Small Change by Sheila Roberts Page A

He probably hadn't heard her. She should go after him, tell him she loved him, pour out her fears, and promise that in exchange for his love, she would never again sabotage them with her reckless spending. Instead, she poured herself another margarita.
    When he came out she asked, “Can we do something together tonight? It doesn't have to cost a lot of money.”
    â€œLike what?” He dropped his towel and began pulling his clothes back on.
    â€œI don't know.” She picked up the towel and hugged it to her. “Something romantic.”
    He looked at her with a perplexed smile. “We just did.”
    â€œSomething more,” she said. “I know! Let's go to The Family Inn and see what we can get for five dollars.”
    He frowned. “Five dollars, ten dollars, twenty dollars—Tiffy, it all adds up. We really need to get into the habit of cutting back. You know that.”
    All week she'd been trying so hard. She'd just wanted to reward herself with a little treat—dessert someplace inexpensive, or sharing a cup of hot chocolate and holding hands with her husband across the table. Was that really going to break them?
    He pulled her to him. Good, she thought as he kissed her. He got it. He ended the kiss and grinned down at her. “I've got a better idea.” He picked up the TV remote and handed it to her. “This doesn't cost a thing. I'm going to work on the Jeep, so the remote's all yours tonight. I bet one of your reality shows is on.” With that he gave her a peck on the forehead and then left her alone and unsatisfied.
    She went through the next day at work with a smile pasted on her face, watching other women parade through the salon, flaunting their credit cards at the cash register. No one paid by check or with cash. The whole world ran on credit and she'd been knocked out of the race. It was like being the only woman at a dance with no date.
    She thought back to Black Friday when she and Brian had their big fight. She'd told Jess and Rachel that Brian had taken her credit cards. It was true. No, he hadn't yanked them out of her hands or grabbed her wallet from her and removed them. Instead, he'd emotionally blackmailed her into giving them up, telling her she wasn't being a team player, that she hadn't been honestwith him. He'd insisted they had to get rid of the credit cards. Those credit cards were going to ruin their marriage. Well, now she had no credit cards and she wasn't seeing much of an improvement in the marriage department. That showed where spending nothing got you.
    By the time she left Salon H she had a good head of angry steam propelling her out the door, and the last thing she wanted to do was go home to Brian. She still had her tip money in her pocket. Suddenly she was possessed by a need to buy … something, anything. It took over, moving her hands on the steering wheel, guiding the car toward the mall. Then it drove her from the mall parking lot into the nearest department store where she found, miracle of miracles, the same shoes she'd gotten the week before and had to return, back on the rack and waiting for her, and still marked down. She had just enough money to buy them… .
    If there was no sales tax. She frowned at the money on the counter.
    â€œIf you open up a credit card account you get ten percent off,” said the clerk.
    â€œI have an account,” Tiffany muttered glumly. Much good it did her when her credit cards were cut in tiny pieces and buried in the garbage. “I don't have my card.”
    â€œWe can look up your card number,” the clerk said brightly.
    Good idea. She'd only be spending a dollar more than what she already had sitting on the counter. What was one more little dollar on the account? “Okay,” said Tiffany.
    On the way out of the store, she saw a clearance rack at the back corner of the Juniors department. She'd just take a minute and look. Oh, that top. It was only $8.99. She'd make