DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
It was many years ago, but I can still remember the way Mary Robinson, with a soft sigh, placed a steaming roast duck at the centre of the well-laid table. Any moment now, her sons would arrive with their wives.
Her youngest had only recently gotten married. The wedding was a modest affair, really but these days, that’s what the young people preferred. Mary would have celebrated with grandeur if it were up to her, unlike her own wedding, when she’d simply popped into the local registry office with her husband. Even the plain gold bands they wore had come a year late, paid for from saving pennies. She had always wanted to give the children the celebration she and her husband never had, but she respected their wishes.
“If only she wasn’t so very particular about her appearance,” Mary had once confessed to a friend, speaking of her new daughter-in-law. That had been gnawing at her for some time, and she thought they should simply talk things through.
Lucy, the daughter-in-law, was pleasant enough, Mary had to admit. She had a good effect on George, the youngest had even helped him find an excellent job and always encouraged him to seek promotion. Up until thirty, George had coasted through life, never wanting for much. Mary had begun to worry, but Lucy had set him right.
Yet, if there was a flaw, it was that Lucy was so well turned out, almost excessively so. She frequented beauty salons; always sporting fresh haircuts, polished nails, and even massages. A fortune must vanish on such things. Mary couldn’t approve. A married woman with a family ought to place her kin before herself. When the children arrived, would Lucy go for a pedicure instead of buying shoes for her son? Mary remembered the lean years after her husbands passing, when her own needs were always last, no matter that her boys were grown but still needed help.
The doorbell jolted her from her thoughts. The youth had come. Lucy floated into the sitting room, hair freshly styled, nails immaculate. Her face was nearly bare, save for the healthy look of someone who had spent time in a beauty parlour.
“Lucy, you do look lovely!” Mary exclaimed, meaning it though she couldnt keep the faint trace of disapproval from her voice. “Is that a new suit, dear?”
“It is, I bought it just yesterday,” Lucy replied, smiling. “Work handed out generous bonuses this month.”
“Youd be wise to save that money for a rainy day,” Mary couldnt help but say. “Bonuses, overtime tuck them aside, you never know when trouble will come knocking!”
Lucy kept silent. She liked Mary, admired the simple way she had given herself entirely to her family. But quietly, Lucy believed that hard times only came to those who spent their lives dreading them.
The dinner passed agreeably enough, although Mary tried two or three more times to open a delicate conversation about spending and thrift. Lucy realised the hints were meant for her.
“Mrs Robinson, when did you last have your nails done?” Lucy finally blurted out, unable to help herself.
“I well, never actually. I keep my hands tidy at home and thats plenty.”
The exchange went by unnoticed by the others, but as a woman, Lucy felt a strange pang for her mother-in-law. Imagine raising two sons, now earning good money, and yet never sparing a pound or two for herself.
“George,” Lucy asked as they walked home, “does your mum ever do anything just for herself?”
“No idea,” George shrugged. “Shes always cooking, look at that feast. Watches the telly, pops round to see the neighbours. Why?”
“Its just shes never had a taste of the nicer things. You and your brother should take her somewhere the cinema, the theatre, out for a meal.”
“Oh, she wouldnt want that,” George protested. “Dont be daft.”
Lucy fell silent. In her mind, she compared Mary to her own mother, who, even when money was tight, would buy herself a smart haircut, a fresh dress, and always made sure to hold a theatre subscription for those precious evenings out.
Lucy decided Mary deserved to have a bit of life for herself, not just wait in front of the telly for grandchildren shed surely pour every last kindness upon.
A few days later, Lucy rang up Mary, persuading her to join for a stroll and a cup of coffee. She slyly suggested they stop by the salon for a quick treatment a facial for herself and any pampering Mary might enjoy.
“Oh no, really, Ill just wait in the foyer if you must go,” Mary protested.
“But its only half an hour! Take the time, at least for a manicure and a bit of hand massage?”
Mary finally caved. Lucy phoned her favourite salon, where she was well acquainted, preparing the staff for the visit.
“Ladies, its my mother-in-laws first time do her proud, please. Subtly suggest a few more bits if shes interested. If she asks about prices, tell her its all squared she need only relax. If you do well, you might have her as a regular!”
At the appointed hour, Lucy steered a hesitant Mary into the bright salon and handed her over to the capable hands of the stylists.
“Its only meant to be half an hour, isnt it, Lucy?” Mary kept asking. “And how much is all this?”
Sweetly, the staff escorted Mary away, and Lucy sat down, not intending any treatments for herself that day. She passed the time replying to work messages; it was her day off, after all.
Mary re-emerged nearly two hours later, looking fresh and rejuvenated, the touch of the stylists evident.
“Oh Lucy, theyve done so much! I had coffee, herbal tea and everyone was ever so kind! Goodness, it must have been expensive.”
“As it happens,” the receptionist interjected, “weve got a promotion on today! Bring a friend, and she enjoys her treatments entirely for free. So, nothing owing from you!”
Lucy and her gratified, glowing mother-in-law stepped out to a nearby café. Mary sipped her cappuccino and lolled back in her seat.
“Why dont we make it a regular girls outing?” Lucy suggested. “Regulars get a proper discount, you know. You did enjoy it, didnt you?”
“Immensely,” Mary admitted. “Never knew something so simple could be so lovely.”
“You ought to have tried it long ago!”
“Well, back then the children were small, and my late husband God rest him was always careful, discouraged such things. Afterwards, there hardly seemed reason.”
“But now you have one to keep me company. Its far too dull alone.”
“For your sake, then. Perhaps.” Mary smiled.
After that, it became their little tradition. Together, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law took care of themselves. Lucy, always tactful, even updated Marys wardrobe, never telling her the true prices. She convinced George to take his mother to a restaurant and the cinema. That Christmas, Lucy presented Mary with a theatre subscription.
“My word, youre looking younger every day!” her neighbours remarked.
“Its this new generations influence,” Mary would answer, a soft smile on her face.
And truly, in her retirement, Mary mother of two grown men felt as though her youth had only just begun.
