Last chapter was short, so this one is a lot longer.

= Macy =

"Judy," Nation grabbed a glass of water and drank it, "I have something I need to tell you. Can you keep a secret?"

"What is it, Nation? You are pregnant?" I asked while washing the plates in the sink.

"NO!" Nation screamed at me.

"Don't deny it! I swear I saw you puking three days in a row!" I screamed back, "And you are drinking water now because your mouth is still gross from puking!"

"How many times do I have to tell you? I am not pregnant," Nation said.

"Fine, you are not pregnant," I rolled my eyes and said, "So, that is that big secret?"

"Ralph is sleeping with Neely," Nation said it like it was no big deal.

"Ralph is sleeping with Neely? The Ralph who is dating with Macy? The Neely who is a needy bitch?" I squealed.

Nation put her glass in the sink, "How many Ralph and Neely do you know?"

"Just one Neely," I tried to search my memory, "and seven Ralph - two in DTV, two from high school and three from the neighbourhood I grew up in. You know, Ralph was a pretty popular baby name in Denton thirty years ago."

"Oh right, you were from here," Nation searched the cupboard, "And yes, those two were the cheating pair I was talking about."

"Are you sure? How did you know?" My eyes widened.

"Cosmo and I saw those two walking into the handicap washroom together," Nation laughed, "Looks like Ralph is getting an upgrade again, from Betty to Macy, from Macy to Neely. Besides, half the station already knew about it."

"Half the station? Then it's not a secret... Oh god, why did you tell me that?" I shouted, "Macy is my friend and now I have to tell her... I hate to be the bad guy who tells the truth." I cried, "If I know it and don't tell her, then I am a bad friend. But if I tell her, then I am the bad person who destroys relationships."

"Since when are you and Macy friends?" Nation asked.

"Since she became Miss Mental Health two weeks ago," I answered, "We hanged out a couple time at the coffee booth. She asked me about how to be a nurse and we read a few psychology books together. She takes her job seriously."

"It's just two weeks, screw it," Nation opened another cupboard and continued searching, "Just don't tell her, so we can laugh behind her back."

"No, that's not what a friend would do," I made up my mind, "What the hell are you looking for?"

"Hey, do we have pickles in the kitchen?" Nation closed the cupboard.

I opened the fridge and handed her the pickle jar. "Okay, are you positively sure that you are not pregnant?" She stared at me and I felt a pain.

When I found Macy, she was sitting outside the new Farley Flavors Faith Factory construction site smoking a cigarette. The construction started yesterday and our whole crews would move there soon. The new rest home had tripled the number of rooms. That meant tripled the workload for me, and we would be taking patients from all over the country.

"Judy," She saw me, "Do all men lie?"

I handed her a bottle of beer. "What are you talking about? Oh my god, are you crying?"

"I found Neely's lipstick on Ralph's shirt, and we haven't really talked to each other since the night Farley took over," She took a sip from the bottle, "And people have been talking."

"Oh well," I smiled weakly. At least I didn't have to be the bad person, "Man is not the only thing in your life. You can have a career, a hobby and a family. You know, there are a lot of things that you can do for the next sixty years of your life, as long as you have hope and confidence."

Macy smiled, "This sounds a lot like the speech my best friend from high school gave me when I broke up with my first boyfriend. I haven't seen her since graduation and I can't find her anywhere. Maybe she left town. Funny, her name was Judy too."

"Wait, Macy Struthers," I made a puzzled look, "is not your real name, right?"

"No, my manager told me to change my name," She lighted another cigarette, "Why do you ask?"

"Your real name is Marcy Scruggs and your natural hair colour is dark brown, right?" I asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" Her eyes brighten up. "Wait, you are Judy Brankmire?"

"I am!" I screamed, "I can't believe I didn't recognize you earlier."

"I can't believe I could see you again!" She screamed with me, "Well, I lost a man, but I found my old friend." We hugged and started jumping.

We kept jumping until we were tired. "Okay Marcy. You should get wash up. We still have taping tomorrow. Let me walk you to your room?" We walked to her apartment building nearby, "You said you wanted to be an actress when you grew up, and you really did it!"

"Well, you wanted to be a nurse and you got it too!" We cheered. We stopped in front of the building, "This is good enough. You better go back to Ricky. He seems like a nice guy."

"I know," I smiled. I walked back to the old Dentonvale set into Ricky and my room. Ricky was reading on the bed, "Guess who is my high school classmate? Macy Struthers! Well, her name was Marcy Scruggs when we were in high school. And she is breaking up with Ralph because he is cheating on her with Neely."

"You finally know?" Ricky asked.

"You knew Macy is my high school friend?" I was surprised. I sat down on our bed.

"No, I was referring to Ralph," Ricky put down his book.

"You knew they were sleeping together and you didn't care to tell me?" I asked.

"Well, I don't want to tell you because you and Macy are friends. If you know about it, then you will be in the tell-or-not-tell dilemma," Ricky rolled his shoulders.

"You are very understanding!" I kissed his cheek, "I am glad you lied."

"Honey, how come you never ask me to make a promise to you? Like, 'I would never lie to you' or 'I would love you forever'?" Ricky kissed me back.

"Because that is usually the first lie a man ever says to a woman," I took off my dress and put on a night gown.

"I may lie to you for your own good, but I will always love you." He looked at me sincerely and I felt warmth in my heart.

(To Be Continued...)