Dorian came home shortly after seven, wearing the exhausted expression he put on whenever he hoped both women would feel guilty enough to stop asking anything of him.

Gwendolyn met him at the door before Marisol could even stand.

“Your wife threatened me over an air conditioner today,” she announced.

Marisol looked up calmly from the dining table.

“I didn’t threaten anybody.” “You told me I have no right to touch anything in this house.” “I told you that you don’t have the right to disable the cooling in my workspace because you’re angry that I’m using it.” Dorian loosened his tie and looked between them.

“Can everybody calm down?” — his favorite contribution to conflict, deployed regardless of who had caused it, because neutrality let him avoid confronting his mother while looking reasonable.