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her in the grocery store. Instead, he’d walked beside her as she
scanned the shelves looking for sales and trying not to think about
the phone in her pocket. Money was tight and Kevin would be
angry if she spent too much. Their mortgage took nearly half his
salary, and credit card bills consumed another chunk. Most of the
time, they had to eat in, but he liked restaurant-type meals, with a
main course and two side dishes and sometimes a salad. He
refused to eat leftovers and it was hard to make the budget
stretch. She had to plan the menu carefully, and she cut coupons
from the newspaper. When Kevin paid for the groceries, she
handed him the change from the salon and the receipt. He
counted the money, making sure everything was there.
At home, she rubbed her arms to stay warm. The house was old
and frigid air wormed its way through the window seams and
beneath the front door. The bathroom floor was cold enough to
make her feet ache, but Kevin complained about the cost of
heating oil and never let her adjust the thermostat. When he was
at work, she wore a sweatshirt and slippers around the house, but
when he was home, he wanted her to look sexy.
Kevin placed the bags of groceries on the kitchen table. She put
her bags beside his as he moved to the refrigerator. Opening the
freezer, he pulled out a bottle of vodka and a couple of ice cubes.
He dropped the cubes into a glass and poured the vodka. The
glass was nearly full by the time he stopped pouring. Leaving her
alone, he went to the living room and she heard the television
come on and the sounds of ESPN. The announcer was talking
about the Patriots and the play-offs and the chances of winning
another Super Bowl. Last year, Kevin had gone to a Patriots game;
he’d been a fan since childhood.
Katie slipped her jacket off and reached into the pocket. She had,
she suspected, a couple of minutes and she hoped it was enough.
After peeking in the living room, she hurried to the sink. In the
cupboard below, there was a box of SOS scrubbing pads. She
placed the cell phone at the bottom of the box and put the pads