent. Muriel looked up at her friends with a desperate look in her eyes.

“Help me,” she mouthed.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lewis said.

“Anything we can do?” Aisha asked. Liz just broke down crying again. The old biddies all sat around their friend and the younger girl. This was going to be a long morning, wasn’t it?

End