How does married life become a series of negotiations for Grandma and Thomas Schell, Sr. in Why I'm Not Where You Are?

In Why I'm Not Where You Are, Thomas says he and his wife have many minute rules.He helps her learn slang and is filled with other people's joy. The two have "nothing places," which allow one complete privacy. They hang a blueprint of the apartment, marked off in Somethings and Nothings.