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His phone vibrates again. He pretends to be checking something in a lower drawer as he takes it out of his pocket, answering it without bothering to check the caller ID. “Hi,” he says, holding it tight against his ear as a knot forms in the pit of his stomach.
“You have to do something,” Heidi says instead of hello. “I hate that stupid chair.”
He sighs. “I know you do.”
“Doyoulike it?”
“Not particularly.”
“Okay, great. Tellherthat.” She doesn’t have to state who she’s referring to.
“What am I supposed to say?”
“How about that while we really appreciate her generosity, we just don’t need another chair. Tell her that it’s too big for the room. Tell her that it’s hideous even without the god-awful fabric she picked out,” she continues, warming to the subject.
He laughs. “Come on. It’s notthatbad.”
“Itisthat bad.”
“It’s just a chair. We can get used to it.”
“I don’twantto get used to it. I don’t want it in our house.”
“Well, technically, it’sherhouse.”
A moment’s silence. “Look. Why don’t we just tell her to sell the damn place? We can find an apartment….”
“We can’t afford an apartment.”
“There must be something.”
“What? Where are we going to go?” he asks, hearing the frustration in his voice. He looks around, grateful the store is relatively empty. Heidi doesn’t have a shift today, so she’s at home. He wonders if she’s alone, then shakes away the disquieting thought. “Look. I know it’s hard….”
“It’s not hard,” she counters. “It’simpossible. And I’ve tried. I’ve tried and tried and tried. You know that.”
“I know.”
“Nothing I do is right. Nothing I do is ever good enough.”
“I know it feels that way….”
“Itisthat way. Your mother hates me, Aiden. She hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you.” He hears her sniffing back tears. “Ah, babe. Please don’t cry.”
“I just feel so alone.”
“You’re not alone. You have me.”
“Do I? I’m your wife, Aiden. You’re supposed to stand up for me. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“Why do there have to be sides?”
“Because that’s the way your mother operates.”
“You don’t understand,” Aiden says, rising to his mother’s defense, as he always does. “She means well.”
“She means well?She means well?” Heidi repeats, her voice rising. “Is that why she told you that she walked in on me and Julia’s grandson, why she made it sound like she might have interrupted something?”
