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“How is it otherwise, Joy?” Tess asked her.

“How’s what?”

“You know what. Married life. You know what I mean.”

To Cory’s surprise, she had to think about it. “I might be wrong, but sometimes it seems as if . . .”

Cory glanced at Tess. But Tess was staring at Joy. “It seems as if what girl?”

“It seems as if he might be having second thoughts.”

“Second thoughts?” Cory was shocked.

So was Tess. “He can forget that. The second thoughts train has come and gone!”

“It just sometimes feel that way, that’s all.”

“Is it something you did that made him go left like that?” Cory asked.

“No! At least I don’t think so. But he’s never home enough for us to really work on it if there is something.”

“How’s your sex life?”

Tess pushed him. “Cory!”

“Don’t Cory me!”

“It’s great when he’s home,” Joy didn’t mind answering. “He can’t get enough of me. But sometimes I catch him staring at me, as if he was missing his bachelorhood and I was the reason he no longer had that life. I don’t know, but sometimes he seems burdened by me.”

“That’s just your imagination running wild, girl,” said Tess. “That white man loves you. That much I know.”

Joy knew it too, but she couldn’t shake that feeling.

But then, like always, she returned to her natural, upbeat self and moved on. “Why y’all never show up for breakfast when William’s in town, is what I wanna know?”

“It’s no secret,” said Cory.

“I know that’s right,” said Tess.

“Then why?”

“Why do you think?” Tess asked.

Joy was genuinely curious. “Why?”

“Because, as we tell you all the time,” Tess said, “we’re in a unique situation where that man employs all three of our black asses.”

“That’s right,” said Joy. “And my black ass calls him William.”

“That’s because your black ass is married to William,” said Cory. “As we said over and over and over again, our two black asses,” he said, pointing at his ass and Tess’s ass, “are not.” And they all laughed.

But then Joy’s cellphone began ringing. She picked it up from the countertop and looked at the Caller ID. “It’s his traveling secretary.”

Cory frowned. ‘What’s a traveling secretary?”

“His private secretary,” Tess said. “That’s what Netta calls her.”

Joy answered the call. “Hello, Minnie.”