A sleepy-looking Baxter came to greet her, the fur on his muzzle sticking straight up as if he’d been resting on his face all evening. After a quick hello to the dog, Jessica lugged her things into the kitchen, glancing at Mike, who was sitting in his recliner with his eyes trained onThe Tonight Show.
She set the box down on the island, then pulled the slow cooker out and walked over to the sink, only to discover it was still full of dirty dishes. Her shoulders dropped and she let out a loud sigh, then walked into the pantry to grab a handful of chocolate chips to shove in her mouth to fortify her before she tackled the kitchen. Yes, she wassoglamorous, her cheeks bulging with Chipits. A flash of rage hit as she thought of Mike relaxing all evening, without bothering to clean up. Still standing in the pantry while she chewed furiously, she held up both hands, extending her middle fingers. Then she shifted her hands back and forth in his general direction.
When she walked out, she nearly bumped into Mike, who was standing in front of the fridge. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment at the thought that he might have seen her flipping him the bird, well two birds, really. Glamorousandmature. Above it all.
Mike showed no signs of having seen what she was doing in the pantry. He glanced over at the counter. “You took the slow cooker to work?”
“Yes, I made a stew for my study group. They’re all starving students and I thought they could use a homecooked meal.” Why was she bothering to explain herself? Out of habit?
His response came in the form of a grunt before he turned away from her and opened the fridge door, pulling out a can of Bud Light. Jessica yanked open the dishwasher, then sighed again. The clean dishes from last night were still in it. “Seriously?” she muttered.
“Did you read the email from Mrs. Tamblin?” he asked.
“No, who’s that?”
“Noah’s English teacher.”
Her cheeks heated up a bit. Old Jess knew the names of all of her kids’ teachers. “Something wrong?”
“If you call our son not showing up for class this week, I’d say so,” Mike told her, his tone just nasty enough to suggest to her that this was all her fault. And maybe it was.
“Shit. Did you talk to him about it?”
“Yup. He’s been ‘accidentally’ shutting off his alarm every morning. And no one is here to stop him, so…”
Jessica busied herself emptying out the plates and bowls, depositing them in the cupboard where they should have been put when Winnie got home from school. “Well, does he have a plan to fix it?”
“Not a good one. I honestly don’t think he’s old enough to have to get himself off to school every day.”
“He was doing it just fine until this week,” Jess muttered.
“You know how it is with kids. One day they have something mastered, then the next they take a giant step backwards.”
Jessica turned to him. “He can get his own ass out of bed and off to school, Mike. Let’s just shut off his WiFi access earlier in the evening so he’ll actually go to sleep.”
Mike shrugged. “Okay, if that’s how you want to handle it.” He glared at her, his expression saying everything he wasn’t. He hated how disconnected she was, how much she’d left on his plate, and he was certain ‘new and improved Jessica’ was just about the most selfish person he’d ever met.
“I can’t start my days later, if that’s what you’re hoping for.”
“I thought maybe your boss wouldn’t mind since he’s so laid back and all.” His words were laced with sarcasm.
“He is,” she said.Unlike you. “But it’s a new job and he’s already helping me so much. I can’t ask him for anything else right now.”
“Right, don’t worry about it. God forbid someone in your family interferes with your new job.”
Jess scoffed, then got back to work on the dishes. “Well, you certainly don’t let it interfere with yours.”
After a few seconds, Mike said, “I was hoping we could have a reasonable conversation. You know, like two mature adults, but apparently that’s not possible anymore.”
Jessica stiffened, then placed the glass she was holding on the shelf, careful not to slam it. “No, you were hoping to unload the problem onto my shoulders so you wouldn’t have to deal with it.”
“Can you blame me? I’ve been left holding the bag for a while now.”
Jessica spun on her heel to face her husband. “Talk to me in about … oh, eighteen years. Then we’ll be even.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Is that what this is all about? Tit for tat? You woke up one morning and decided things weren’t fair and you needed to even it all out?”
“No, it’s about me finally having a life.”
