Chapter 6: Pizza Fight
Todd grabbed the last two boxes of Dominos pizza which were sitting in the kitchen and carried them out into the living room, where his 12 varsity basketball team's players all were, in various states. Some were eating, some were laughing and joking, some were burping, some talking, some watching tv, some listening to the stereo which was up at medium volume. It was a little loud, but not call the cops crazy. Everyone was in high moods after their overtime win to their rivals that night. So Todd had invited the team over to his house for pizza to celebrate. They had been there for about an hour now, and most of the pizza had long been devoured. There were coke cans and plastic cups sitting on various things. Some balled up napkins on the floor and coffee table. And Todd and Liz's cd and dvd collections had been brought out and skimmed though, and were was now laying on the floor, a bit strewed around.
Everyone, including Todd, was definitely in a great mood. When! he had first gotten home he had checked the machine and had seen that Liz had left a message, saying she'd home late because she had to stay a little longer at work. Surprise surprise. Todd had listened, then the pizza guy came to the door, and he had forgotten about calling her back.... There really wasn't any point in calling her back anyway, I mean, he knew where she was. Ya maybe he could of mentioned these last minute plans about having the team over, but the pizza guy had come and distracted him.
Liz drove home in a stupor. She was exhausted from a long day at work and She had not sat down all day. There was a news breaking story that happened and everything was pushed back. She was in meeting from about noon till around 7 pm. and afterwards she still had to type up her final draft for her editor. Her back was killing her and she had long since discarded her heels for some tennis shoes. She pulled into the neighborhood and drove down her street. She noticed an abundance of cars in
their driveway and on their street. She could see through bay the window a bunch of teenage boys jumping around. She parked about 2 houses down and walked up to her house. She went up the driveway and to the front door, thankfully Todd had fixed the door handle, not that Liz noticed. She could feel steam already going out her ears. She opened the door. It bounced off the wall leaving a mark most likely. She easily took the 10 steps into the living room and looked at the adolescent boys laughing and yelling. Her eyes located Todd ready to give him a piece of her mind. But even in her over-worked and sick condition, she did not feel like making a scene in front of Todd's team.
Todd had been talking to Clay, the point guard who had made the winning three pointer to send them into overtime, when he looked past Clay's shoulder and saw Liz standing in the doorway of the living room, a bag and purse over her shoulder and a pair of heels in her hand. She looked- uh oh. He didn't know how exactly to interpret that expression. "Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, moving past Clay, to greet his wife. Some of the boys heard and watched him. "Come in!" he said, a grin on his face. "I got your message" he added, still smiling, as the gap was nearly closed between the two of them.
"We need to talk," Liz said turning around heading for the bedroom.
Todd caught her tone and words and right before he could reach out to her she had turned and walked down the hall. He stood there, watching her retreating back for a second. She never looked back around. Todd turned his neck and looked back towards the living room. Everyone still seemed busy with stuff. "Hey guys- I'll be back in a few minutes." he told them, making a move away from them, then he added, laughing, "And you and better save some pizza for my wife!" Charlie, who was just about to bring a slice to his mouth, looked up guilty and dropped it back into the box. Todd laughed and shook his head, and he went down the hall. Liz had shut the door to their room, he noticed. So he turned the handle and walked in.
Liz had dropped everything by her dresser. She had stripped her clothes and had grabbed some boxers and an oversized t-shirt. Of all the things Todd had done since they married this has got to be the worst, she thought to herself. She sat down on the bed crossing her arms. She saw the door slowly open. Before Todd could even close the door she bellowed, "What the hell is going on out there?!"
Todd narrowed his eyes questioningly at her, and scrunched up his face. "Hey, hey!" he said, putting out his hand, then shutting the door behind him with a soft click. "Liz calm down. I just invited the team over for pizza after our win. It's pretty obvious. Look I'm sorry I didn't call to warn you or whatever, but it was kinda a last minute thing, and besides I'm sure I would have just been 'interrupting you', if I had called you at work a little while ago to tell you this. Am I right?" he said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Todd I don't care that the boys are over, that's not what I'm getting at," Liz stood up walking over standing in front of Todd. "The point is you knew I have been sick and that I have been overworked, you could have at least been more considerate!" she shouted back, "I mean you could have GONE to the pizza place instead of using our house!" she continued in a tangent, "When I get home from work, I want to relax, not listen to 20 teenage boys wreck my house."
Todd put his hands on his hips, and felt his mellow, cheerful mood start to fade. "Would you please stop overreacting? There are not twenty of them- it's just barely over 10, and they are not wrecking the house!" Todd said, shaking his head at her. "And Liz all I've been lately to you is considerate, especially knowing you've been sick. Yet beside all that compassion and considerateness and trying to be helpful- you've done nothing but bite my head off! Well I'm sorry that my team had such a great game today. We won, in overtime- by the way, thanks for asking." he said sarcastically. "And I'm sorry for getting the team to come together and celebrate. But you wanna know what I'm MOST sorry about- the fact I've done nothing but try to help and support you lately- but all I get is shit back from you!"
"So now you're blaming me! It's not like I planned on getting sick," she yelled. She couldn't think of a better reply for deep in her mind she knew Todd was right, but she hated being wrong.
"Geez Liz stop don't twist what I say all around! I thought reporters were supposed to be careful about that!" he snipped. "Look I've
told you for like, how long has it been, like almost three weeks now?- that I'm very sorry you're sick. So you can STOP BLAMING ME like I'm the cause of it. Why don't you just take time away from your crazy work schedule to go to the doctors?!"
"If I had time to take away from my work schedule don't you think I would?" Liz shouted back at him getting frustrated She could feel tears come to her from her lack of sleep and exhaustion. This little duke out with Todd was making it worse.
"So take it Liz. Just take it! If you need it bad enough then you have every right to. But the thing is- you don't want to, cause you get so obsessed with your work. St no wonder you don't ever want to try and make a baby lately- making it wouldn't fit into your overworked schedule, and certainly having one wouldn't either!"
"That's not true and you know it!" Liz felt a blinding flash of red in her eyes, "I enjoy my work its just that I have an important edition coming up," She could feel her temper rising, how dare Todd blame her of that, "And the other night was the wrong time!" she shouted back.
"Oh please" Todd scoffed, pacing the room, "Any time with you lately is the wrong time. Liz you need to chill. I don't know what's gotten into you the past couple of weeks or so, besides the flu, but I've never seen you like this, and frankly, I don't like it."
"Well I don't like you right now either," she said. She all of a sudden had a sudden urge to get out of this house. She walked over to the closest and grabbed one of Todd's old duffel bags. She started pulling some overnight clothes out of her dresser.
"Oh that's real good Liz!" Todd shouted at her. "You should just leave- ya that'll make the problem better. God I thought you had more common sense than that! Right now you're acing insane- just like your sister acts. Go ahead and stay in here, you don't have to worry about me crowding you in bed tonight, cause I'll be sleeping on the couch!" his voice boomed.
"Just being in the same house with you right now is making me sick," Liz said zipping the zipper with a snap, "My sister has more sense then you'll ever have!" with that she stormed out of the room and walked to the front door grabbing her keys, ignoring the few curious stares she received from a couple of the boys who noticed her.
Todd glared at her right before she left the room, then didn't bother even following after her. He couldn't believe her! This was so- so
unlike her. It was driving him crazy, and he didn't know how much more of it he could take. Something had to give. Something had to change. Liz had to. Back to her regular self, preferably. Suddenly, Todd didn't feel like going back out to '20 boys who were wrecking the house' as
Liz had put it, either. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and rubbed his tired head. What was going on between he and he wife lately? The person he loved more than anything else in the world?..... There was something between he and Liz lately, and for the life of him he didn't know what that object was.
Liz walked out to the car and opened the door flopping down into the seat. She could barely see because she had tears streaming down her face. She put her head in her hands and started sobbing.
Todd grabbed the last two boxes of Dominos pizza which were sitting in the kitchen and carried them out into the living room, where his 12 varsity basketball team's players all were, in various states. Some were eating, some were laughing and joking, some were burping, some talking, some watching tv, some listening to the stereo which was up at medium volume. It was a little loud, but not call the cops crazy. Everyone was in high moods after their overtime win to their rivals that night. So Todd had invited the team over to his house for pizza to celebrate. They had been there for about an hour now, and most of the pizza had long been devoured. There were coke cans and plastic cups sitting on various things. Some balled up napkins on the floor and coffee table. And Todd and Liz's cd and dvd collections had been brought out and skimmed though, and were was now laying on the floor, a bit strewed around.
Everyone, including Todd, was definitely in a great mood. When! he had first gotten home he had checked the machine and had seen that Liz had left a message, saying she'd home late because she had to stay a little longer at work. Surprise surprise. Todd had listened, then the pizza guy came to the door, and he had forgotten about calling her back.... There really wasn't any point in calling her back anyway, I mean, he knew where she was. Ya maybe he could of mentioned these last minute plans about having the team over, but the pizza guy had come and distracted him.
Liz drove home in a stupor. She was exhausted from a long day at work and She had not sat down all day. There was a news breaking story that happened and everything was pushed back. She was in meeting from about noon till around 7 pm. and afterwards she still had to type up her final draft for her editor. Her back was killing her and she had long since discarded her heels for some tennis shoes. She pulled into the neighborhood and drove down her street. She noticed an abundance of cars in
their driveway and on their street. She could see through bay the window a bunch of teenage boys jumping around. She parked about 2 houses down and walked up to her house. She went up the driveway and to the front door, thankfully Todd had fixed the door handle, not that Liz noticed. She could feel steam already going out her ears. She opened the door. It bounced off the wall leaving a mark most likely. She easily took the 10 steps into the living room and looked at the adolescent boys laughing and yelling. Her eyes located Todd ready to give him a piece of her mind. But even in her over-worked and sick condition, she did not feel like making a scene in front of Todd's team.
Todd had been talking to Clay, the point guard who had made the winning three pointer to send them into overtime, when he looked past Clay's shoulder and saw Liz standing in the doorway of the living room, a bag and purse over her shoulder and a pair of heels in her hand. She looked- uh oh. He didn't know how exactly to interpret that expression. "Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, moving past Clay, to greet his wife. Some of the boys heard and watched him. "Come in!" he said, a grin on his face. "I got your message" he added, still smiling, as the gap was nearly closed between the two of them.
"We need to talk," Liz said turning around heading for the bedroom.
Todd caught her tone and words and right before he could reach out to her she had turned and walked down the hall. He stood there, watching her retreating back for a second. She never looked back around. Todd turned his neck and looked back towards the living room. Everyone still seemed busy with stuff. "Hey guys- I'll be back in a few minutes." he told them, making a move away from them, then he added, laughing, "And you and better save some pizza for my wife!" Charlie, who was just about to bring a slice to his mouth, looked up guilty and dropped it back into the box. Todd laughed and shook his head, and he went down the hall. Liz had shut the door to their room, he noticed. So he turned the handle and walked in.
Liz had dropped everything by her dresser. She had stripped her clothes and had grabbed some boxers and an oversized t-shirt. Of all the things Todd had done since they married this has got to be the worst, she thought to herself. She sat down on the bed crossing her arms. She saw the door slowly open. Before Todd could even close the door she bellowed, "What the hell is going on out there?!"
Todd narrowed his eyes questioningly at her, and scrunched up his face. "Hey, hey!" he said, putting out his hand, then shutting the door behind him with a soft click. "Liz calm down. I just invited the team over for pizza after our win. It's pretty obvious. Look I'm sorry I didn't call to warn you or whatever, but it was kinda a last minute thing, and besides I'm sure I would have just been 'interrupting you', if I had called you at work a little while ago to tell you this. Am I right?" he said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Todd I don't care that the boys are over, that's not what I'm getting at," Liz stood up walking over standing in front of Todd. "The point is you knew I have been sick and that I have been overworked, you could have at least been more considerate!" she shouted back, "I mean you could have GONE to the pizza place instead of using our house!" she continued in a tangent, "When I get home from work, I want to relax, not listen to 20 teenage boys wreck my house."
Todd put his hands on his hips, and felt his mellow, cheerful mood start to fade. "Would you please stop overreacting? There are not twenty of them- it's just barely over 10, and they are not wrecking the house!" Todd said, shaking his head at her. "And Liz all I've been lately to you is considerate, especially knowing you've been sick. Yet beside all that compassion and considerateness and trying to be helpful- you've done nothing but bite my head off! Well I'm sorry that my team had such a great game today. We won, in overtime- by the way, thanks for asking." he said sarcastically. "And I'm sorry for getting the team to come together and celebrate. But you wanna know what I'm MOST sorry about- the fact I've done nothing but try to help and support you lately- but all I get is shit back from you!"
"So now you're blaming me! It's not like I planned on getting sick," she yelled. She couldn't think of a better reply for deep in her mind she knew Todd was right, but she hated being wrong.
"Geez Liz stop don't twist what I say all around! I thought reporters were supposed to be careful about that!" he snipped. "Look I've
told you for like, how long has it been, like almost three weeks now?- that I'm very sorry you're sick. So you can STOP BLAMING ME like I'm the cause of it. Why don't you just take time away from your crazy work schedule to go to the doctors?!"
"If I had time to take away from my work schedule don't you think I would?" Liz shouted back at him getting frustrated She could feel tears come to her from her lack of sleep and exhaustion. This little duke out with Todd was making it worse.
"So take it Liz. Just take it! If you need it bad enough then you have every right to. But the thing is- you don't want to, cause you get so obsessed with your work. St no wonder you don't ever want to try and make a baby lately- making it wouldn't fit into your overworked schedule, and certainly having one wouldn't either!"
"That's not true and you know it!" Liz felt a blinding flash of red in her eyes, "I enjoy my work its just that I have an important edition coming up," She could feel her temper rising, how dare Todd blame her of that, "And the other night was the wrong time!" she shouted back.
"Oh please" Todd scoffed, pacing the room, "Any time with you lately is the wrong time. Liz you need to chill. I don't know what's gotten into you the past couple of weeks or so, besides the flu, but I've never seen you like this, and frankly, I don't like it."
"Well I don't like you right now either," she said. She all of a sudden had a sudden urge to get out of this house. She walked over to the closest and grabbed one of Todd's old duffel bags. She started pulling some overnight clothes out of her dresser.
"Oh that's real good Liz!" Todd shouted at her. "You should just leave- ya that'll make the problem better. God I thought you had more common sense than that! Right now you're acing insane- just like your sister acts. Go ahead and stay in here, you don't have to worry about me crowding you in bed tonight, cause I'll be sleeping on the couch!" his voice boomed.
"Just being in the same house with you right now is making me sick," Liz said zipping the zipper with a snap, "My sister has more sense then you'll ever have!" with that she stormed out of the room and walked to the front door grabbing her keys, ignoring the few curious stares she received from a couple of the boys who noticed her.
Todd glared at her right before she left the room, then didn't bother even following after her. He couldn't believe her! This was so- so
unlike her. It was driving him crazy, and he didn't know how much more of it he could take. Something had to give. Something had to change. Liz had to. Back to her regular self, preferably. Suddenly, Todd didn't feel like going back out to '20 boys who were wrecking the house' as
Liz had put it, either. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and rubbed his tired head. What was going on between he and he wife lately? The person he loved more than anything else in the world?..... There was something between he and Liz lately, and for the life of him he didn't know what that object was.
Liz walked out to the car and opened the door flopping down into the seat. She could barely see because she had tears streaming down her face. She put her head in her hands and started sobbing.