1984: From Screwed to Scrubbing

In 1984, in a town where a broken television or refrigerator was worth paying to have fixed, Grant Wheeler opens his eyes and finds his wife alive and afraid to come home. He had beaten her before. He does not get the chance to explain what has changed. He kneels down to apologize and she assumes he is setting up a lawsuit against her. He takes over the housework and she runs from the house. He decides the practical thing is to earn money, and Mrs. Lopez from next door turns up to collect a debt of one dollar. He repairs televisions and refrigerators to pay it off, which convinces the neighbours he has lost his mind. Later he sets up a place called Paradise and a street of food stalls, while the local men of standing work against him. His wife keeps her distance through most of it.