“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Mrs. Winston?”

“Dr. Winston, but yes. Who is this, and how can I help you?”

“I’d rather remain anonymous. I can say that I work in your husband’s department. That, I can tell you.”

“Understood. Continue, please.”

“I’m sorry to inform you that your husband is having an affair.”

“Interesting. Why do you think that, exactly?”

“There’s a woman who comes into his office, between his classes. They laugh. It’s so loud. So very loud. We can hear them down the entire hall.”

“I see. Tuesdays and Thursdays, right?”

“Oh. Um. Yes. That’s right. That’s correct. How did you—”

“Yeah, I’m adjunct. As such, I don’t get my own office. So it’s easier for me to just have lunch in my husband’s office, on days when I teach at the college. I’m sorry that our laughter disturbs you. I’ll try to tone it down, but I make no promises.”

“Oh! Oh my God! I apologize!”

“No worries at all, and have a lovely evening.”

My grandmother’s eulogy made several references to this story, as did my grandfather’s, three years later.

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Alaina Hammond is a poet, playwright, fiction writer, and visual artist. Her poems, plays, short stories, nonfiction, paintings, drawings and photographs have been published both online and in print. Her novelette “Jillian, Formerly Known as Frog Girl” was published by Bottlecap Press. Three of her flash fiction stories (Jane Passes The Bar Exam, To Serve In Retail Hell, As Numb As I Am) have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, all in 2025. @alainaheidelberger on Instagram.