Arthur opened the door to his house. He stepped inside.

"Honey, I'm home!" He shouted. Sue Ellen came up to him, their son Andy not far behind. Arthur hugged and kissed his wife. Sue Ellen and him had been married for seven years, a lovely wedding had taken place, and everyone was happy for them. Their son Andy was five years old, with an active imagination, and he was just a picture of Arthur at that age, minus the glasses.

Arthur had been scared to go into married life, but he found that it was amazing. He had a loving family, a good job, and he was happy. Arthur worked at a quiet desk job somewhere in the city, while Sue Ellen was a stay at home mom. Andy went to preschool, along with his cousin Dieter, DW and James's kid.

"Hi Hon!" Sue Ellen greeted. "Could you pick up some things from the store?"

"Sure." Arthur said, getting ready to go back out. "What do we need?"

Sue Ellen produced a list as if by magic, and handed it to Arthur. He nodded and left the house. Arthur pulled up at their local supermarket, and got out of the car. He grabbed a cart and headed inside. Inside he saw Francine, who worked there. He smiled and waved at her. She scowled at him. Arthur just shrugged and went about his business.

Francine was the only childhood friend of Arthur's who wasn't at the wedding. He had dated her for some time, before finally cutting the strings, seeing as how they might not have worked out. Even now, years later, she was resentful towards Arthur. They weren't even on speaking terms. He was happy and moving forward, though, while she stayed stuck in the past.

Arthur was checked out by a girl named Sandra, someone he and Sue Ellen had met in high school. She was a good friend to them, and was there present at the wedding.

"How're you today Arthur? Sue Ellen's feeling well I hope." She conversed.

"Everyone's fine. How about you?" Arthur replied with a smile.

"I could be better, but I'm doing pretty good." She responded.

"Good to hear."

"Your total is thirty four, twenty five." Sandra said. Arthur paid for his groceries and left the store. When he was gone, Francine slinked over to Sandra.

"Don't come to me with your ex problems." Sandra said with a Texan drawl.

"Can you believe he married Sue Ellen, though?" Francine said.

Sandra rolled her eyes. "We've been going through this conversation for seven gosh darn years. Give it a rest already. So he didn't marry you. Like my grand mami always said, 'If you don't get him, there's another just like 'im somewhere.'"

Francine scoffed. "What does that even mean?"

Sandra replied, "It means that you should just find another Arthur Read. There's bound to be one somewhere."

"You're crazy." Francine spat.

"I'm not the one still eyeing my ex-boyfriend." Sandra retorted.

"I'll marry that man someday." Francine stated, staring out the window.

Sandra snorted. "When?"

"Maybe they'll get a divorce." Francine stated hopefully. Sandra eyed her coworker.

"Francine. They truly love each other. No small argument's gonna put them apart. They had a child together, and where I'm from, that's a pretty big deal." Sandra said. "The only way you're gonna marry Arthur is if there's a death in the family."

Francine took on a blunt look as she processed this new information. She nodded. "I see."

"Don't get your hopes up either way. Just move on and be happy."

Francine nodded again. But she couldn't find it within herself to move on. She had to have Arthur. And the only thing that stood in her way was Sue Ellen.

At the Read house, DW, James, Robert, Kara, and Dieter were over for dinner. They had a feast, with vegetable soup, corn bread, collard greens, fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Everyone was talking and catching up. It was like a small family reunion.

DW was a teacher at Lakewood Middle School, while James worked as a server at Starbucks. Robert was an airline pilot, and Kara worked part time as a stewardess for the same airline. Arthur smiled at how successful his family had become. It was almost like a dream.

"I saw dad lately." DW said.

"Really? I haven't spoken to him in a while. How's he doing?" Arthur asked.

"Oh he and mom are fine. He finally published his cookbook. I read it over, it was pretty fancy." DW replied.

"Ugh, I wish I had time to cook like that. We're hardly ever home." Kara spoke.

"Yeah, we travel a lot, obviously. But, we get to try different cuisine sometimes. I remember a flight to Venezuela, oh my god, that was really good food." Robert added.

And so the conversation went, everyone talking about their dance with devilish cuisine. Outside, a figure lurked around the Read house. They were cautious, every move meticulously planned. They found Sue Ellen's car. They quickly slid underneath, pulling pliers from their pocket, and getting to work.

The next day, after Arthur had went to work, Sue Ellen had decided to spend some time at the library that day. She drove out from the driveway, and went on her way to the library. Asshe approached a red light, she stepped on the brakes. They felt loose. Sue Ellen stomped on the brakes, but the car kept going. She slid out into the intersection, right as a car was coming through from her right. The impact was sudden, and Sue Ellen was out like a light.

Arthur got a call at work. He quickly looked around to see if anyone was paying attention before answering.

"Hello?" He whispered.

"It's Buster." The voice at the other end said.

"What's up?"

Buster got right to the point.

"It's Sue Ellen."

-Breakline-

Arthur sped to Mercy General Hospital. He dashed for the front doors, rapidly asking for Sue Ellen Read.

"She's not to have any visitors." One receptionist said.

"I'm her husband. I have to see if she's alright!" Arthur shouted.

The receptionist nodded. "Ninth floor, thirty fourth room."

Arthur nodded before hurrying upstairs. When he got to Sue Ellen's room, he felt his heart sink. She was lying on the bed, unconscious. An oxygen mask was on her face, and an IV needle was stuck in her arm. She breathed steadily, the heart monitor steadily beeping.

Arthur felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the doctor.

"She'll be okay." He assured. Arthur looked at the doctor and nodded.

"I'd like to stay with her." Arthur said. The doctor replied, "Sure."

Arthur called DW and asked her to pick Andy up from preschool, and he asked her to keep him for a while. He explained to his younger sister about how Sue Ellen was in an accident. She understood. She gave him her sympathy.

When Arthur got off of the phone, a detective stepped in. It was Buster. He looked at Arthur solemnly. Buster was a private investigator, solving major crimes across the city. His job had given him a tough look, but he still Buster. Good ol' caring Buster. Right now, he looked tired, with a heavy five o'clock shadow on his chin.

"You look like crap." Arthur said. "No offense."

"None taken." Buster said. He looked at Sue Ellen. "It wasn't an accident."

"What?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"The brakes. They were cut." Buster replied.

"Who would want to do this to Sue Ellen?" Arthur asked.

"I'm going to find out." Buster said.

"I can't pay you." Arthur said.

"I'll do it for free. You're my friend. I couldn't accept money for this." Buster replied before leaving.

When his best friend left, Arthur sat with his face in his palms, praying that Sue Ellen would be alright.