Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing by KATHY CANO-MURILLO

down the counters, Mary Theresa thought about Sandra’s words. Did she really micromanage? She only wanted the best results, whether developing a banking software program or raising her children.
    It occurred to her that she’d have to find a second job. Not only for the income, but also because the Cotorro household functioned more efficiently when she wasn’t around. She had arranged the perfect blueprint for her family to follow, and despite all their differences, it worked. Plus, she didn’t think Hadley could tolerate her day in and day out.
    As soon as she polished the faucet and hung the dishtowels to dry, she’d tell him about her job and then present him with the make-up gift. She’d apologize for her inexcusable outburst, and the whole event would blow over like always. She was loadingthe last of the plates into the dishwasher when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
    “Oh, honey, I didn’t see you there. Do you need me to get you something?” she asked as sweetly as possible. She hoped he recognized that her edges had been softened a few grades.
    “Let’s talk, Mary Theresa.”
    “I’m going to one-up you—I have a gift for you!” she said, closing the dishwasher door and reaching across the counter for her bag. She retrieved the wrapped album and handed it to him as if it were on a platter. He didn’t accept it fast enough, and that made her nervous, so she ripped it open for him to see.
    “I thought it was my gift,” he said. “Why did you open it?”
    “It’s that John Coltrane album. I know how much you liked it. I chased this copy down all over town.” Her bottom lip began to quiver. It had been almost seven years since she’d felt nervous enough for that to happen. It was when she’d informed Hadley of her pregnancy. She had waited with bated breath for his response, and he had kissed her and told her he would move back in by dinnertime.
    Now the lip quivers were for different reasons.
    “I… I can’t read you anymore,” she said, standing against the kitchen aisle. “I don’t know what you want me to do. Can’t we please get past this? I’m trying really hard here.”
    “I’ve tried really hard too,” he replied. “It’s not working. We need a change.”
    Mary Theresa approached him. “I think so too. I know it is still November, but I’m starting my New Year’s resolution now. I want to change, to be nicer. Remember when you used to think I looked like J. Lo in that
Wedding Planner
movie? Remember when you said you loved the color of my hair? I want us to be like that again.” The trembles moved to her chin, and she fought back a sob. “Something happened at work today….”
    Hadley ran his wide fingers over her lips and then wiped a tear from his eye. “I’m leaving.”
    She may not have believed him, but certainly took his distress call seriously.
    “What? Because of the album?” she asked. “Or… I know, the class! Honey, I signed up for a free-form stitching class today in Glendale. It’s in this little record shop where I bought the album. They have lots of albums you would like. I’ll take you there. We’ll take the kids. Everything will go back to normal, I promise.”
    “Mary Theresa, we can’t pretend anymore. We’re settling for the bare minimum here. I love you, and I love our kids, but I don’t know if I love
us
. I need to get away and feel like a man again instead of a single dad with a controlling roommate. I can’t do anything without your permission, and it’s driving me nuts. For once since our wedding day, I’m making my own decision. I’m moving to Palm Springs with my brother. He got me a temporary web-design job at the hotel he manages.”
    Mary Theresa imagined her husband chained to a desk in a tiny cubicle, banging away on the keyboard for twelve hours a day. How could he choose that over his wife and kids?
    “I’ll be back in February, and of course I’ll stay in touch. I’ll Skype the kids every night.”
    Desperation and