An Old House

“Want some tea, honey? I can brew some.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll get right to it. Gosh, these floors creak with every step, I can barely walk to the dresser without sounding like a marching band. If you had called that handyman like I asked you to, it wouldn’t be half as bad.”

“Why don’t you call him yourself and quit complaining Dorothy?”

“Do you want some biscuits with your tea?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m brewing it now- look at all the rust on this kettle. Frank, when are we going to get new appliances? Everything in this house is over 100 years old!”

“It’s always one thing or another with you.”

“What do you mean? Oh, I just love the smell of tea brewing; reminds me of where I grew up.”

“You’re always nagging at something. Frank, the tub is so moldy, call the plumber. Frank, the door hinges squeak so loudly whenever a light breeze blows. Frank, I feel an awful draft at night because you never fixed that darn window. Frank, I can’t sleep in this bed tonight, it’s so uncomfortable.”

“I told you not to buy this ancient relic of a house, but you still went on and bought it. You’re a fool, Frank.”

“So after I put a roof over our heads because you nagged me to marry you, this is what I get? I’m tired of all the complaining Dorothy, if you want the floors fixed, call him up yourself!”

“Oh there it is! The classic “do it yourself”. You’re so quick to pass the blame to someone else-”

“What did you just say to me?”

“Nothing. Being in this house is draining me, Frank. Can’t you see? The air is too stiff, the house moans and groans every night, the bed hurts your back and the ceiling is filled with mites and cluster flies. We can’t seem to escape this unhappiness; it’s suffocating. ”

“Anything else you want to complain about Dorothy? I’m all ears. Just lay it on me because I surely haven’t been hearing this for the past twenty years!!”

“Well if you’ve been hearing it so much why don’t you fix it for Christ's sake?”

“I suppose it’s because I’m “quick to pass the blame to someone else.”

“You don’t understand, Frank. I’m here all day. I have nothing to preoccupy myself with so all I do is stare at the ivy-ridden walls, maneuver around the same leaky pipe, and dust the same wooden floors. We can’t live like this for much longer, Frank!”

“Well, I’m sorry that I can’t fix every single issue with the house because I’m busy working all day to keep the lights on!”

“That’s not an excuse, and you know it! Two years ago, when you lost your job, I told you every day that fixing this house would help you feel less depressed but all you did was sit around and stare at the walls. You had all of the free time in the world and you still did nothing!”

“The kids need money for school, the car needs gas every month, the refrigerator needs groceries, the bills need to be paid. We don’t have money to spend on unnecessary repairs of a house that works perfectly fine, Dorothy!”

“If you think this house is fine, Frank, you’re out of your mind!”

“Stop being so ungrateful, Dorothy-Ann.”

“Ungrateful? Why you-”

“When I bought this house, you were overjoyed! You said that this was the best thing to ever happen to us and that we could raise a family here. I remember you said “it’s a bit shabby but we can make it work.” What happened to that idea, Dorothy?”

“I grew up, Frank. And I got tired of waking up in an antique shop.”

“Well you know what? I happen to love this antique shop, and you did too before the kids left. Things were never this tense between us. We’ve had our ups and downs but it was never intolerable.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so infatuated with this house!! Why do we have to have a screaming match every night over the same thing?”

“Well gosh, I don’t know Dorothy.”

“It’s been five years like this, Frank. Five years. The kids have left, we don’t talk unless we’re fighting, and I’ve slept more times in the motel on Palm Street than my own bed.”

“That’s funny that you phrase it that way-”

“I hate that I don’t feel comfortable in my own home.”

“So there’s somewhere else you feel comfortable-“

“And I hate that you always twist my words and say something that I don’t mean!”

“I’m not twisting any words.”

“You know Frank, you’d think being married twenty years and after two children, that you would know me well enough. But sometimes I feel like you don’t even try to understand me. Because you’ve known how much I hate this house and you choose to ignore it.”

“I’ve known a lot of things Dorothy-Ann, which I choose to ignore.”

“Here we go with the analogies. What does that mean?”

“I know that you brew tea at a specific time every Wednesday evening.”

“What? That’s absurd-”

“I also know that you place the kettle on a low fire so that the tea can take a while to brew.”

“I don’t understand where this is coming from-”

“Then you start an argument over something that you can see. Something within reach, like the kettle being rusty or the leaky faucet, or the broken light bulb in the kitchen.”

“I don’t start an argument-”

“Then we argue for a while before it gets heated and we start shouting at each other. Not loud enough for a noise complaint, but loud enough so that the next door neighbor can hear it.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Then when the tea is done, you stop arguing and, in a slight rage, leave the biscuits and tea out on the kitchen table. You stomp into the room, grab an already packed bag and scream out that you’ll be staying in a motel tonight because you can’t “stand to be around me right now.” But I wonder-”

“Frank-”

“Is it because you can’t be around me or is it because you’d rather the company of our neighbor instead?”

“That- that is preposterous, Frank! I’m insulted that you would think-”

“That I would think what, Dorothy? Tell me that room 345 is empty every Wednesday.”

“That’s enough Frank, I won’t tolerate this insult to my character. Making up stories won’t change the fact that this house needs to be fixed, because the foundation was strong, but it’s beginning to crumble.”

“I can fix this house but we both know that won’t solve our problems. Our marriage is more dilapidated than this house and there’s some things you can’t fix with a hammer or wrench.”

“Frank, I-”

“Goodnight, Dorothy. Don’t forget to take your keys on your way out.”