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It
was the lipstick that made her
know.
Julie had only thought
until then that her husband, Tony,
might be having an affair, for
somehow he just seemed different
lately. She knew about the
pressures he was under at work,
most technical designers had some
tight deadlines to meet for the
really lucrative contracts, and
for a while she had been convinced
it might be that. Now she was not
so sure.
Julie knew that money was not the
problem, she herself only had a
part time job, and it was her that
had pleaded with Tony to let her
take it, simply because she wanted
to make new friends. They were not
in need of money, so that was not
the problem either.
All her new found doubts
originated, she knew, from the
article in the magazine that Sara
had shown her. From then on she
became suspicious about her
husband.
But it was the lipstick that made
her really know.
Or rather, it was the lipstick on
the mouthwash lid. This Julie took
as clear evidence that another
woman had been in the house - she
herself always
put her lipstick on after
using the mouthwash. What was
more, Julie actually recognised
the make of the lipstick, due to
its unusual shade. It was exactly
the same as hers! It was her one
indulgence - designer makeup, very
expensive and very exclusive - and
yet this same make and shade had
appeared on her mouthwash lid.
Julie had not said a word of her
suspicion to anyone. But tonight
she was convinced she was going to
find the guilty woman - for
tonight, Julie and Tony were
hosting a party.
She set about her preparations
with a certain amount of
automation. Understandably her
mind was preoccupied with things
other than sausage rolls, quiches
and crisps.
There were three main problems
with her plan of catching the
woman out tonight.
The first problem was that Julie
was well aware that lipstick could
look very different when worn by
different people. There was a
simply way to overcome this
problem however, and that was to
give each woman a clean glass and
have a look at the lipstick marks
after they had taken a drink.
The second problem was slightly
more complicated. What happened if
the woman was not wearing that
particular lipstick tonight. Julie
decided that after she had taken a
look at all the glasses, if there
was no sign of the evidence she
was looking for, she would have to
start up some conversations about
make-up, "Do you like my
lipstick? I got it from my usual
range." That sort of thing.
It was the last unknown that made
her anxious. How would she react
when she found the culprit? Well
that was a question that could
only be answered in time.
Everything was all but ready. The
food was all cooked, the glasses
all cleaned, the house dusted and
vacuumed. But Julie could not
relax. She started titivating,
moving the furniture slightly,
adjusting the curtains. Tony
should have been home by now.
At that moment she heard him burst
through the front door.
"Sorry I'm late," he
called. "I wanted to finish
that drawing before I left - can't
stand having things left half
finished." He looked about
him as he walked towards the
bedroom. "Oh honey you've
done great. Everything is ready.
You must be exhausted
already."
Julie gave him a half smile.
"You need a bath?"
"If there's time."
He had just finished buttoning his
shirt when the doorbell rang - the
first of the guests had arrived.
Julie went to answer the door.
The woman on the other side of the
door bore a striking resemblance
to Julie, and with good reason.
Kate was Julies younger sister.
Young, beautiful and single, Kate
was very confident and extremely
eligible. Though Julie trusted her
sister implicitly and tried to
prevent herself, she simply could
not stop herself from glancing at
Kate's lipstick. To her relief it
was clearly not the same as her
own.
As Kate made herself a drink,
clearly at home in her sisters
house, the other guests started to
arrive. Within an hour everyone
expected had arrived - four
couples in total, with the only
single person being Kate.
Tony was enjoying himself. The
drinks were flowing easily, as was
the conversation. What was even
better was the fact that the
conversation was not entirely
centred around technical design, a
miracle considering that all five
men worked for the same firm.
And yet as far as Julie was
concerned, things were going
badly. Plan 'a' had not worked at
all. None of the women had her
type of lipstick on. Plan 'b' was
not exactly going smoothly either,
as the conversation kept veering
off course. Julie kept trying to
go back to make-up, but by now the
other wives must be wondering if
she had anything else to talk
about apart from make-up.
She retired to the kitchen, which
for once was not the centre of the
party. She shut the door, sealing
herself off from the noise, and
poured herself a stiff drink. As
host she would not normally drink
too much, but now...
And then the fourth problem hit
her. Why had she not thought of
this before? Tony would not even invite
his mistress. Julie had been
searching for a person who was not
even here!
As she took a large swallow from
her glass, the door opened and
Kate came in.
"Not joining in your own
party?" She asked.
Julie glanced down at her glass,
and as if for the first time ever,
noticed the lipstick mark it left.
Suddenly, roughly, she wiped her
hand across her mouth to remove
what was left on her lips.
"I've gone off the lipstick
all of a sudden," she said.
"Really?" Her sister
asked, surprised. "I think it
suits you." She paused,
taking a drink from her own glass.
"Mind you, it doesn't look so
good on me."
Julie's head whipped up. "I
beg your pardon."
"I know, I know. I should
have mentioned it earlier, but I
felt a little guilty."
Julie was speechless, her mouth
opening and closing like a fish.
"When Tony and you were out
the other night I let myself in
with your spare key. I had a date
and needed the loo. I borrowed
your lipstick I'm afraid."
"Did, er, did you happen to
use the mouthwash too?" Julie
stammered.
"Look I am ever so sorry. I
promise I'll never again let
myself in without asking first.
Please don't be too angry."
Julie, tears rolling down her
face, smiled at her sister.
"Oh Kate. I'm not angry at
you. In fact I'm very glad you let
yourself in. Believe me - I'm very
happy!"
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