"My parents want us over for dinner the day after tomorrow. Don't forget."

"Oh, and they said that goose from last time was great."

"Tell your dad to slaughter another one and have it sent over tomorrow."

He said it all as casually as if he were reading off a grocery list.

"The day after tomorrow doesn't work. Some other time," I said, keeping my voice as level as I could manage. "And my dad's busy tomorrow. If your family wants goose, go buy one. They're not expensive."

He stared at me, confused.

I didn't look at him. Just kept talking.

"Besides, my parents want us home for dinner the day after tomorrow too. My brothers are back from out of town. It's rare that we can all be in one place."

Clement hurled the towel in his hand onto the bed.

The air in the room, already thick with tension, pulled even tighter.

"Would it kill you to talk like a normal person?"

"It's one goose. Why are you being so cheap about it?"

I sat up straight and looked him dead in the eye.

"My family doesn't raise geese."

"The ones last time were a gift from a relative. There were only two. My dad brought one over to us the same day, didn't even save one for my brothers."

The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Well, isn't that how it should be?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"How it should be?"

"Clement, do you even hear yourself?"

"What did I say that's so wrong?" He stood in the doorway, towering over me, looking down. "You married me so your future kids could have a city address. Let's not pretend otherwise. So what if your family helps out a little?"

The words hit me like a slap. My ears rang.

It was true that my mother had once said something along those lines.

But I had never thought of it that way. Not once.

The room went impossibly quiet. So quiet I could hear my own heartbeat.

The silence stretched on and on. I was the one who broke it.

"Say that again."

He must have realized he'd gone too far, but an apology never came.

"Just tell your parents I don't have time this week. We'll figure something out after things settle down."

I laughed.

I actually laughed. The kind of laugh that only comes when someone pushes you past your limit.

"You have time to eat at your parents' house, but not mine?"

"Yeah, my family lives out in the country. But your parents' place on the edge of the suburbs is even farther!"

"And your job. Who got you that job in the first place? Remind me."