Member-only story
Belly Up
Pay attention when everything’s going OK, got it?
And it had all been going along so beautifully.
Now, if you were to listen to Mink, you wouldn’t think so, but what does she know anyway? She’s home with the kids all day. Mink’s trouble is she had it good and didn’t know it. Looking back, I guess I didn’t either. Maybe because I was out there every day, first thing in the morning and all day long, slaving away to keep a roof over their heads and decent food on the table. Hell, sometimes it was dark when I’d go to work and dark when I came home. I wish I had it as good as Mink does; even now she’s in great shape without a worry in the world.
But, typical of a woman (in my experience), now she wants to know what I’m going to do about this.
As if she couldn’t simply make a quick call to Daddy for a little help. I can’t ask. She knows that, but she can and won’t. Can you believe I used to think her pride was endearing? But she’s right about me having to figure something out. She is not getting a job outside of this house. My kids are going to have what I didn’t: a full-service mother.
Here’s the thing.
Once Dodd Savings & Loan went belly up, it wasn’t as if there were six other savings & loans up and down Carter Hill, each ready and waiting for an experienced professional…