The Morning After by Kendra Norman-Bellamy

front door.
    When Colin pulled into his reserved parking space at Wachovia Bank twenty minutes later, he sat in his car for a moment to gather himself. What went on in his home, whether bad or good, was no concern of anyone at work. Colin made it a point to never mix his personal matters with those of his business. And the last thing he needed was to take out any temporary frustrations he had with Angel on colleagues or clients.
    Help me make it through the rest of the day. Colin prayed the quick, silent prayer as his hand made contact with the button that would release the locks of his car. Within seconds, he’d put on his best all-is-well-with-the-world face, and after a few brisk strides, he was swinging open the doors of Wachovia and waving at nearby frequent customers on his way back to his office. Behind his closed door and his oak desk, Colin plopped in his leather swivel chair and took a deep breath before reaching for the file he’d been working on prior to leaving.
    Three knocks brought his mind’s attention to the door, but his eyes remained locked on his paperwork. “Come on in.”
    â€œHey, Mr. Stephens. I was thrown off by the closed door for a minute. You’re back already?”
    Colin looked up at Nona entering his office with two files in her hand. “Yes, I’m back. What can I do for you?”
    â€œWell, darn.” She fixed her face into a pout. “Now I owe myself ten dollars.”
    With raised eyebrows, Colin responded with a clueless, “Huh?”
    Nona laughed at his expression. “You were so eager to spend lunch at home this afternoon that I had placed a bet with myself that you probably wouldn’t make it back to work at all. Not only are you back, but you’re back early, so I lost the bet. I owe myself ten dollars.”
    Chuckling and shaking his head simultaneously, Colin replied, “I see.” Then he added, “This may come as a bit of a surprise to you, Nona, but believe it or not, there are millions of better ways to entertain yourself that you probably should get exposed to. Talking to and making wagers with yourself... not to mention losing bets to yourself and actually paying yourself, can lead to long-term problems.”
    Nona broke into a jovial laugh. “You’re probably right. I guess I need to get out more.”
    â€œThat’s all I’m saying,” Colin said, raising both his hands in a manner of surrender.
    â€œSo are you back from lunch in every way?” Nona asked. “I mean, do you want me to send phone calls to you now or would you rather I keep the calls forwarded to me until you’ve at least taken a full hour?”
    â€œThat would help me make a little more leeway on everything—if you continued to take the calls, I mean.”
    â€œWill do,” she said as she placed the files on his desk. “Plus it’ll give your food time to settle. You ate way too fast today.”
    â€œI didn’t eat.” The words spilled from Colin’s mouth without permission.
    Nona had been heading for the door to leave, but his words caused her to turn back around. “You didn’t eat?”
    He’d already started, so Colin figured that he might as well finish. “No, I didn’t. Angel had taken Austin shopping at one of the outlet malls somewhere, so they weren’t home when I got there.”
    â€œI’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Stephens. I know how much you were looking forward to spending that time with the two of them.”
    â€œIt’s no big deal,” he lied. “That’s what I get for trying to surprise them, I guess. I’m the one who ended up being caught off-guard.”
    â€œSo because they weren’t home, you didn’t even bother to eat lunch?”
    Colin shook his head while chuckling at his own inanity. Until Nona mentioned it, he had actually forgotten about his physical hunger. Other, more prevalent, starvations