Collin closed the front door with the delicacy of an experienced parent. He smiled as he looked at his wife, Kristy.


    Kristy sat as a silhouette in the sunset on the edge of the porch with her feet dipped in the water. She looked back and returned a smile that made Collin’s heart melt.


    Collin hooked a thumb toward the closed door, “She''s fast asleep.”


    “How was story time?” Kristy patted the porch next to her.


    “Same as usual,” Collin shook his head and let out a mild groan as he sat. He was too young to feel this old. Responsibility had a way of speeding up the clock faster than any miracle cream could ever hope to cure. “I''ve read that same book to her at least two hundred times at this point. I swear I could say it by heart. A little variety would be nice.”


    Kristy laugh in a light way that meant she felt his pain. The laugh cut off and was replaced by a small frown as she caught sight of Collin’s knuckles.


    “How was work?” Kristy said in that way that meant she already knew.


    Collin cursed inwardly. There was no way he was getting out of this conversation. “Can we just sit here and not talk about that?”


    Kristy gave Collin a level stare, “That bad?”


    Collin hung his head and nodded, “Yeah.. That bad.”


    “Are you suspended?”


    Colling shook his head, “Worse.”


    “No, you got fired again?" Kristy said in a hushed voice, eyes drifting toward their daughter''s room, "For a stupid fight? They usually give you a warning first. What are we going to do?"


    Collin understood that Kristy wasn''t worried about the two of them, but she was worried for their daughter. When it was just the two of them, they had always found a way to scrape by, but that wouldn''t cut it anymore. They needed to give their daughter a good life.


    Being jobless and behind on the mortgage was a terrible start.


    "I don''t know," Collin rubbed his face and loosened his tie.


    Kristy sighed, “I’d knock some sense into you if I thought it would do any good.”A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    “You can still take a swing if it’ll make you feel better,” Collin joked.


    Kristy punched him in the arm hard.


    “Ouch!”


    Kristy laughed that summery laugh.


    “Feeling better?” Collin said.


    “A little, but you’re not off the hook that easy.”


    “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Collin joked before taking a serious tone, "I''ll figure something out, Kris. I promise."


    Kristy leaned into Collin, grabbed his hand, and gave it a squeeze “You will."


    Collin squeezed Kristy''s hand back, gentle as a loving breeze. She was his everything. He didn’t deserve someone so good and pure.


    Kristy lifted Collin’s hand and inspected his bloodied knuckles, "So, was it a customer or a Coworker this time?" She didn’t have to ask for more details than the state of his hands to know why he got canned.


    Collin winced, "My boss.”


    “Ohh, that explains them jumping straight past the warning and firing you,” Krtisty frowned at Collin.


    “Don''t worry,” Collin reassured her. “He got a couple of good shots at me so he''s not gonna try to take it to court or he’d be in a bigger load of trouble. A couple of the boys at the yard promised they’d back me, if he tried something. They didn’t like the way he was talking about you either."


    Kristy’s wig was slightly tilted and a pang of guilt stabbed at Collin, he chose not to mention it, but she caught him staring before he could look away.


    “Let’s hope,” Kristy said, reaching to straighten her wig. A flash of insecurity played across her face. It made Collin''s heart ache.  “You don’t have to defend me, you know. It’s normal for people to gossip.”


    Collin’s heart nearly tore in two at the look on his wife’s face. How could he call himself a man if he was incapable of keeping a look like that from coming around? Collin’s blood started to boil. He clenched his fists, thinking about what his boss had said about Kristy, “He said the reason why we’re always broke is cause of you being a jobless gambler. I set him straight by breaking his nose. Plain and simple.”


    “You know, words can be an effective tool.” Kristy said in a half-hearted reprimand. She never approved of Collin’s fighting, but he could tell a part of her was happy that he had defended her. “You could have told him about me, you know. I wouldn’t have been upset.”


    Collin shook his head and raised his fists, inspecting them. “I know you don’t want word getting around about the chemo. That means I don’t either. Besides, words wouldn’t have done the trick on that pile of waste. I used the right tools for the job.”


    “Those tools are most definitely not right for keeping a job.”


    Collin opened and closed his hands, “I just wish people would mind their own damn business.”


    Kristy wrapped her arms around Collin’s midsection. “You’re just a stubborn, brute. You need to learn how to ignore people who aren’t worth our time.”


    Collin nodded, laying an arm over her. “That would be nice. One of these days, I’ll figure out how to be smarter.”


    The two of them sat there on the front porch long after the sun had set. Tomorrow, they could worry about money, but tonight, they had each other. That was all they had ever needed to make it to the next day.