Alicia began driving by the Dixon house every day at least twice a day for about a week now.  Her intention was to walk up to that door and tell that bitch to leave her man alone.  She was just waiting for the right opportunity.  The truth was that despite all her bravado, she couldn’t quite screw up the courage to confront the Lynne face to face.  She’d never admit that to herself, though.  

Just as she was driving past the house this particular evening, she saw Lynne’s car coming at her from the opposite direction.  Alicia pulled over and watched Lynne pull into her driveway.  “It’s now or never, girl”, she said to herself.  She unbuckled her seatbelt and strolled over to the other woman just as she was reaching into the back seat to grab a canvas bag filled with books and folders.

“Excuse me, ma’am?”  Alicia called out as she reached the rear bumper of Lynne’s car.

Lynne turned towards the woman addressing her and smiled.  “Hello, do you need help?”

“Yes.  Are you Lynne Dixon?”  The question stopped Lynne cold.  Her heart began to pound, but managed to keep her breathing steady as she placed her canvas book bag on the ground next to her feet.  

Lynne looked at the woman and let a slow smile cross her face.  If Alicia had known Lynne from way back in the day, she’d know that nothing good came after that smile.

“How can I help you dear?  Saul’s not here.  That’s why you came here, right?”

Alicia’s eyes widened for a moment but she quickly recovered.  “As a matter of fact, I AM looking for MY MAN.  Is he here?”

Lynne chuckled.  “Sweetie, shouldn’t you know where YOUR MAN is?”

“You didn’t know where he was all those times he had me bent ov-”

Alicia didn’t see the left hook as it met her lips, cutting her off mid-sentence.  She looked up at Lynne to see her leaning calmly against the side of her car.

“What was that, honey?  I didn’t hear you.”  Lynne said sarcastically. “Care to repeat yourself?”  It wasn’t a question, it was a dare.  

Lynne looked at the woman’s lip and saw that it was quickly swelling.  “Come inside the house, I’ll get you some ice for that lip.”  When Alicia hesitated, Lynne chuckled.  “Don’t get shy on me now, honey.”

Alicia had played this all wrong and she knew it.  She clearly hadn’t considered that the woman she thought was a meek schoolteacher would be anything but meek.  She may even be psychotic, but here she was, the woman who’d just boasted about sleeping with her husband, following the scorned wife into her house.  What was wrong with her?

Lynne turned to her just as she was about to cross the threshold of the house her lover owned.  “Please stay there.  My children are at home.  I don’t want to have to explain to them who you are.”

Lynne went to the kitchen, wrapped some ice in some paper towels, then put that in a plastic bag.  She returned to Alicia with the ghost of a smirk on her face.

“Here’s your ice pack, dear.”  As Alicia reached for it, Lynne pulled it back and leaned in close to the younger woman.

“Now, I want you to hear me clearly.  I’m sure you’ve realized by now that you made a mistake by walking on to my property.  I’m guessing you wanted to intimidate me, but you must not have done your homework because I. AM NOT. A. PUNK.  Now, I hope that you don’t forget the lesson you learned here today, because if you make your way on to my property again, you WILL be digesting some of your teeth.”

Lynne then unceremoniously slammed the door in Alicia’s face.