Alright, my dear guests, have you had your fill? Had enough to drink? Did I manage to keep you on your toes? Julia Miller announced, perched at the head of the long oak table in her modest Yorkshire cottage.
Absolutely, sis, said Brian, grinning, youre always on top of things!
Right on the money! added Emma, nodding. We learned to cook together when Mum was around, but Ive never managed to pull this off. No wonder I keep inviting you over for my celebrations!
Mum, piped up Olivia, and here I am, still not crawling out of the gym! But I couldnt stop!
Love, Ill send my wife over so you can teach her a thing or two, Andrew chuckled.
Thats why I married you! Victor exclaimed, letting out a satisfied belch. Excuse us!
Glad you liked it! Julia beamed. Then, with a sudden shift, her smile vanished. And now, my beloved lot she paused, her face turning stonecold off you go from my house!
It was the last dinner shed ever prepared for them. No more cooking, no more fussing. She snatched the massive, heavy salad bowl from the table and, with a wild swing, hurled it to the floor.
Enough, you little gremlins! The dancings over, she said, a wicked grin curling her lips. I wont let anyone use me as a steppingstone any longerespecially you lot!
A stunned silence fell over the room. No one expected such a outburst from Julia, the evercheerful, obliging, dutiful daughterinlaw.
Did you just? Victor asked, eyes widening.
He got a swift slap from his wife.
Call an ambulance, shes having a nervous breakdown! Emma shouted.
Julia grabbed the decanter, the remnants of a fruit punch glinting inside.
Whoever reaches for the phone will get a taste of that! she said sweetly. Why are you all frozen? Get up and scram, you insatiable parasites!
Julia! Brian barked. Calm down, sister, Im telling you as the older siblingcompose yourself!
No! Julia replied, still smiling. Im done serving you! I wont please, I wont race around because you cant do anything yourselves! Thats itenough!
Whats the matter, a fly bite? Victor muttered, rubbing his reddened cheek. Everything was fine!
I didnt gather you all for no reason, Julia sat back in her chair, leaning against the back. Your arrogance has crossed the lineactually, its been there for ages! Your final little parade showed me just how bold youve become, and Im done with you.
We didnt do anything, Andrew murmured.
Thats right, lad! Exactly!
***
They say you have to live life the right wayno arguing there. But what does right even mean? Everyone has their own opinion.
Julia had spent fortyfive years convinced shed lived correctly. At worst, she could only blame herself. She was the third child, with an older brother and a sister. She pleased her parents, adored her brother, and never quite got on with her sister. She finished school, got a job, never chased stardom, never dreamed of fame.
She married, had two children, was a loyal, loving wife who never nagged for no reason. She was a good mother, raised and educated her kids, then let them off into the world. Even as an adult she kept in touch with her brother and sisterhelping, celebrating, solving problems together. People called her kind, caring, smart, and understanding.
At fortyfive, however, she learned what it meant to be abandoned, and at the worst possible moment.
***
Mrs. Miller, the doctor said after lunch, all the tests are back, nothing contraindicates surgery. Shall we schedule it?
Of course, doctor, Julia replied, a hint of melancholy in her voice. The decisions already made.
I understand, the doctor noted, seeing her downcast look, but you never know
Just book it, Julia waved her hand. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish.
Alright, the doctor noted on the chart. Youll have dinner tonight, nothing tomorrow, and surgery the day after.
He turned to the woman sharing the ward. Katherine, your results need a bit more work. Well sort it out.
Okay, Dr. Oleg, Katherine said.
When the doctor left, Katherine asked, Why so glum, Julia? Scared of the operation?
Partly, Julia nodded. My husband, she glanced at her phone.
My husbands been singing me off, Katherine laughed. I bet the kids will be with Mum while he throws a party! Nothing we cant fix later. Maybe hes already fled to a gig?
According to his last voice message, hes full grown now, Julia pursed her lips. He knows about the surgery, but hes off drinking with his mates!
Keen as mustard, Katherine shrugged. All men are like thatcats at home, mice on the dance floor!
Its still hurtful, Julia sighed. Uterus removal is serious. A little support wouldve been nice! I told him Im terrified and need him now, yet he only sent two short texts after I left and now ignores me!
Katherine, ten years younger, didnt have enough experience to comfort her, and the conversation dwindled.
Julia skipped dinner, taking nothing with her, knowing shed need to fast before the operation. She lay quietly, staring at the ceiling, remembering the time Vasily broke his leg in two places at work. Shed taken him to the hospital daily, brought meals, clean clothes, stayed up late with him. When he finally went home, she took leave to helplike a hamster on a wheel. She never refused a request: fetched water, fed him, washed, brushed, and all that.
Why does he treat me like this? Julia asked when Katherine returned from her own dinner.
Not just yours, Katherine smiled. Everyones the sameconsumers! Do they teach them at school how to sit on a ladys lap?
Ive been pushing for three years at work through acquaintances, picking a fatter spot, but he never bites, Katherine added. He only thinks about money when I threaten divorce and child support!
My husband works, Julia said.
Your husband has his own quirks, Katherine waved her hands. All the sameexploiter! If you dont tie him down, hell sit on your neck, twitch his legs, and run off. Thats what Ive learned!
Julia wondered whether shed been overreacting because of the upcoming surgery.
Nothing stops you from being scared, Katherine replied. But the fact you hear no kind words from him is obvious. Mine, at least, brings me fruit juices every day, calls, sends heart emojis.
Julia turned away and pulled the blanket over her head.
***
Going hungry for a whole day, even when you need it, is no joke. Julia tried to distract herself with chatter, but the lab tests kept pulling her away, and Katherine only popped in briefly.
Phone in hand, she thought, Family will talk to pass the time. Her son Andrew didnt answer, sent a text promising a callback. Her daughter Olivia missed two calls, then her number vanished.
Good kids, Julia muttered, puzzled.
They dont pick up? Katherine asked, catching her breath between tests.
Imagine that! Julia exclaimed. Is it really that hard to return a mothers call?
Adults now live on their own, Katherine noted.
Fine, mum, forget it! Youll only see them when you need something. Theyve flapped out of the nest, and now the wind will only bring them back when its convenient!
My sixteenyearold son already treats me like a pennypincher. If they live separately, parents become uselessgood luck if they show up for a funeral!
No, we have a lovely relationship! Julia insisted.
Then why dont they answer?
Katherine hurried off, leaving Julia to wonder.
Is it really that hard to find a minute to talk to mum? Their recent visits have all been about moneyno loans, just whatever they can scrape together.
It was depressing, but Katherine summed it up nicely: The chicks have left the nest. They only think of parents when they need something.
Julia dialed her husband again. No answer. She sent a message that stayed unread.
Ah, VasVasVas! she muttered. If only hed have a bit of sense!
He finally replied at dusk: Where are our savings? Salarys gone, nothing to live on! Yet his salary had arrived three days earlier.
Still, Julia thought, the feast is still a feast, the wine still a river! She didnt reply. If hed at least hinted he was worried, she might have said something. Instead, she let him sort it out himself.
Brian answered a call later, but said he was busy and hung up.
Typical, Julia sighed. She remembered the halfyear shed stayed in two houses after Brians wife left him, children in tow. Shed cared for his kids, his mum, his cook, his cleanereverythinguntil he found a new partner.
Shed even mediated conflicts because Brian wanted the kids to love him, while she wanted her own, and the others got in the way.
One and a half years I kept the peace, and not a single thankyou. Now hes busy again.
When Julia called him back that evening, there were only short beeps and a click.
Thanks for the blacklist, brother! she muttered.
He also knew about her upcoming operation. When he asked to take the kids for a month, Julia refused, citing the surgery.
Emma gave Julia only five minutes, barely asking about health:
When will you be back on your feet? My husbands sidefamily is due to visitabout ten people. Well put them up in a hotel, but we need to feed them at home. Youre the only one we can count on!
I dont know, Emma, Julia said. The operation is serious. Two to three weeks in hospital, then a recovery period. Doctors say up to fifty days.
No, no, sister! Thats not how it works! You must be back in three weeks, fit as a fiddle! Its my husbands relativesmore important than anything else!
Im scared, Julia admitted.
Come on, stop being a drama queen! Chirpchirp and off you go! Emma snapped, rushing off.
Its not a stroll in the park, Julia said, looking at her phone. The surgery could have complications! Who knows what might happen? I need a kitchenassistant now! Im almost fifty and still cant cook properly!
Emma kept summoning the younger sister to cook for her guestscolleagues, husbands friends, any celebration. Julia hadnt set foot near a stove for days, and no one ever invited her to the table.
What? Thats someone elses party! Emma protested. It didnt matter that I prepared for them.
The operation went off without complications, but the hospital kept her for another two weeks. She didnt call anyone, waiting for someone to remember her. Nobody didno husband, no kids, no brother, no sister.
She mulled over it all until a decisive thought struck.
Julia, what on earth are you talking about? Brian exclaimed. Did they remove your uterus and a piece of your brain?
Finally you remembered! Julia laughed. I thought no one would ever mention me again!
She rose to the head of the table once more.
Listen up, dear family! Ive been in the hospital for two weeks, and not a single soul cared to ask how Im doing! She listed them all: no brother who loved her more than his new wife, no sister whod used her as a freerange cook, no husband who drained not just his salary but also the savings theyd been tucking away for a cottage.
No children at all called. A hush fell over the room.
Ive spent my whole life doing everything you asked. The moment I needed a crumb of support, you were nowhere. She realized she could survive on her own. Im done being your errandrunner.
She called them out one by one.
Steve, divorce and no more talks! Get out of my flat!
Kids, live your lives! If you need help, ask your dadyour mothers gone!
And you, Brian and Emma, Im done looking after you! Hire nannies and chefs elsewhere!
The relatives shouted, Are you mad? How can you be so rude?
Everyone, line up! Julia ordered. Off you go to the back of my life! I finally want to live for myself, not for you!
Boom!
Left alone in the cottage, Julia sat at the nowempty table, glanced at the shattered salad bowl and said, I may have overreacted, but thats a brandnew startwith a brandnew salad bowl.
