Chapter 2

The next morning I woke to breakfast already made.

Myra's eyes were red and swollen. She'd clearly spent much of last night crying on the couch.

But I felt nothing for her. I looked at the fried eggs she'd made, the hash browns, the fresh coffee.

Then I flipped the whole table over. "This is all you know how to make, huh? Makes me sick."

Temper spent, I ordered myself a beef soup with extra meat.

Myra picked the eggs and hash browns up off the floor and ate them, tears welling, one bite at a time, not daring to waste a scrap.

When the delivery came, I took my time finishing the soup, then drove us to the clothing wholesale market.

Myra was a beautiful woman, tall and slim. Standing there, she looked like a model.

She had a good eye too, and the stock she picked always sold well.

That was why the stall business had always done fine.

"Sir, could you do a little better on the price?"

She'd settled on one stall's goods and started haggling with the owner.

The stall owner was a beefy, mean-faced type who looked more like a street tough than a businessman. The second he heard her try to knock the price down, he waved a hand, already irritated. "That's the price. Take it or leave it."

Myra shot me a pleading look.

I was more impatient than he was. "What are you looking at me for? If you think it's good, take it. If not, go find another stall."

If the money weren't all sitting in my pocket, I wouldn't have bothered making this trip at all.

My tone drove the rims of her eyes red, but she still asked carefully, "Sir, if there's a problem with the goods, can they be returned or exchanged?"

Seeing I wouldn't speak up for my own wife, the owner got even more cocky. "You blind? Check the goods before you buy. Once you walk out that door, not my problem."

Even the other customers picking through the racks couldn't stand his attitude, muttering under their breath.

"First time I've seen an owner this nasty. You're handing him money and he's snapping at you."

"Right? Acts like you owe him. However good the stock is, you don't buy from a guy like that."

A few grumbles later, the others drifted away from the stall one by one.

I said nothing.

Because I knew.

Myra would buy from this bully for sure.