He maintained the kind of job that kicked his ass every day but kept the bills paid, the kind where nonsense words like paradigm and synergy were tossed around like wisdom. He was The Boss, and all day long he was expected to tell people what to do through a thin bullshit smile that fooled no one. They gave him the same bullshit smile back. It was all a hustle.
When he came home at night with the life sucked out of him, all he wanted was a beer and some quiet. He didn't expect the whole evening to himself, just long enough to recharge his batteries a little bit. A little time to shake the stink of being The Boss, to forget all the awful buzzwords and hideous faces.
But she wouldn't have it. Always right away with what color should we paint the guest room or should we plant azaleas next to the driveway or shaking her ass. Always shaking her ass. "Just let me have some quiet, for Christ sake," he said. "I don't want to make any more decisions. I don't want to do anything for anybody."
"You won't even get out of that chair to fuck me?" She purred, and she brushed against him.
"Baby, I've been fucked all day."
She stomped into the bedroom and fired up the computer. "You can't keep taking me for granted, Les. If you won't appreciate me somebody else will," she yelled.
"One less thing for me to worry about," Les said, and he took a big pull off his beer. Same shit, different night.
***
Weeks turned into months, the job grinding him during the day and the wife piling on at night. Everybody wanted a piece of him, a decision, an order, an instruction. Les started cutting out early in the afternoons and hitting the Panama for a couple of quick shots just so that he could face her.
Wednesday afternoon rolled around. The bar's doors were locked. Les shook the doors, knocked, cupped his hands and peered through the windows. Pete, the day bartender, waved, unlocked the door.
"What's up, Les?"
"You tell me."
"Broken pipe. Water all over the place."
"What time you going to open?"
"Don't know, still waiting on the plumber."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Don't know, man. Go back to work."
Fuck that, Les thought. He jumped back into the big European sedan and pointed it toward the nightmare of a gated community he called home.
***