“March. Aunt Carol’s medications: three hundred and forty dollars.”
The old woman frowned.
“I thanked your husband.”
“And he accepted the gratitude.”
“April,” Natalie continued. “Evan’s car repair: eleven hundred dollars.”
“You said you had used your bonus,” Evan complained to his brother.
Leo clenched his fists.
“We are married. The money belongs to both of us.”
Natalie smiled.
“Last night you said everyone pays their own way.”
No one laughed.
She kept turning pages.
Birthdays. Gifts. Medical appointments. Bus tickets. Melissa’s debt. The enrollment fee for one of the kids. A new television for Mrs. Brenda. The in-laws’ anniversary dinner.
Every expense had a date, an amount, and a receipt.
Finally, Natalie placed a sheet of paper in the center of the table.
“And this is just the Saturday food for twelve months.”
Evan read the figure out loud.
“Twelve thousand dollars.”
“Not counting gas, electricity, cleaning, or the hours I spent cooking.”
Mrs. Brenda paled.
“That can’t be.”
“You can check every receipt.”
“But Leo said he bought the meat.”
“Leo bought meat three times in a year.”
“I contributed in other ways,” he protested.
Natalie took out another page.
“Your average contribution to the household expenses was twenty-seven percent. I paid seventy-three.”
“Because you earn more.”
“That was never a problem for me. The problem was that you used my money to pretend you were supporting me.”
Leo slammed the table.
“You are my wife! You have no right to humiliate me in front of my family!”
“You humiliated me first. The difference is I brought proof.”
Aunt Carol closed her empty container.
“Boy, what you did has a name.”
“Stay out of it, Aunt.”
“Coward,” she finished.
Mrs. Brenda stood up, indignant.
“My son is no coward. Maybe Natalie is making everything up because she wants to separate him from his family.”
Natalie slid the refrigerator receipt toward her.
At the top appeared Natalie’s full name and the last digits of her account.
Mrs. Brenda held it for a few seconds. Then she looked at Leo.
“Why did you say you paid for it?”
“Because we are married. It’s the same thing.”
“It’s not the same thing,” Carol replied. “You let your mother insult the woman who helped us.”
Melissa took the receipts for the school supplies. Her eyes filled with shame.
“I spoke badly about you too,” she admitted. “Leo said you spent everything on clothes and that’s why he never had any money.”
Natalie let out a short laugh.
“The clothes I wear, I buy with my money. He never had money because he was paying for a car he couldn’t afford and went out every Thursday with his coworkers.”
Evan turned to his brother.
“Did you lie about that too?”
“I don’t have to explain my marriage to you.”
“But you sure liked explaining to them how much you supported me,” said Natalie.
Leo tried to snatch the binder from her. She closed it first.
“This is over.”
“Yes,” Natalie replied. “We finally agree.”
He stood frozen.
“What does that mean?”
Natalie took out an envelope.
“Here is the calculation of what you need to cover this month. Rent, HOA fee, utilities, and your part of the car insurance. There is also the notice that you have thirty days to get your phone line off my contract.”
“You can’t kick me out of my house.”
“The lease is in my name.”
Leo’s face lost all its color.
“We are married.”
“And tomorrow I’ll talk to a lawyer.”
Mrs. Brenda put a hand to her chest.
“Are you going to destroy your marriage over an argument?”
“No. The marriage was already destroyed. I just stopped paying for it.”
Leo followed her into the hallway.
“Natalie, you are reacting out of anger. Let’s talk when they leave.”
“We’ve been talking for five years. I said I was tired, and you replied that cooking relaxed me. I asked your family to chip in, and you told me not to be petty. I asked you to clarify who paid for things, and you answered that it didn’t matter.”
“I can change.”
“You aren’t worried that you lied. You are worried that they know now.”