Ear to the Ground by David L. Ulin

Author:David L. Ulin
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781939419880
Publisher: The Unnamed Press
Published: 2016-06-22T04:00:00+00:00

In the living room, the Dodger game flickered across the TV. Nomo on the mound; Henry on the sofa. His big feet hung over the armrest like hams—but Emma could tell by the regular sound of his breathing that he was asleep. Sure enough, when she stepped through the doorway from the hall and came around the side, his eyes were closed, and his stomach rose and fell evenly, like a piston engine. She raised her eyes to the incomplete molding at the top of the walls. He’d been promising to finish it since January but, every night, after he drained four or five MGD Lights, he’d pass out on the couch. Molding forgotten, another promise left unkept.

“Henry.” Emma kicked the sofa, and he stirred with a groan.

“Huh?” He rubbed his eyes. “Time is it?”

“Almost ten.”

“Rough day.”

It was always a rough day for Henry, a rough week, a rough year, a rough life. Today he’d poured concrete on a job site, and hopefully tomorrow he’d be back out there again. Still …

“You gonna finish that molding, Henry?”

“I said it was a rough day.”

“The washer’s still broken; you said you’d fix that, too …”

“Come on, Em. Gimme a break in my own damn house.”

“Jesus.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Say it.”

She took a deep breath and ran her hands down the front of her dress. “We’ll never sell if the work’s not done.”

“We’re not selling.”

“If that earthquake comes …”

“Let it come.” He stood up and headed down the hall.

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