“We worked up an appetite, didn’t we... um...”
“Vince!” he says.
Teddy releases a resounding laugh.
Barry looks at me expectantly.
“Have at it,” I say, wiping my hands on a kitchen towel. “I’m not your short-order cook.” I toss the towel at Barry. “This whole routine is getting old.” I look at Vince while nodding at Barry. “Older than he is.”
Vince finally looks at Barry in this harsh morning light as if he is seeing him for the first time.
“You told me you were forty.”
Teddy laughs again.
“In dog years,” he says. “You just couldn’t tell in the dark that he has mange.”
“So why did you yell, Ron?” Sid asks. He sees the beef on the island, a knife beside it. “Did you cut yourself?”
“No,” I say. “You’re the ones who put the knife in my back.”
“What did we do?” Sid asks.
“Nothing!” I yell. “That’s the whole point. None of you ever do a damn thing around this house!”
“Dramatic much, Ron?” Teddy says, turning to walk away. “I’m going back to bed.”
“No, you are fucking not, Teddy!”
He stops in his tracks. I look each of my friends in the eye.
“I do everything around here.Everything.I cook. I clean. I grocery shop. I pay the bills. I balance our collective budget. Itake out the garbage and wash the dishes. I print a list of chores for each of you that goes unnoticed each and every week, and has gone unnoticedfor years. I keep up our traditions, from Church of Mary to the holidays.” I take a breath. “Did any of you realize—or care—that you left me alone at Streetbar the other night?”
Teddy, Sid and Barry glance at each other and then the floor.
“I’m sick and tired of doing everything in this house, which, by the way, I helped buy and redecorate on my own dime.” I try to control my rage. “And I’m the one doing all of this while still working full-time...”
“I work!” Teddy interrupts. “I have my shop!”
“And I still work,” Sid says. “Occasionally.”
“I am very busy,” Barry adds.
“Yes, you are, Barry,” Teddy says, eyeing Vince. “You stayveryactive.”
I shake my head at their childishness.
“Let’s be honest for once, boys. I bring in the money. The repairs on this house are not cheap, and the monthly maintenance on the pool, spa and lawn are outrageous, and you all act as if you live in a hotel.”
“We all put money into the budget to care for this house,” Sid says. “It is equitable.”
“Itwasequitable,” I say. “A decade ago. We agreed to put in an amount to cover our main expenses that was equitable given our individual circumstancesyearsago, but, boys, everything is more expensive now, and that lid doesn’t cover the pot anymore.”
“Why didn’t you say something, Ron?” Sid asks. “You know I can and will help.”
I shake my head.
“I shouldn’t have to,” I say. “I don’t want to sound like a martyr.”
