Post-it

Phoebe Abbott woke up at home, to a mean hangover and a post-it note. "Thanks for last night, it was absolutely amazing. You're an amazing woman, but I'm sorry, I can't do this, I'm married" it said. Phoebe groaned with exasperation.

She peeked underneath the blanket, realising she was naked. She saw her red lycra skirt and leopard-print panties lying on the floor. Another promiscuous night out; another one-night-stand with a stranger; another stomach-churning hangover. Story of my life, she thought bitterly.

When were her one-night stands going to change into her forevers? She decided she would change her habits, and strive to become someone who could bag a decent guy… someone like her best friend Lily Buffay. As far as Phoebe was concerned, Lily and Frank's relationship was the stuff of fairytales.

Here was a guy who stuck with Lily through thick and thin, always striving to give her a baby. Theirs was a rock-solid relationship Phoebe could only dream of having some day. She had never met the guy, but from hearing what Lily had to say about him, he sounded like good news.

Phoebe heard her mobile phone ring. Lily Buffay flashed on-screen. Speak of the devil. "Hey, what's up?" she greeted sleepily.

"Pheebs, I really need to talk to you, something screwed up just happened, and I really need you right now," came Lily's tense distraught reply.

Phoebe sat bolt upright in bed, instantly awake. She had never heard her friend sound so devastated before. "Lily? What's going on, honey?"

Her best friend broke into tears. "F-F-Frank... h-he left me! After 7 years of m-m-marriage!"

Phoebe was shell-shocked. There goes my role-model couple; she thought to herself. "Okay honey, stay put. I'll be over in 10 minutes with a tub of icecream."

"O-o-okay, but m-make it Cookies n Cream, o-okay?" Lily sobbed.

"Alright, alright, sweetie, you hang in there, I'm coming over right now," Phoebe said soothingly.

Phoebe drove to the convenience store, bought a tub of Cookies n Cream icecream, then headed over to Lily's. A puffy-eyed, red-nosed Lily answered the door. God, she looked a mess. Phoebe drew Lily into her arms, hugging her tightly. The pair sat on the couch, and Phoebe remained quiet while Lily dug into her tub of icecream. Lily was dressed in pyjamas, and there were used tissues strewn all over the coffee table. She looked like an American sitcom cliché.

"So, you want to tell me what happened, Lily?" Phoebe asked cautiously.

"Our latest round of IVF didn't work, I'm still not pregnant!" Lily cried, with a mouthful of icecream.

Phoebe rubbed her back, "Oh honey, I'm sorry; I know how much you want this."

"And then I told Frank I wanted to do another round cuz I'm not the type of give up, and I really want to be a mom, but he gave me an ultimatum. He said that if I didn't stop, he'd leave me! But I can't give up on my dreams, so I refused, and he left me, Phoebe, he actually left me!" Lily cried.

"Sweetie… maybe if you call him, try to work things out. You guys are solid, you've been married for 7 years. I've never had a relationship that's lasted for more than 7 weeks!"

"My marriage isn't over, is it, Pheebs?" Lily asked in a small voice.

"Lily, it isn't over unless you want it to be. If you love him, fight for him. Work it out, call him. You guys have the kind of relationship I aspire to have someday," Phoebe encouraged.

Lily blew her nose on a used tissue, nodding vigorously, "You're right Pheebs, I should call him, I will. I'll tell him we can compromise on the baby-thing. This is just a minor disagreement, I mean, it's not like he cheated on me, or something."

"That's my girl."