Free Those Angstrom Men!. by Edwina J White

some clothes, because there was no way she would set foot in that house.
    Why George might be still at it with his floozy in Susan’s bed! Not that it was likely, given how fast George reached the finish line.
    Annie drove her to the airport in time for Susan to catch the eight o’clock plane to Glasgow.
    George called about midnight. He said he’d turned his telephone off while he was in a meeting that afternoon, and he’d forgotten to turn it on. He’d called Susan’s mobile several times, he claimed, but of course, she’d had it set to airplane so he hadn’t been able to reach her.
    “ I’ll bet you just turned your mobile back on now, Georgie…I’ll be you were with your…your trollop until just now…” thought Susan .
    Aloud she said, “Oh well…”
    “How is Uncle Angus?”
    “He’s got a nasty case of the flu,” she improvised. “At his age, and wi th his dicey chest, the doctor told him to stay in bed. I’ll keep an eye on him until he’s fit to be up and about...”
    “If you’re going to be away for a bit, I might go fishing with a couple of the chaps from work, the salmon are running,” said George. “I‘ve still got a week‘s holiday due to me. Might as well take advantage of the salmon season…”
    “Have a nice time,” Susan said. All she wanted to do was get off the phone.
    On reflection, even though it was late, she called Alec. Alec would look after it. He’d know what to do.
    “Alec, Susan…”
    “SusieQ, are you alright? Did you get to your godfather’s without difficulty?”
    “I did. I’m sorry to call so late, Alec.”
    “SusieQ, you can call me any hour of the day or night.”
    “Thank you, Alec…it’s fabulous to have friends like you and Annie.”
    “Yeah, Annie’s a great girl, isn’t she?”
    Susan smiled to herself. Annie was the same age as she was, thirty-six. Alec must be all of what, twenty-eight?  Hmmm, perhaps he had a thing for Annie?
    “She is, and footloose and fancy free, Alec.”
    Alec was not daft, he knew what Susan was saying. He ignored it. Telling his SusieQ who he really had a thing for wasn’t in the cards just yet, not until she was ready…
    “Knowing you, SusieQ, you wouldn’t call at this time of night unless you had a good reason?”
      “Oh, Alec, Georgie just called.” Susan took a deep breath and continued calmly.
    “George s aid his mobile had been turned off because of a business meeting and he forgot to turn it on until just now. He says he’s going to go salmon fishing next week with his pals since I’m up here in Scotland.”
    “Since the best salmon fishing is up near you, did he suggest staying with you?”
    “Of course not…”
    “I’ll put a detective on him first thing in the morning, Susan. If he’s doing what you and I obviously think he’s going to do, we’ll have the proof we need for a quick and cheap divorce.”
    “I knew I could count on you, Alec.”
    “You can always count on me, Susan, always.”
    “I know, Alec, and you can’t believe how good that makes me feel.”
    Alec sat there, thinking for quite some time after they hung up.
    Time, he’d have to give her time to recover from her wounds. At least a year or two…
    Three days later Alec called her.
    The fishing trip was a week in Paris with the Marianne Faithful look-alike.
    The detective Alec hired had taken photos of the two of them at the top of the Eiffel Tower, at a bistro on the Left Bank, coming out of Chanel’s boutique with lots of parcels and the hotel registration for Mr. and Mrs . George Preston. Georgie wasn’t even smart enough to cover his tracks.
    Alec and Susan’s father were wonderful. Annie was incredibly helpful.
    They allowed George to buy Susan out of the house and furniture.
    He’d picked the house. Susan would hav e preferred a smaller property, perhaps a penthouse in town, since there were only the two of them, but George hadn’t considered her wishes, even though it was Susan’s salary that paid