War Room Read Online Free

could go on with life and not feel so . . . tight, so constricted.
    He walked inside and was greeted by the familiar smell of cooking spaghetti. He’d come to hate spaghetti because it was a symbol of their marriage. Something quick and easy to get on the table. Couldn’t Elizabeth learn to cook something else?
    Danielle greeted him with a hopeful look. She was holding something in front of her. “Hey, Daddy.”
    “Hey, Danielle.” He wanted to sound warmer but there were things on his mind. Tony put his satchel on the counter and turned to Elizabeth.
    “I got my last report card. And I made all As except for one C.”
    “So I just got a notification that you moved five thousand dollars from our savings into your checking account,” Tony said, ignoring Danielle.
    Elizabeth stopped dipping salad into the three bowls on the counter and glanced at him like some frightened child. Danielle was silent.
    He stared at Elizabeth, his voice stern. “That better not be so you can prop up your sister again.”
    And with that, her back raised up. He’d tried to hold back, but five thousand dollars   —and the history with her sister   —sent him over the edge.
    “You just gave that much money to your family last month,” Elizabeth said. “And my sister needs it more than your parents.”
    “My parents are elderly,” Tony said, his heart rate rising.“Your sister married a bum, and I’m not supporting someone who’s too lazy to work.”
    “Darren is not a bum. He’s just having a hard time finding a job.”
    “Liz, he is a bum! I can’t even remember the last time he had a job.”
    Elizabeth’s face tightened as she glanced at Danielle. He noticed his daughter walking away from them, the piece of paper on the island. What had she said? A report card?
    The effect on Elizabeth was instant. She de-escalated quickly, tossing a shaming look at him. “Can we talk about this later?”
    Tony stood firm. “No, we’ll talk about it now. Because if you want to give them what you make, that’s fine. But you’re not giving them my money.”
    “Your money?” That brought out the fangs. “The last time I checked, we both put money into that account.”
    “And the last time I checked, I make about four times what you do. So you don’t move a cent out of that account without asking me first.”
    So much for keeping his cool. So much for “being there.” Tony kicked himself for exploding, but they were too far into the dance now to turn back. And she had to hear the truth, once and for all, about their finances.
    Elizabeth looked away for a moment, and he felt the old wound reopen. He had heard early in marriage that once children came along, a wife turned her heart to the kids and a husband turned his heart to his work. He’d toldhimself that wouldn’t happen with them. He wouldn’t let it happen. She wouldn’t let it happen. But here they were.
    “Can we please just eat dinner?” Elizabeth said in a measured tone, like she was trying to talk a nervous home buyer down off the ledge after he looked at the interest of a thirty-year mortgage.
    Tony glanced at the table, the plates and napkins, the salad and spaghetti, and he couldn’t take it. There was something inside that wouldn’t let him just sit down and bite his tongue and ask Danielle about her grades or anything else because of that five thousand dollars. For crying out loud, five thousand dollars!
    “You know what? Go ahead,” he said, picking up his jacket and satchel. “I’m going to the gym.”

    Elizabeth watched Tony turn his back to her and walk toward the bedroom. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to run out and jump in her car and go to the gym herself. Why couldn’t she be the one to run away? But running from their problems didn’t help anything. She wanted to stand toe-to-toe and argue until he heard her, finally heard what she was saying instead of accusing and walking away. That was what he always did and it infuriated her.