Hopetown Road

Things in the office have begun to officially unravel. The overspending on our new home has become glaringly evident, and Annette is finished with attempting to save Landon’s and my business. Instead of holding on to the large cache of equity from the Saturday Road home and then putting it down towards the new mortgage, Landon has decided to instead keep that money, which hovered somewhere around three hundred thousand dollars cash, and use it for “other things”. Now, instead of having a manageable mid-six figure mortgage, the end result will turn out to be tucked a hair under the million-dollar mark.

When Landon approaches me about keeping the money in lieu of putting on the note, I immediately say no way. I am immediately angry.

“Are you kidding me? That’s about the absolute dumbest thing you have ever said! No fucking way. No. I can’t let you do that.” I am practically spitting as I say the last few words, and am under such tremendous stress that I lose control of my temper. As I pack up the last of the kitchen items and am wrapping one box with tape, I whip the tape dispenser around and around the box at a furious pace until it finally tears. When it does, I throw the tape gun at Landon and hit him in the chest.

“Hey! What the hell is that for?” Now he is equally as pissed off as I am. Financial stress, the thought of losing the business that we put blood, sweat, and tears into, the packing and moving, is taking its toll on both of us.

I glare up at him, using one of my more famous tactics of getting my point across. “Landon, our financial situation is in such dire straits that I just cannot conceive of doing something so blatantly irresponsible. Honestly.” I stay in a squatted position for another few seconds before I get up. I didn’t know what to do about Landon and his complete misconceptions regarding money anymore. I stand for another moment looking at my husband, my lover, and my best friend; I realize that I didn’t know him anymore. Shaking my head sadly, I head upstairs to pack some more of our things.

What is this all for anyway? How can two people who at once are so exactly alike that we actually appear seamless, attached at the hip, become so distant? Where one person ended, the other one begins. I wonder how can this be and yet, without warning, grow so far apart, that it is like living under the same roof and yet we exist on different planets.