Irvin shook his head immediately. “And turn our marriage into neighborhood entertainment? No. We fix the garage, we get the business back on its feet, and we stop handing her more of our life.”
“She’s already made our marriage neighborhood entertainment!”
“Then we don’t help her do it.”
“Your weak boundaries are part of the reason we’re in this mess!” The words came out before I could stop them. “We have to fight back.”
I saw them land. I saw it in his face, the way his jaw went tight and his eyes dropped.
“I’m not protecting Vanessa,” he said, very quietly. “I’m trying to protect you. I’m the one who built that garage. I’m the one who didn’t check the paperwork.”
“And I’m the one losing customers.”
We sat there in silence. Both of us angry. Both of us hurting. Both trying to defend the same life from opposite directions, and somehow ending up farther apart.
