A sharp, heavy silence stretched across the line from six miles away.

“Are you letting your wife dictate when I see my family?” Sylvia asked.

I held two stainless steel forks in my right hand, feeling a sudden surge of heat in my chest.

The urge to take the phone from his hand was strong.

The old anger pressed against my ribs, reminding me of the four hundred dollars a month she had paid behind my back to keep her son dependent on her.

I could have taken the phone.