Emily sat down on the sofa. She took off her shoes. She put her feet on the coffee table. She leaned back. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV. It was 6 o’clock. The news was on three channels. She didn’t want to see the news. The news depressed her. It was usually about accidents and murders. There was too much bad news on the TV news. She found a talk show to watch. It was Ellen. She liked Ellen. Ellen was a comedian. She told good jokes. She showed animals doing funny things. She gave expensive gifts to her fans occasionally. This show was a rerun, because Ellen’s "live?show was usually on at 4 o’clock. But that didn’t matter to Emily. All she wanted to do was relax. Her life was one problem after another. Her husband had just lost his job. Her only child had dropped out of high school. Even worse, he had left home. He told his mom he would call from time to time. But he hadn’t called in two weeks. She was worried sick. She didn’t know where he was. She didn’t know if he was dead or alive. Her husband said she shouldn’t worry. He had done the same thing when he was 17. But when he found out that life on the road wasn’t as easy as he thought it was, he returned home and got his high school diploma.