Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Thirty seconds later, with a ding, the notification sound chimed.

Mamie swiped back to her phone's home screen, glanced at it, and sure enough, it was a deposit alert.

On the other end, Duke messaged, "Sweetheart, did you get it?"

"Yep, got it, got it."

Not a million, but one and a half million.

Wowza- Duke had tossed in an extra half a million!

"Don't skimp on the good stuff, eat well, drink well, and if you ever run short, you just holler at Duke, got it?!" "Yep! Got it, Duke!"

Call ended, she pocketed her phone.

Turning around, she caught Scales and Roseanne staring at her.

Blinking in confusion, Mamie asked, "...What? Just because I got money, you're giving me the eye?"

Scales narrowed his eyes slightly, arms crossed, "Mamie, you're not being straight with us."

Mamie was puzzled.

"Living in a small town?"

Mamie replied, "Yeah, we're smack dab in a vibrant area, surrounded by business districts and upscale residences. It's lively, to say the least!" Scales just sighed.

Roseanne questioned, "Your folks are out of work, managing a building?"

have any issues, like a burst pipe or a tripped fuse,

Roseanne was speechless.

this

yacht, and my dad's all about deep-sea fishing. They're always

Yacht...What an exotic word!

your

"Why

a once-over, finding it hard

T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops...

was rocking flip-flops like

don't really look...

Where was the

My dad wears flip-flops all year round! And he

Scales exchanged

out, a pair of flip-flops had set

we've got

device?" Mamie's eyes

we going shopping

sparkled.

for a moment, "This is a group project, we can't

split it three ways." Scales had been eager to suggest, "That

Roseanne nodded, "Sounds fair."

Mamie blinked, then suddenly

"And

I was t one.