Alright, dear guests, have you had enough to eat? Had enough to drink? Did I treat you well? Emma asked, rising to the head of the long dining table.
Yes, sister, Bruce replied with a satisfied grin, youre always on top of things!
Exactly! Nora chimed in, supporting her brother. We learned to cook together from Mum, but I never manage it as beautifully as you do. No wonder I always ask you to handle the food at my celebrations!
Mum, said Lucy, and Im still stuck at the gym, but I cant quit now!
Mom, Ill send my wife over so you can teach her how to cook, Andrew said with a wink.
Thats why I married you! Victor blurted, followed by a loud burp. Excuse me!
Looks like Ive pleased you then! Emma smiled broadly. She paused, the smile fading from her face, and announced, Now, my dear and beloved ones she took a breath, please leave my house!
It was the last dinner Emma ever prepared for them, and the final time she would bend over backwards for them. She no longer wanted to see, hear, or even think of them.
She snatched the massive salad bowl from the table and, with a wild swing, smashed it onto the floor.
Enough, you little brats! The dancings over, she said with a cold grin. I wont let anyone ride on me any longerespecially not you!
Silence fell over the room, and the guests stared in stunned shock. They could have expected a tantrum from anyone else, but certainly not from Emmaalways calm, helpful, docile, and obedient.
Did you lose your mind? Victor asked, only to receive an instant slap from his wife.
Call an ambulance, shes having a mental break! Nora shouted.
Emma lifted the empty bottle of juice and warned, Anyone who reaches for the phone will get a taste of this! She smiled sweetly. Why are you all frozen? Get up and move, you insatiable lot!
Emma! Bruce said sternly. As your older brother, I tell you to calm down and pull yourself together.
No! Emma replied, still smiling. Im done serving you! I wont please you any longer! I wont run around like a headless chicken because you cant do anything yourself! Thats enough!
Right, whats got you so worked up? Victor asked, rubbing his flushed cheek. Everything was fine!
I didnt gather you all for nothing, Emma said, sinking into a chair and leaning back. Your arrogance has crossed every lineby far. She added, Your last demand showed me just how bold youve become, and thats why Ill no longer keep you in my life.
We didnt do anything, Andrew muttered.
Thats exactly why, son! Victor retorted.
***
They say life should be lived the right way, and you cant argue with that. But what does right really mean? Everyone answers differently.
Emma, now fortyfive, had spent her whole life convinced she was doing things correctly. At worst, she could only blame herself. She was the third child, with an older brother and a younger sister. Her parents adored her, she cherished her brother, and got along fine with her sister. She finished school, got a job, never aimed for fame or fortune.
She married, had two children, and was a devoted, loving wife who supported her husband in everything, never arguing without cause. She was a good mother, raised and educated her kids before sending them out into the world. Even as an adult she kept close ties with her brother and sister, helping out, celebrating together, sharing problems, and enjoying happy moments.
People described her as kind, caring, intelligent, and understanding. Thats why Emma believed shed lived correctly. Yet at fortyfive she discovered what it meant to be abandoned, alone, at the most miserable moment of her life.
***
Mrs. Emma Clarke, the doctor said after lunch, all your tests are back, no contraindications. Shall we schedule the operation?
Of course, doctor, Emma replied sadly, the decision is already made.
I understand, the doctor noted, seeing her despondence, but you never know
Schedule it, Emma waved her hand. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish.
Alright, the doctor wrote in her chart. Youll have dinner tonight, nothing tomorrow, and the operation the day after.
He turned to the woman sharing Emmas ward.
Mrs. Kate, your results need further attention, he said.
Okay, Dr. OLeary, Kate replied.
When the doctor left, Kate asked Emma, Why so down? Afraid of the operation?
Its part of it, Emma nodded. My husband she glanced at her phone.
My husband left me for a song, Kate laughed. I guess the kids will go to their mother and hell throw a party for himself! No matter, hell sort it out eventually. Maybe hes also run off?
Judging by his last voice message, hes in full swing, Emma pursed her lips. He knows Im having surgery. He should at least show some support, but hes out drinking with his mates!
Ah, Kate waved her hand. All men are like thatcats at home, mice at the dance!
Its still hurtful, Emma said. Uterus removal is serious. A little support would have meant the world. I told him I was terrified and needed him now, but after I left, he sent two short messages and then nothing!
Kate, ten years younger, hadnt the experience to console her, so the conversation faded.
Emma skipped dinner, taking nothing with her, knowing shed need to fast before surgery. She lay quietly, staring at the ceiling, remembering when Vasya broke his leg in two places at work. Shed visited him daily, bringing homecooked meals, clean clothes, staying up late supporting him, only getting home past midnight. When he was released, she took time off to help, like a hamster on a wheel. She never once denied her husband helpbringing water, feeding him, washing, shaving, combing.
Why does he treat me like this? Emma asked when Kate returned from her meal.
Its not just him, Kate smiled. Everyones the sameconsumers! Do they teach them at school to sit on a ladys lap?
Ive been pushing my husband for three years, finding him better jobs through friends, picking a nicer place. He never liked any of it. He only started working when I threatened divorce and alimony!
My husband works, Emma replied.
Your husbands a different breed, Kate gestured. All the sameexploitors! If you dont leash them fast, theyll sit on your neck, nip your heels, and run off! Thats what Ive learned!
Emma began to realise her husband was like cheese in butter, melting in cream, while she was left on his back foot.
Maybe Im overreacting? Emma asked. Im nervous about the operation, maybe Im spiralling?
Its all the same, Kate said. And the fact you hear no kind words from him is obvious! My partner, even if hes a bit flaky, calls daily, brings fruit juices, sends heart emojis.
Emma turned away, pulling the blanket over her head.
***
Spending a day hungry, even when you need it, isnt easy. Emma tried to distract herself with chat, but the wards routine of tests and scans kept pulling Kate in for brief visits.
Phone in hand, Emma thought, Relatives wont refuse a chat to pass the time.
Her son, Andrew, didnt pick up, just sent a message saying hed call back.
Her daughter, Lucy, let it ring twice, then the number became unavailable.
Good kids, Emma muttered, confused.
Dont they answer? Kate asked, catching her breath between tests.
Imagine! Emma exclaimed. Is it really that hard to answer your mother?
Adults?
Yes, they even live on their own now.
Forget them, Mum! Youll only see them when you need something. Theyve flown out of the nest; a stray wind will carry them back!
My eldest, sixteen, already treats me like a stranger. If they live apart, parents become pointlessgood luck if they show up for a funeral!
No, no! We have a wonderful relationship! Emma insisted.
So why dont they pick up?
Kate hurried off, leaving Emma to ponder.
Is it truly that hard to spare a minute for a mother? Lately their visits have all been about moneynothing else, no loans, just how much can you spare?
It was terribly sad. Kate summed it up: The chicks have flown. Now they live their own lives, thinking of parents only when they need something.
Emma dialed her husband again. No answer. She left a message that stayed unread.
Oh, VasyaVasya! she whispered. Hed at least send a text!
By evening he finally replied: Where are our savings? The pays gone, we have nothing to live on!
Hed been paid three days ago.
Still! Emma thought, Feast like a mountain, wine like a river!
She didnt answer. If hed hinted he was worried about her, she might have spoken. Instead, she let him sort his own mess.
Brother Bruce answered a call but said he was busy and hung up.
Typical, hes busy, Emma said.
Kate wasnt there, so Emma heard no reply. She remembered the six months shed lived in two houses after Bors wife left him, abandoning their children. Emma had looked after themcooking, cleaning, caringuntil Bor found a new partner. Shed also mediated conflicts because Bor wanted his kids loved while she wanted her own, and his new family clashed with hers.
I spent a year and a half trying to keep peace, and not a word of thanks, Emma reflected. Now hes busy again.
When she called him that evening, there were only brief beeps and a click.
Thanks for the black list, brother! she muttered. He also knew about her upcoming operation. When he asked to take the kids for a month, Emma refused, citing the surgery.
Sister Nora gave Emma just five minutes, hardly caring about her health:
When will you be fit again? My brotherinlaws relatives are arrivingabout ten people. Well house them in a hotel, but they need feeding at home, lavishly! Youre the only one we can rely on!
I dont know, Nora, Emma said. The operation is serious. Two or three weeks in hospital, then a recovery period. Doctors say up to fifty days.
No, no, sister! Thats not how it works! You need to be back in three weeks, like a welloiled machine! Theyre my family, not yours!
Im scared, Emma admitted.
Come on, dont be a wimp! Chatterbox and offtohell! Ive got to run!
It was insulting. Chatterbox and offtohell!
Does the operation being routine matter? Complications could arise! Who knows what might happen? Emma said, eyeing her phone. And I still need a cook! Im almost fifty and never learned to cook properly!
Nora constantly called the younger sister to cook for her guestscolleagues, her husbands friends, any celebration. Emma hadnt set foot at the table for days, yet was never invited.
Whats wrong with you? Nora snapped. Its a foreign crowd!
Emmas effort for that foreign crowd was taken for granted.
The operation went smoothly, but she stayed in the hospital two more weeks. She didnt call anyone, waiting for someone to remember her. No one didno husband, no children, no brother or sister.
She thought a lot, until she reached a decisive moment.
Emma, what nonsense are you spouting? Bruce protested. Did they remove a piece of your brain with the uterus?
Yes! I thought nobody would remember me! Emma laughed.
She rose again to the head of the table.
Listen, my dear relatives! Ive spent two weeks in hospital, and not a single soul bothered to ask how Im doing!
No one! Not the brother whose children love him more than their new mother. Not the sister whos used me as a free chef all my life. Not the husband who managed to lose not only his salary but also the savings wed been putting aside for the cottage. Not the children I gave life tonone even called!
A hushed gasp drifted over the room.
Ive always been ready to do everything for you. And when I finally needed a little help, you were nowhere.
I figured out I could survive on my own, and I wont be your errand runner any longer.
She turned to each of them in turn.
Vasya, divorce and no more talks! Get out of my flat!
Children, live your own lives. If you need help, ask your father. Ive lost my mother!
And you, Bor and Nora, Ill no longer look at you. Hire nannies and chefs elsewhere! Enough!
How can you be normal? relatives shouted.
All rose together, lining up, heading for the door.
Enough! Emma commanded. Im finally going to live for myself, not for you!
With the room empty, Emma sat down at the cleared table, glancing at the shattered salad bowl.
She smiled gently and thought, I may have overreacted, but today Ill start a new life with a fresh bowl.
And she realised that true peace comes not from serving endless demands, but from honoring ones own worth first.
