'Good evening, dear,'� Frankie Knowles closed the door behind him as he returned from work. His wife was nowhere in sight, so he just shrugged, placed his coat on the hook and fell down onto the couch with a prolonged sigh.
'Oh Frankie! When did you get here?'� Melinda Knowles entered, she was clutching a box of tissues in one hand and a telephone in the other. 'I've been trying to call you for hours.'�
'Oh, Melinda, honey, how was your day?'� Frankie looked up and jumped when he saw her standing above him.
'I've been sitting around all day, as you can see I've been crying,'� Melinda announced dramatically, waving the box of tissues in front of her husband's face.
'Oh, thank-you, honey, I've been sniffling all day. I think I've caught that cold that's been going around,'� Frankie plucked one of the tissues from the box and blew his nose in his usual quiet, unassuming manner.
'I don't suppose you know why I've been sobbing all day?'� Melinda collapsed on a chair with her usual melodramatic, theatrical way.
'The traffic was horrible coming home, I think there must have been an accident on the highway. Did you see anything about it on the news?'� Frankie asked his wife as he took off his shoes and socks and placed them neatly on the floor by the couch.
'I saw you Frankie, this morning, with that other woman,'� Melinda uttered, her voice lowering to a whisper. 'And I know why you were late coming home today!'�
'It was just an absolute standstill on the road, I sat in the same place for half an hour.'�
'Don't think I haven't noticed how absent you've been lately, and don't think I haven't figured out just what you've been up too!'�
'I've been working so hard the past few days, this new project my boss has given me is nearly impossible to figure out. I'm sorry if I've been rather absent lately, but this is really important to my career. If I'm ever going to get that promotion'�'�
'I think it's important that you know'�'�
At that moment, someone knocked on the door and Melinda got up and sent her husband a glare and told him that 'this wasn't over'�, before opening the door.
'I'm sorry to be calling so late, but I have to talk to you about our brother, it's really important,'� Catherine, Melinda's sister, gave her sister a quick hug before stepping past her and into the apartment. 'Good evening, Frankie.'�
''�then I'm going to need to convince the boss that I can'�oh, Catherine, when did you get here?'� Frankie paused mid-sentence and gazed at his sister-in-law behind his square spectacles.
'Well, Melinda, I don't know if you've heard but our brother is in jail,'� Catherine sat down in a chair beside her sister. 'Apparently, he was caught with some sort of drug, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, aspirin, I don't know, but it was bad.'�
'I'm so glad that you are here, Catherine, I have to talk to you about Frankie,'� more tears slipped down Melinda's cheeks.
'It's been a long time since I've seen you Catherine, have you seen your brother, Thomas, lately? How is he doing?'�
'But not as bad as this tabletop!'� Catherine continued, she swept her finger across the kitchen table and glared accusingly at whatever she had collected on her finger. 'How can you live in such squalor? You're lucky you have me around to look after you and Frankie!'� she stood up and pulled a cloth out from a drawer and began to vigorously clean the kitchen table.
'You see, things haven't been too great between Frankie and I for the longest time, and I was getting suspicious that something might be going on. He's been rather cold towards me lately, and I just knew there had to be some reason.'�
'Thomas was always such a nice guy, always liked him a lot, from the moment I met him. Kind of guy that would never do anything wrong,'� Frankie said absentmindedly.
'This is just disgusting, Melinda! Have you ever considered hiring a maid?'� Catherine shook her head in revulsion.
'Oh Catherine! I just know my husband is cheating on me!'� Melinda wailed.
Catherine halted mid-sweep, and gawked at her sister. 'Frankie?'�
'Of course I'm talking about Frankie!'� Melinda ripped another tissue from the box and wiped her glassy eyes.
'So what are we having for dinner tonight, honey?'�
'How do you know?'� Catherine moved towards her sister, the cloth hanging limply in her hand.
'Well I've suspected it for sometime, so I followed Frankie this morning after he left, and he didn't go to work! He stopped somewhere first!'�
'Where?'�
'I'm partial to ham and green beans, myself, but it's really up to you.'�
'He stopped'�'� Melinda clutched the box of tissues tighter in her hands, ''�at the gas station!'�
'Melinda'�'� Catherine's face fell and she went back to wiping the tabletop.
'Don't walk away from me, Catherine, this is important!'� Melinda cried hysterically. 'I really need support right now.'�
'Of course, dear,'� Catherine said dully, now wiping the counters in the kitchen.
'You see, he started speaking to this woman behind the counter and then he handed her something, I'm not sure, but I think it was a love letter and then I just couldn't take it anymore, so I left.'�
'But, I guess if we just ordered in some food, that would be all right too. I don't really mind,'� Frankie muttered, flicking on the television.
'You don't think I'm over-reacting do you, Catherine?'� Melinda asked her sister.
'No, I don't think you look fat, sweetie,'� Catherine replied.
'I'm glad you're on my side,'� Melinda muttered, ripping up a tissue in her lap. 'Because I'm just lost here, I don't know what to do.'�
There was another knock on the door. 'I'll get it,'� Catherine called and bustled over to the door. She opened it to find her brother, Thomas standing there, glancing up and down the hallway suspiciously.
'Thomas!'�
'Thomas!'�
'Japanese might be nice, I'm in the mood for yaki udon.'�
'Catherine! Melinda! Can I come in?'� Thomas said frantically, and without waiting for an answer, he hurried past Catherine and began to look out all the windows as if making sure he wasn't being followed. 'Oh, hello Frankie.'�
'Hello Thomas.'�
'Thomas, you're supposed to be in jail!'� Catherine exclaimed.
'What?'� Melinda cried, jumping to her feet
'Thomas, if we ordered some Japanese, would you like something?'� Frankie asked his brother-in-law pleasantly.
'Some gyosa would be nice,'� Thomas replied before turning his attention back to his sisters.
'That does sound nice,'� Frankie agreed.
'Just let me explain,'� Thomas approached his sisters wearily. 'The police must have told you that they caught me with some'�illegal substances'�but it's just not true! Well'�I guess it is true, but I was framed. It's my friend, Ed, well, he was my friend'�'�
'Actually, on second thought, I'm feeling kind of ill, must be this cold,'� Frankie stood up and took another tissue from Melinda's box and blew his nose.
'I met him a few months ago, and a little while ago he started asking me if he could trust me. I said yes, and he said he had a job for me, and that he would pay me really well if I would lend him a hand. I didn't think that he could be up to anything too sinister so I agreed and he started asking me to deliver things for him. Packages, things like that, and the people I delivered them too always handed me an envelope which I took back to Ed. Then he would pay me half of whatever was in the envelope,'� Thomas explained slowly, pacing up and down the apartment.
'Melinda, do you know where the aspirin is?'� Frankie asked his wife as he was rummaging around in one of the cabinets.
'In the cabinet above the sink,'� Melinda said distractedly.
'So, one day, he had a really important order that needed to be delivered right away. He warned me to be careful and not to come back to his apartment but to meet him at a pub at the other side of town later that night. But, right when I arrived at my destination, all these policemen came out of nowhere and arrested me. They opened up the package and then they got all angry and'�well'�next thing I knew I was sitting in jail next to a man named Fred who asked what I'd give him in exchange for a packet of cigarettes,'� Thomas finished his story and waited for a response form his sisters.
'Thomas'�'� Catherine began.
'My husband is cheating on me!'� Melinda exclaimed.
'What?'� Thomas yelled, his face turning bright red with rage.
'Found it!'� Frankie came out of the bathroom with a bottle of aspirin. He held it up proudly and grinned at everyone.
Thomas turned to Frankie and in one swift moment, his fist collided with Frankie's nose and then he was on the floor with blood streaming out of his nostrils. Melinda and Catherine each cried out before rushing over to help. Catherine used the cloth she was holding to try and stop the blood pouring out of Frankie's nose, and Melinda helped him to sit up. Thomas stood in surprise, not quite sure what he had done.
'I just wanted some aspirin,'� Frankie muttered.
'His nose might be broken! Call an ambulance, Melinda!'� Catherine held Frankie's back and was pinching his nose together with the cloth.
'I'm going to call the ambulance, I think his nose might be broken!'� Melinda jumped up and headed over to the phone, Frankie fell backwards once he lost her support. He banged his head loudly on the hardwood floor and cried out in pain. Melinda didn't notice, instead she punched the numbers into the phone and waited for someone to pick up.
'Why did you do that, Thomas?'� Catherine asked her brother reproachfully.
'I don't know, I was just really angry,'� Thomas muttered bashfully.
'We need an ambulance now, my husband might be dying!'� Melinda yelled into the receiver. '54 James Street, apartment 1.'�
The door slammed open and everyone glanced up to see the figure of a man standing in the frame, glowering down at the scene in front of him.
'Hurry up,'� Melinda put down the receiver and gazed worriedly at the strange man.
'Thomas here?'� grunted the man.
'Ed?'� Thomas turned around and stared at the man with wide eyes.
'I heard you got out of jail, heard you blabbed about my little'�operation'�to the police,'� Ed didn't even bother to close the door behind him. 'They raided my apartment, luckily I wasn't there, I was out looking for you.'�
'How did you find me?'� Thomas asked.
'Your friend, Marcus, told me that your sister lived here, I figured that was where you might go,'� Ed answered, glancing briefly at Melinda.
'I'm sorry Ed, but I had to tell them,'� Thomas shrugged, taking a step back.
'I thought I could trust you,'� Ed tilted his head and moved further into the apartment, like a predator about to pounce.
'I'm sorry, who are you?'� Melinda said with a sheepish smile on her face.
Just then they heard sirens, both Thomas and Ed jumped and hurried over to the window.
'The police!'�
'The police!'�
'The ambulance!'� Catherine sighed with relief and helped Frankie sit up, still pinching his nose with the cloth. 'Thank God.'�
'It's only an ambulance,'� Thomas let out a sustained breath and sank onto the couch.
Ed stood at the window, inspecting them all. 'Why is there an ambulance parked outside?'�
'Because my husband is dying!'� Melinda moaned, kneeling beside Frankie and crying once more.
'That's too bad,'� Ed shook his head sadly.
The paramedics burst through the open door, took one look at Frankie and raised their brows. 'What exactly is wrong?'�
'We think he broke his nose,'� Catherine said, relieved that they were here.
'My husband is dying!'�
'Melinda, hush, these people know what they're doing,'� Catherine chided her sister, before helping the slightly annoyed paramedics get Frankie onto a stretcher.
'Good thing, we're on the ground floor,'� Frankie said, his voice muffled by the cloth.
'You've always been able to look on the bright side of things, dear,'� Melinda rushed after Catherine and the paramedics.
'Thomas, you and your friend can stay here as long as you want, just don't get into any trouble,'� Melinda called over her shoulder as the whole group hurried down the hall.
Thomas got up and shut the door. The apartment was deathly silent for a moment as the pair listened to the sirens of the ambulance fade away.
'Where were we?'� Thomas asked.

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