Carlene was huddled on the living room couch with the phone to her ear. Her conversation petered out as he came in. Her eyes were red-rimmed. Had her boss been giving her a hard time? He was one of those employers who took out his stress on everyone around him. Reuben leaned over and kissed her forehead.
‘I’ll call you back, Jo,’ she said and pressed the ‘off’ button. ‘You stink of onions.’
‘Sorry, I chopped so many onions today I feel like I really know them now.’
She looked at him as if he were an ugly and dangerous species of insect.
‘What’s the matter?’
She burst into loud sobs. He went to put his arms around her, but she sprang up from the couch and pushed him away.
‘Leave me alone, you pervert!’
She flounced out of the room. What was going on? He’d been called plenty of unflat
