Dear Miss Lonesome

Sheena Ryder wishes Ailee Anne a good day as the girl heads out to school. Once the front door shuts, Sheena slides behind her desk and opens her inbox. The next letter from Miss Lonesome hits her screen: the woman loves someone already taken. Sheena fires back that the crush might be open to switching if the signs are there. Days slip by. Ailee pushes the broom across the floor and mutters that Sheena’s husband has been skipping his share of chores. She bites her lip, then asks whether the marriage itself is troubled. The question lands hard, but Sheena swallows the pause and lies. “We’re fine.” Ailee keeps sweeping, eyes low, clearly not buying a word. Later, another note lands. Miss Lonesome wonders whether it’s time to steal the taken lover. Sheena answers: try fingertips on an arm, longer looks, small sparks to test the heat. The next laundry session changes temperature fast. Ailee stands close while they fold, brushing Sheena’s wrist whenever she passes a shirt, holding eye contact until the air grows thick. Sheena finally calls her on it. Ailee flushes and claims she’s just admiring the eyeliner. Sheena’s inbox pings again. The columnist gives Miss Lonesome one direct question to drop on her crush. Hours later Ailee walks into the kitchen and asks a version of the same line, voice trembling. The match clicks. Sheena finally sees the truth: the letter-writer and her stepdaughter are the same person. She confesses that her marriage is crumbling, and that Ailee’s daily sweetness has been keeping her afloat. They close the gap, mouths meeting hard. Tongues slide over stiff nipples, then dip lower until both women taste each other in slick, greedy strokes, the problem of Miss Lonesome finally solved.