Glass House

I told them I didn't want to be disturbed.

I work from home. Look, I work hard, okay? And when I'm done, I need to unwind. My buddies can't go and beat the bad bosses on their own, you know. Work hard, play hard.

Finding a girl that was a nerd like me was a bonus side quest. She's got a good IT tech job too, which is more than enough to pay for a maid and a nanny. One or the other could have easily helped her with the kids and the dog and the cats, but she kept after me to come out and play with the kids, talk to her, get some fresh air! Seriously?

My best world is inside my computer. So I did some improvements, and expanded the house to get her to calm down some. Plenty of room for her and the kids, and even room for the nanny and maid to stay overnight for extra cleaning or babysitting. Extra room dedicated to just the pets. What's not to like?

The fact that I also made some adjustments to my work pod... Well, it's just like a man cave, only bigger.

Sleeping couch, custom gaming chair, the best headset for full immersion. Full fridge and kitchenette for munchies. Pass-through slot to the actual kitchen so they can push meals through, even a shuttered window so I can eat with them on the rare occasion I can't sync schedules with the rest of my gang to play. Even my own personal bathroom, and a closet so I can change clothing occasionally. There's a chute to the laundry room for the maid's convenience, and she can hand it all back through the slot. Awesome, yes?

Hon was pissed when she saw it, but I guess she finally saw sense. She really didn't argue much after the first blowup, when I pointed out all the features she was getting through the rest of the house. The next upgrade was on her car, so she can ferry all the kids around in comfort when she needs to. Super convenient.

And when I lock the door, with a passcode only I know, it seals up and keeps the noise out. I don't hear the kids or the dog, and the maid can do laundry or vacuuming and it doesn't disturb my concentration anymore. And when the headset's on, I'm there in the gaming world with my buddies. Freaking awesome!

I saw them through the kitchen window when I'd open the shutter, and wave sometimes, and they waved back. Hon looked angry sometimes, but it went away after a while.

I didn't notice the change till I realized I was out of new shirts.

Come to think of it, I guess it had been a while since I'd locked myself in here. But come on, I checked the calendar, it can't have been six months! Eight months? I mean, the holiday job at work was over for a little while, but then there was all the catching up to do, and I needed to unwind after the spring project, and pre-build on the summer project....

Oh.

Maybe I should check in on her?

So I punched in the code, hearing the pleasing hiss of the door as the seal opened.

I didn't realize house air was so stale outside my pod.

The place was empty.

Furniture was gone. Appliances were gone. The decorations were hers and the kids', except for the anime posters, and they were neatly rolled up in a corner of the bedroom. She left the bed, but it was stripped, and the signed divorce papers were stacked in the middle. She'd gotten a lawyer to sign for me by proxy in some tiny country she'd flown to. Abandonment. But, she had this house, and everything money could buy! She had all the help she needed! What was the problem?

The upgraded car was gone, of course.

I found my dirty clothing at the bottom of the chute. There were dirty dishes left in the sink; the mold showed they'd been there a while.

Come to think of it, I hadn't had dinner with them in a long time. I was so busy I'd just ordered takeout, and there was a small hatch where they could drop off food for me from the side of the house without disturbing the others. I guess the trash had been building up for a while and I didn't notice.

I didn't even know what day trash is picked up. I looked out the window at the yard - the landscaping service had been keeping it neat.

But when I pulled out my phone and checked my bank account, I saw most had been emptied. Enough was left to pay the bills, but she'd taken the bulk and her own income out. Well, that was a bit ungrateful of her.

I head the click as my door closed on my man cave. I guess the installer didn't properly hang it. Figures.

Well, no matter. I could hire someone to live here, I guess, or rent it to a family in exchange for meals and cleaning. I could keep the inner sanctum for myself and continue indefinitely. I walked over to the door to punch in my passcode.

RESET YOUR PASSWORD

Hunh. What?

I tried again.

RESET YOUR PASSWORD

I blinked. The only way I could do that, was from my laptop.... inside my man cave.

My fingers weren't listening, tried again-

RESET YOUR PASSWORD

That's when my eyes traveled up the door. Well, it looks like my wife left me one final personal message, painted in large letters right above head height. I can't tell you what it said, but it rhymes with DUCK BLUE.

I told you she was a good IT tech.

I tried again.

RESET YOUR PASSWORD

I tried again-

RESET YOUR PASSWORD

I tried again....