startup is going to clear our debts by winter. You do not need to oversee every dollar that leaves this kitchen.”
He took a step backward, but he did not leave the room, his eyes remaining fixed on the rapid movement of the blade.
“We should discuss your mother’s stay,” I said, moving to the next carrot. “Gertrude has been here for two months now. She originally planned on three days.”
Douglas adjusted his collar again. “She is my mother, Savannah. She is helping us.”
The dry draft of warm air from the floor vent smelled faintly of old dust. I carried the chopped vegetables to the sink to rinse them under the cold tap, the water numbing my fingers.
Gertrude walked into the dining area, her heavy slippers sliding softly against the hardwood. She sat down at the table and began tapping her long fingernails against the polished oak, a slow, hypnotic click that always made the back of my neck tight.
“It looks so much more like a home when someone is actually tending to it, Savannah,” she said in her slow, patronizing drawl.
“I try to keep it orderly,” I said, wiping my hands on a damp dish towel.
“Douglas tells me you have been spending fifty hours a week in that glass tower downtown,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “A husband needs more than a clean hallway when he comes home. He needs a wife who is present, not one who is married to a computer screen.”
I did not reply to her. I walked into the living room to set the clean tea towels on the sideboard, passing the entryway where our damp wool coats hung on the pegs, filling the narrow hall with the scent of wet wool and autumn rain.
