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by fucking something important up!"
    They heard the doors to the liquor cabinet open, the clink of ice and a drink being poured and then the sound of Doris going up to her bedroom while sniffling and closing the door. The house became quiet once again.
    "What about Jeff? Should you go down and see if he's alright?" Craig asked.
    "No. Jeff's pride is probably in a shambles. He's angry, and he just had a fight with his wife whom he loves very much. I doubt very much he wants to see me at the moment."
    "What should we do?" Craig asked.
    "As far as the conversation they just had, we're gonna act like we slept through the whole thing. You understand? We didn't hear shit. This way Jeff can at least maintain some pride, and Doris doesn't have to feel like she has to explain to us about what's going on. If they want us to know, they'll tell us. Okay?"
    "Yeah, you're right. Okay, that's the way we play our reaction to any questions should one of them ask us if we heard anything. I just hope Jeff is okay."
     
    * * * *
     
    Peace had descended upon the house once more, and both men eventually fell asleep. They woke up to a quiet house the next morning. They got up, showered, dressed, looked at each other, and gently opened the door. They weren't sure what they would find or how their friends would be. They walked down to the kitchen like nothing had happened the night before.
    "Good morning, all," Adam said in a cheery voice.
    "Hello, boys. Did you sleep well?" Doris asked in a low voice.
    "Both of us hit the bed, and we were out in an instant. I started to say something to Craig and fell asleep while whispering. Moving does that to me," Adam said, hoping it was convincing.
    "Where's Jeff?" Craig asked.
    As he finished asking the question, Jeff swung around the corner and headed upstairs, obviously un-showered and without saying a word to anyone in the kitchen.
    "Your question has been answered," Doris said. "Sit down, boys, and I'll fix bagels. Here's the coffee; pour your own."
    "We're gonna be out this morning since I have to go into my new office and sign some paperwork so they can run their checks and stuff before I start. I also have to have a urine test to make sure I'm not a druggie. We'll be back after lunch sometime," Adam announced. Craig looked surprised because he hadn't heard about the plan.
    "Oh, okay. Your leaving for a bit will give me time to do some housecleaning without worrying about disturbing your job hunt, Craig. Your office is open on a Saturday for paperwork, Adam?"
    "Yeah, all I have to do is see the on-duty supervisor to get what I need to begin the process of becoming an employee."
    "Well, the company seems to wanna make it easy for new hires, which is good."
    "Okay, great," Adam said. "We should be gone for about three hours I would think, which will get us home just after noon."
    Jeff came down just as they were finishing their coffee.
    "Morning, honey, the boys were just telling me they slept like logs last night as soon as they hit the pillows. Isn't that nice?"
    "Oh? Yeah, wish we all had slept like that."
    "Well, we're off to take care of things. Be back this afternoon," Adam said.
    They got wallets and keys from the bedroom and headed out the door.
    * * * *
    Doris watched the car pull away, and she turned to Jeff and said, "They're gone." They began to talk this time, instead of screaming.
    "I haven't slept all night, Doris. I've given this whole thing a lot of thought and have been struggling with the knowledge that I'm the reason we can't get pregnant. I did a lot of research on my condition on the internet last night, and there really isn't anything we can do about my problem."
    "I know there isn't anything we can do. We can always adopt though, honey. This isn't the end of the world."
    "When we got married, I promised you I would give you anything you could ever want. You've wanted a baby since we were married, and a baby is the one thing I can't give you. Yes, we can adopt, but you won't have the