“No,” Ash says. “Especially not on his own, like a guys trip. I’m glad he’s doing it. Usually I’m the one who’s traveling.” She sits down next to Caro and lowers her voice in case there’s someone behind the one-way window. “To be honest,” she says, and she’s not sure why she’s telling Caro this, she’s never told anyone, “I never know what I’m going to find when I get back from a trip these days.” She exhales. “The last time I went out of town, for a buying trip, I came home and found out that he’d bought a new car.”
“Oh?” Caro says.
Ash knows it doesn’t sound that bad. None of the things that happen are things likeHe cheatedorHe hit meorHe doesn’t do anything with the kidsorHe can’t hold down a joborHe’s an addict. The things Wade does are really, truly, not that bad, on the surface. But they hurt.
How do you describe it? The way he undercuts her, taking the wind out of her sails, wearing her down?
“He did it without talking to me about it,” Ash says at last. “We’d always discussed big purchases before.”
“Oh, of course,” Caro says, and the matter-of-fact way she says it feels so validating that tears start to Ash’s eyes. “That’s the kind of thing couples should talk about. I’d be livid if Dan did that without our having a conversation first.”
“Right?” Ash says. “When I said that, Wade got mad. He said it was his money and he could do whatever he wanted with it, and he didn’t have to run it past me first.”
“Hold on.” Caro sits upright. “What does that mean, it’shismoney?”
“I mean, itwashis money,” Ash says. “The money he makes from his dental practice.”
Caro looks Ash straight in the eyes. “Yeah, but do you talk about any big purchases you make withyourmoney?” she asks Ash. “Money from Three Sisters? Ifyouwent ahead and bought a car without talking tohimfirst, would he be mad?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s both of our money,” Ash says.
“And the dental practice isn’t?”
“Well, he helped me so much with getting the business off the ground…”
“And you didn’t do the same for him?” Caro asks. She pushes the chair back, and it screeches across the concrete floor, making them both wince. “Plus bear his children?”
“Our children,” Ash says.
“Still,” Caro says. Then they’re both quiet. Ash hears the air-conditioning kick on again, and she rubs at her goose-bumped arms.
“What else has he done while you’ve been gone?” Caro asks.
Ash sighs. “The trip before, he cleaned out our closet.”
“And what was the catch?” Caro prompts, and Ash feels that wash of relief again. Caro understood that there would be a catch, that it wasn’t purely a kind, helpful action on Wade’s part.
“He only cleaned out my part of the closet,” Ash says. “He took all my clothes, shoes, everything out of the closet, and it was all on my side of the bed when I got back. He said I was taking up more than my half of the space.”
“I don’t understand why he would do that,” Caro says. “Did he need more space?”
“Not really,” Ash says. “He hadn’t ever complained about it before.”
“Don’t all women take up more than half of the closet?” Caro asks. “I do.”
Ash shrugs. “I could see his point. Like, sometimes you want the space even if you’re not going to use it. It was—”
“Thewayhe did it,” Caro finishes.
“Yeah.” Ash’s throat tightens. “Exactly.” She tries to laugh. It doesn’t work.
“That was childish,” Caro says. “Both of those things are extremely childish.”
Wade issosupportive, people are always telling Ash. As if her venture is cute and sweet and—hobbyish. Not the main source of their income. Wade has a great job, yes. But she’s making more money than he is these days. So why does she have to fit her work in around his instead of the other way around?
“Where’d he go on his boys trip?” Caro asks, and Ash feels that contrary, protective surge of emotion again. Why doesboys tripsound so dismissive? And Wadeisa great dad, and hedoesworks hard…
“He didn’t tell me,” Ash says, and she sees Caro’s mouth twist, but before she can say anything the door to the room opens and they both straighten up. It’s Officer Clark this time.
