“What’s going on? Where are you going? And who’s going to cook for us?” her husband, Tom, suddenly quieted down as he watched what Anna was doing after the argument with his mother…
Anna stared out the window. A bleak gray sky cast its pall over their small northern town, even though it was early spring. Sun-filled days were rare here, and perhaps that was why the locals often seemed grim and unfriendly.
Anna noticed she too rarely smiled anymore; the frown lines on her forehead made her look a decade older.
“Mom, I’m heading out for a walk,” her daughter, Hannah, announced.
“Okay,” Anna nodded.
“Okay? Give me some money.”
“What, are walks not free these days?” Anna sighed.
“Mom! Please, stop with the questions! My friends are waiting! Hurry up! Why so little?”
“It’s enough for an ice cream.”
“Ugh, you’re so stingy,” Hannah huffed, but Anna couldn’t respond because her daughter disappeared out the door.
Good grief… Anna shook her head, remembering how sweet Hannah had been before she hit her teenage years.
“Anna, I’m starving! How much longer?!” Tom shouted irritably.
“Go ahead, eat,” she replied indifferently, placing a plate on the table.
“Can you bring it to me?”
Anna almost dropped the pot she was holding. The nerve of him…
“People eat in the kitchen, Tom. Want it, eat it; don’t want it, don’t eat it. Your call,” she said, sitting down at the table alone.
Fifteen minutes later, Tom wandered into the kitchen.
“It’s cold… yuck.”
“Should’ve come sooner.”
“I asked you! There’s no love, not an ounce of care! You know I’m watching the rugby!” Tom grumbled, shoving a piece of chicken into his mouth. “Tastes terrible.”
Anna just rolled her eyes. Her husband was totally absorbed in rugby. Bets, merchandise, pricey tickets… he was hooked, though he had no interest in sports in his youth.
Never sitting down, Tom grabbed a bottle for the mood, a packet of crisps ‘out of hunger,’ and returned to the TV. Anna stayed behind to sort out the pile of dirty dishes.
What a waste of effort. No one appreciated it.
She was utterly exhausted after her shift; she worked as a senior nurse at the hospital. People came to her with their problems, tired and sick. So, it turned out she faced stress at work and came home to a second shift instead of a warm, cozy haven. Serve, fetch, clean, wash…
“Is there any left?” her husband rummaged through the fridge for another can. “And why not?”
“You drank it all! Am I supposed to buy you more too?! Have some decency, Tom!” Anna snapped.
“Aren’t we touchy…” her husband huffed, slamming the door as he left to restock his ‘stash’ for the next match.
Anna decided to head to bed since there was lots of work the next day. But she couldn’t rest. She worried about her daughter, wondering where Hannah was and whom she was with. It was already dark outside, yet Hannah hadn’t returned. Anna hesitated to call her as Hannah would always yell at her.
“You embarrass me in front of my friends! Stop calling me!” Hannah growled into the phone. After such conversations, Anna stopped calling, telling herself that her daughter had just turned 18 recently. Hannah didn’t want to work or study. After finishing school, she decided to take a break to find her path.
After dozing off briefly, Anna was startled by her husband’s joyful shouts. Apparently, someone had scored. Then, he began loudly discussing the game with the neighbor who had casually dropped by and stayed. Later, the neighbor brought his girlfriend over, and the three of them enjoyed the match together. At night, Hannah came home, clattering dishes and stomping before heading to bed. And as soon as all was quiet and Anna could finally sleep, the cat started yowling for food.
“Is there anyone else in this house who can feed the cat?!” angry and worn out from a migraine and lack of sleep, Anna stormed out of her room. She wanted someone to hear her, but Hannah, with headphones on, just twirled a finger at her temple. Meanwhile, Tom snored in front of the TV, a can still in his hand.
“I’ve had enough… I’m so tired of this!” Anna thought.
The next day, a call from her mother-in-law woke her.
“Anna, dear, you remember it’s time to plant the seeds, right? And we should head to the countryside… tidy up.”
“I remember,” Anna sighed.
“Then we’ll go tomorrow.”
On her only day off, Anna toiled in their garden under her mother-in-law’s direction.
“Is that how you sweep?! Hold the broom properly!” her mother-in-law commanded from a bench.
“I’m nearly fifty, Mary, I think I can manage…” Anna dared to reply.
“If only Tom…”
“Where is your Tom? Why didn’t he come along? Why didn’t he drive his own mother to the country? We spent three hours on the bus! And it’s always about Tom…”
“He’s tired.”
“What about me? Do you think I’m not tired?”
And then it all spilled out… Anna regretted not biting her tongue. Mary was talkative and self-righteous. However, her righteousness was always one-sided and never included Anna. Mary spent her life adoring Tom while treating Anna like a workhorse she barely tolerated.
The journey back had the women sitting in different parts of the bus. The next day, Mary complained to Tom about Anna, sending him into a rage.
“How dare you talk back to my mother?!” Tom barked. “If it weren’t for her…”
“What?” Anna replied, arms crossed. She realized she could no longer put up with such treatment.
“You’d still be working at the clinic!” He tried to remind her that Mary had helped Anna get a job at the county hospital. The salary was better, of course, but it came at the cost of stress and gray hair. Anna had often regretted agreeing to swap her peaceful local clinic job for the hospital. “What are you doing?” Tom quieted down, watching what Anna was up to.
What Anna decided to do, Tom couldn’t fathom.
