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60, Single, and Simple Part 2 (Louis Toliver Jr)


The doorbell rang. Eunice knew immediately who it was. She checked her appearance in the mirror magnet. She picked up a tray of fresh homemade sugar cookies on the table and then opened the door. There they were. The Wiley boys, Eddie and Gary. They were dressed similarly, some jean shorts and a white t-shirt. Their nails were dirty which bothered Eunice and their faces looked as if they got in fight with an old piece of chocolate.
“Well, you are right on time as usual boys,” Eunice smiled at the boys, sometimes it was difficult because they were so pitiful looking. She didn’t think the boys got fed much.
“You got some cookies, Mrs. Eunice?” the boys said at the same time.
 “Of course,” Eunice leaned the tray down for them to grab a few, but seven year-old Eddie took the whole tray and then started stuffing cookies in his pocket. Gary, the older at ten, became mad and took the tray from him. Gary then started stuffing as many cookies as he could into this mouth. Eunice watched silently, as she did every day, as the boys fought over her baked treats. The boys hadn’t learned to appreciate anything from their mama and daddy. They were rude boys, but Eunice enjoyed anyone coming to visit her, even if it was the Wiley boys.
After the boys had enough cookies, Gary spit on the ground a few times because he liked to pretend he was dipping tobacco. He said, “Mrs. Lona said you been looking for men in the mail.”
“She did?” Eunice was embarrassed. She couldn’t believe that hussy. She knew her neighbor, Lona Howell, to be the town gossip, a walking newspaper. But she couldn’t believe she was even gossiping with children these days.
“My mama said my daddy’s good at mailing other woman,” Eddie burped a little on purpose. That’s what he did for fun. Eddie burped and Gary faked spitting tobacco. “He could mail you.” Gary rolled his eyes and laughed.
“Your mama told you your daddy likes to mail women?” Eunice was curious.
“Yeah, she said he rather mail other women that spend time with us,” Eddie walked up to the bushes surrounding the duplex and unzipped his pants.
“Ah, shut up, Eddie, mama said nail not mail. Daddy likes to nail other women.”Gary missed spitting on the ground and spit fell down his chin. He wiped it with his shirt. Eddie began peeing in the bushes.
“Stop that right now, Eddie! I told you about that! That’s filthy!” Eunice swatted at Eddie and he zipped up his pants quickly partially peeing on his leg. Gary laughed and pushed him on the ground and smashed the cookies in Eddie’s pocket.
Eunice was so busy thinking about how dirty the boys were that she didn’t see the mailman driving up her driveway. Eunice ran out in the yard and grabbed the tray from the boys.  “Okay, you two get out here, shoo!” Eunice hadn’t move so quickly in twenty years since she saw a cockroach. Any other day she would have begged the boys to stay and talk to her, but not today. She rushed inside and placed the tray on the table and looked at herself in the mirror magnet again. She took a deep breath. Fixed herself.
She closed her eyes and prayed for this letter to be her ideal man. Eunice heard the hinges of her mailbox open. Eunice moved closer to the door. She peaked out the window. Charlie, the mailman, was searching through his bag. He sifted through a few letters and then pulled out a letter and put it in her box. She couldn’t see what he put in their though. Eunice’s heart was beating fast. Charlie then walked to the mailbox next door and stuck in some mail for Lona. He went back to the mail truck. Eunice waited until the mail truck completely left. The Wiley boys were wrestling their way home. She opened the front door and reached her hand into the mailbox and grabbed the letter. She ran back to the dining table and opened the letter without reading it.

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