5:46pm

Opening the front door, I can already tell an argument was waiting for me.

"Clark!" my wife screams from the living room. Dropping my coat on the coat rack and my bag on the floor, I trudge into the living room. There she stands next to the couch, which has a cushion torn to shreds. Holding Burt by his collar, she is radiating pure rage. Her face is beet red and I can almost see the steam blowing out of her ears.

I'm not surprised that Burt tore up the couch, because my wife is holding up his chew toy in her free hand. The same one I had thrown onto the couch earlier this morning before I left for work.

"What was this doing in the couch?!" she fumes, demanding a response that would please her. Yet, I know nothing I say will save me from another lecture.

"I was in a rush this morning to get to work and Burt wanted me to throw it for him. He wouldn't leave me alone, so I threw it, and it happened to land on the couch," I say in a reserved tone attempting to calm her down while sitting on the recliner.

"And you couldn't have avoided the couch?!"

"I guess I couldn't. God willing, that chew toy was going to land where it pleased."

I knew the hint sarcasm in my voice would set her off even more, but I didn't care. I could feel the bags under my eyes pulling my eyelids closed.

"You know what, Clark? I work too, and sometimes it feels like I work a whole lot more than you considering I take care of the apartment too! If you weren't such a deadbeat we could have a nicer place!" As she drags a barking Burt to his cage, I can feel a sharp pain hit the side of my face. The chew toy is no longer in her hand, and she's leaving the living room. Without even a second thought, the toy is in my hand and thrown in her direction. She turns around so fast she might've gotten whiplash.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she wailed, her face redder than ever. Clenching my teeth and balling my fists, I let loose.

"What do you think you're doing?! Can you stop nagging me for five minutes?! I do work more than you do, and without me, this apartment would be a pigsty!"

"Don't you take that tone of voice with-" Squeezing my eyes shut, I wish that everything would stop... It's quiet. I don't hear a thing. Not my wife, or Burt, or even the ticking clock. I open my eyes, and see her marching toward me with her finger pointing towards me, hanging still in the air. I walk around her, but she never moves. That's when I look at my watch. Frozen at 5:46 p.m. The same time I would remain for the rest of my life.