| OCR Text |
Show 40 do her homework. He carefully set the half-eaten muffin on his plate. "I just don't have any time to do homework when school's on." "It's the job," he said. "No. I'd go crazy without that job. It's tending the kids every night. It's cooking supper and cleaning house every day after school." He pushed the partly-eaten muffin away, and took out a cigarette. The flame of his lighter trembled, from a slight tremor of his hand. He.was concerned about her, about the direction the conversation would take in the next few minutes. Yes, it was terribly important to him. She was terribly important to him. She would have to be careful. She could not go soft, she could not back down. "You and Katie are still at odds, huh?" "That's an understatement." He winced. "Oh, we don't have words, if that's what you mean. Very often, anyway. As long as supper's on the table on time. The kids are bathed and in bed at nine. The carpet's vacuummed every other day. The washing doesn't pile up." He sipped his coffee, closely watching her. What she had just said she had rehearsed a hundred times. Now was the time to take the plunge: "Look," she began, "I can't stand it any longer. Katie's simply impossible to be around. Impossible. She might love the kids, but let's face it: she doesn't like to be around them. She should never have had kids in the first place. I'm right |
