Page 78 of Big Island Neighbors
“You left me for another woman,” she hissed. “You drained our bank account. I had no way to buy feed, no way to pay for the girls’ lessons.”
“Is that why you sold my TV?”
She turned and forced herself to look at him. His unshaven face, his hangdog expression. She hadn’t been attracted to her husband in a long time, but now she was repulsed by him.
He thought that he could just show up and pretend that this midlife crisis over the past month hadn’t happened? He hadn’t even offered her an apology.
“You can’t be serious,” she said after a minute.
“I leave for a few weeks and you get rid of my stuff,” he grumbled.
“You. Left.” Tara strode into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She gulped it, trying to soothe the burning in her throat and quench the fire in her belly.
This was not going as smoothly as she had hoped.
It was one thing to keep up a good attitude and marvel at her new life when he was gone. But the sight of his stupid, sorry face made her want to scream.
“Mom?” Cody came in through the back door. He took his father in at a glance and then walked past him. “The kids are gone. I sent the girls next door with them.”
“Thank you.”
“Give us a minute,” Mitch said.
“Excuse me?” Cody turned to glare at him.
“Your mother and I are trying to have a conversation.”
“Hello to you too, Dad. School’s going fine, Dad. Yes, I did pass my driver’s test. Thanks for asking.”
“Don’t be a brat.”
Cody stared at him in disbelief. “Seriously?”
“Go to your room.” Mitch tried to speak with his old authority, but Cody was nearly half a foot taller than him.Standing at his full height for once - instead of slouching to try and escape notice like he usually did when his dad was around - he towered over him.
“Why did you even come back?” he asked bitterly. “Your side piece dump you?”
“How dare you?” Mitch roared. “As long as you live in my house–”
“You don’t even live here anymore!” he shouted back.
Tara stepped between them and put a hand on Cody’s arm.
“Give us the room,” she said gently.
He went outside and slammed the door behind him.
She looked at Mitch, her whole body braced for more shouting, but all of the fight had gone out of him. He slumped onto a stool on the other side of the kitchen counter and looked at her with a mournful expression.
“How did it all go so wrong?”
“I think you know.”
“I don’t know!” He slammed his fist down on the counter. “Would you quit it with that? Stop pretending like me staying on the mainland a few extra weeks is the root of all our problems.
“Cody and I haven’t been okay for a long time. You know that. And you and me, we were roommates. I know I didn’t handle this as well as I could have, but–”
“I’m not interested in a post-mortem,” she told him.
