“Go to the kitchen!” I heard my husband sayand I couldnt take it anymore.
Emma stared at her phone screen. Daniel had texted for the fourth time in half an hour: “Useless, pick up the phone.”
She sat behind the wheel of the learner car, her instructor explaining parallel parking. The phone buzzed again.
“Can I answer? My husbands worried.”
“Of course.”
“Daniel, Im driving”
“Why arent you answering? Ive been calling!”
“I cant talk while”
“Yeah, right. Getting your license is more important than your husband. When will you be home?”
“An hour.”
“Whos making dinner? Am I supposed to do it myself?”
The instructor looked away, pretending not to hear.
“Ill cook when I get back.”
“Good. Thought Id married a career woman now.”
At home, Daniel scrolled through his phone on the sofa. Three months since hed lost his jobsaid it was temporary, but the search dragged on.
“Hows driving school? Complicated stuff?”
The familiar smirk laced his voice.
“Fine. Practiced parallel parking today.”
“Oh, very serious. A whole science, is it?”
Emma walked into the kitchen. The sink held unwashed disheshis breakfast.
“Daniel, can we finally unpack the boxes? Its February, and were still living like we just moved in.”
He glanced up from his screen.
“Whats there to unpack? You can manage.”
“We could do it together. Clean while were at it”
Daniel stood and stepped closer. Something cold flickered in his gaze.
“Go to the kitchen!”
He didnt shout. Just said itquiet, precise. The silence was worse than any yell.
Emma froze.
“What did you say?”
“You heard me. Go make dinner.”
“We were talking about the boxes”
“Talking? You were whining. I said youll manage alone.”
Something inside Emma snapped. Not from hurtfrom understanding. She remembered the New Years party with his friends, where hed charmed everyone, flirted with every woman, helped the hostess.
In the car afterward, hed said:
“Why were you so quiet all night? Embarrassed?”
“I wont go to the kitchen!”
His eyebrows lifted in mock surprise.
“What?”
“I wont!”
“Emma, dont push me. We were having a normal conversation.”
“Normal? When was the last time you spoke to me normally?”
Daniel set his phone down.
“Whats your problem? I was just joking.”
“Joking? Useless, pick up the phonethats a joke?”
“What, cant I text my wife?”
“You can. Just not useless.”
“God, who cares! You know I dont mean it.”
“I know. Thats why Ive stayed quiet.”
Emma sat on the edge of the bed.
“Guess what my instructor said today? Youve got steady hands. Steady. And at home, Im scared to ask for help with boxes.”
“Scared?”
Daniel laughed.
“Oh, give it a rest!”
“I am. Because I know youll find a way to make me feel worthless.”
“Rubbish! Youre imagining things.”
“Really? Remember when you told guests I was playing at driving school?”
“It was funny!”
“To you. To me, it was humiliating.”
Daniel sat beside her.
“Look, if you dont like how I talk”
“Then what?”
“The doors right there.”
Silence. Emma looked at him. No apology. No explanation. Just a gesture to the exit.
“Fine.”
She stood, pulled a suitcase from the wardrobe, started packing.
“What are you doing?”
“What you suggested.”
“Where will you go?”
“To Sophies.”
“Youll storm off, cry to your friends, then crawl back. Like always.”
“Like always?”
“Women love drama. Slam doors, have a moan.”
Emma packed her documents, makeup, charger.
“Then come crawling home!”
She pulled a wedding photo from a boxthem at the registry office, beaming.
“Would you have spoken to me like this then?”
Daniel glanced at the picture.
“There were people around.”
“And here?”
“Here, its family. I can relax.”
Emma placed the photo back gently. Closed the suitcase.
“Relax. Right.”
“Wait. Lets talk.”
“Whats to discuss? Youve shown me who I am to you at home.”
In the hallway, she pulled on her coat. Daniel stood there, barefoot, in joggers.
“Oh, come on! Couples argue.”
“We werent arguing.”
Emma gripped the door handle.
“You just decided you could treat me this way now.”
The door slammed. His voice chased her:
“You wont get far!”
Two weeks later, a text arrived: “Coming tomorrow, when I find time.”
Her friend Sophie shook her head.
“Why even meet him?”
“I need to know Im right.”
A café by the station. Daniel was half an hour late.
“How are you?”
He sat without apologising.
“Fine.”
“Where are you staying?”
“Sophies for now.”
The “for now” slipped outold habit, softening things.
“Homes a mess. Dishes piled up, laundry undone. Good thing the neighbour helped with shopping.”
A waitress approachedpretty brunette, mid-twenties.
“What can I get you?”
“Two coffees,” Daniel said, smiling at her.
“Whats sweet here?”
“Our cakes are lovely”
“Then bring the best ones.”
He slipped off his wedding ring, laid it on the table.
“Now that no ones tidying up at home, might as well treat myself.”
The waitress giggled.
“Can you cook?”
“Of course! A man can make porridge. Just no one nagging about socks on the floor.”
Emma stared at the ring.
“Or demanding help with unpacking.”
He kept going. Right then, she realisedhe was turning their story into a joke for a stranger.
“So,” he turned back to her, “ready to end the drama? Its dull without you.”
“No.”
“What?”
“Im not coming back.”
For the first time, Daniel really looked at her.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
Emma stood, left money for the coffee.
“Wait. You know what youre doing?”
“I do. For the first time in three months.”
“Emma! Were adults!”
“Exactly. Thats why Im leaving.”
Outside, wet snow fell. Inside, Daniel was explaining something to the waitressprobably complaining about his unreasonable wife.
A month later, Emma rented a flat. Passed her test, started a new job.
Once, she saw Daniel in the supermarket with a young woman. Laughing, picking groceries. She walked past unseen.
She wondered: how long before he tells her, “Go to the kitchen”? A month? Two?
That evening, Emma stood by her window, tea in hand. Her phone lay silent on the table. No more texts calling her “useless.”
She thought of women who stay. Who believe he doesnt mean it, that all men are like this. And she felt not judgment, but sorrow.
The phone lit upa colleagues message about tomorrows meeting. Polite, professional.
Emma smiled, replied. Then sat on her sofain her home, where she could ask for help without fear of mockery.
