"Marriage is a partnership, Tom… made up of two individuals. I'm sure if you thought about it, you wouldn't want me to be staying at home if I was unhappy with that. Which I am."
"What are you up to, Heather?" His voice was calmer now, but it seethed with repressed emotion. The thought of his wife going to work chipped at the very care of his security.
"I'm not up to anything, Tom. I want to make my life more interesting, that's all."
"And what kind of job have you got that's so much more Goddamned interesting than being a good wife?"
"I'm going to be a hostess at Vesuvio's Lobster Grotto."
"A waitress?" he laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "A waitress! What's so fucking interesting about being a waitress?"
"I'm not going to be a waitress. I'll show people to their seats, make sure everything is running smoothly. I'll be like the head girl."
Again he looked suspicious. "How come you got to be head girl? All the experience you've ever had is two months in a hamburger joint! Oh, I've got it. The boss likes redheads with big tits, right?"
Heather was finding it more and more difficult to control her anger. Tears of rage were brimming her eyes. "You think you're so Goddamned smart! You think you're the only person in this house who can make money!? Well, I happen to have a couple of brains in my head, if you haven't noticed. Maybe Mr. Martin chose me because he saw I had potential."
"Yeah, I bet he saw potential. The potential for sticking you with his fat prick in the back room one night!"
Heather rose to her feet. She was glaring at her husband, her face hovering only a couple of inches from his. "How dare you? How dare you! So that's all you've been thinking of me all these years! That all I'm good for is an easy lay. Well, I'll show you, mister! I'll show you!"
"Well, you'll have to show somebody else! Because I won't be here when you get home tonight!" He grabbed his hat and jacket and stormed out of the house.
For a moment, Heather was tempted to go after him. Was he really going to leave her? But her Irish pride held her back. "I'm not apologizing to that bugger," she murmured vindictively. "Hell be back. He needs me too much. He'll be back with his tail between his legs."
Her first, day at work took Heather's mind off her troubles at home. The day seemed to fly by. When she got back from work that night, Tom was sitting in the living room, waiting for her. They made an uneasy truce. He was willing to let her have a try at working. He was sure she wouldn't like it, but if that was what she wanted, well, she could have it. He didn't want her to be unhappy.