Page 22 of One Night at Christmas

“She probably can with you shouting. I’ve had a long day, and I’m tired. Leave me alone.”

“You were shopping not working.”

“With Naomi.”

She started for the pantry to put away some canned goods, but he grabbed her arm and whipped her around to face him. “I forgave you when you didn’t deserve it. Now, I deserve some respect.”

“Oh my God, not that again!” She jabbed a finger in his chest. His attitude was more than she could take today. Normally, she tried to placate him, make him feel better, help him to believe that she was committed to him forever. Today, her patience was shot to hell, and she’d had years of him throwing the past in her face. “You act like I betrayed you, but you need to remember we weren’t together when I was with someone else.”

“You didn’t love me when we got married. I wonder if you love me now.”

“Stop! I can’t take it anymore, Morris. Maybe we got together in the wrong way, but I’ve been faithful to you. I’m sick

of hearing how you did me a favor. All you’ve done is grow more and more bitter over the last few years. You don’t trust me even though I never cheated. You’re always on my back. All Naomi ever hears from us is fighting, and I’m sick to death of it.”

“So what then? You’re going to leave me?” He moved closer to her, appearing much bigger than normal. She didn’t think for once that he would lay his hands on her, but Morris changed over the last few years. He wanted to intimidate her. “After all I sacrificed for you?”

“What sacrifice?”

“Admit it, Charon. You still love him.”

She threw her hands up and left the kitchen. Let him argue with himself. When she reached their room, she pushed the door mostly closed. She didn’t want to shut it all the way in case their daughter wanted to come in. Hopefully, Morris would get the point that she didn’t want to talk to him.

In her bathroom, she looked through the collection of bubble baths she kept there. They had candy apple, bubble gum, and strawberry scents. She kept them in her bathroom because Naomi liked to get into them and pour most of it down the drain when she tried to give her toys a bath. Charon had to keep her eye on her daughter to keep her out of trouble. Three-year-olds were always busy getting into things.

After she chose the bubbles and puttered around in her bedroom just to give herself time to calm down, she returned to the kitchen. Thankfully, Morris had disappeared into the den where he watched ballgames on TV. Charon hated the sound of the games in the house, but she dealt with it when it meant Morris would give her space.

She prepared a quick dinner of tacos and salad and set the table. Then she went to get her daughter to wash her hands. “Time for dinner, baby.”

Her daughter knelt in front of the TV with the DVD out of its case. Her fingerprints were all over the disk. Charon sighed.

“Mommy, do you hate Daddy?”

“No, baby, of course not.”

“Does Daddy hate you?”

“How do you even know that word?”

“Daddy said it.”

Charon ground her teeth. “He said he hates me?”

“No.”

“Who?”

“Somebody.” Naomi dropped the DVD on the carpet, jumped to her feet, and ran out of the room. The water in the bathroom came on.

Charon returned the DVD to its case and followed her daughter. She didn’t need to ask who Morris said he hated. She could guess, and it pissed her off that Morris didn’t bother to curb what he said in front of their little girl.

From day one, Morris kept accusing her of loving Bryson. When he wasn’t accusing her, he demanded to know if she loved him. She had to go out of her way to show him affection. It wasn’t a big deal in the beginning because he was mostly kind and a good provider. Over time his attitude grew worse. She had to tell him where she was at all times and never come home later than she said she would be home.

Dealing with jealousy wasn’t something she couldn’t handle—until he lost his job. For the last couple of months, Morris had been unemployed. She began to think he avoided finding a new job so he could keep closer tabs on her. Then she would feel guilty thinking that way. Surely, Morris wouldn’t risk them getting behind in their bills just to be sure she wasn’t seeing someone else.

Silence at the dinner table grated on Charon’s nerves. She kept her head down, concentrating on her food. Every so often, she forced a smile and encouraged Naomi to eat everything so she could have dessert.

“Uh-oh, you’re losing your cheese. Let me help you, baby.” Charon reassembled the taco and held it up to Naomi’s mouth, who turned her head in disgust.

---