The Second Child Is a Boy

Author Ilon MaksReading 12 minViews 3

The second child is the husband.
No, it isnt a wife its the housekeeper, the cook dont get distracted.

At a gathering I mention Tessa actually, her husband.

Not a wife? A cook? Thats a twist!

Tessas face turns pale.

Even the friends dont know Tessa. The men swivel their chairs to see whos interrupted their chat. They sit like ministers at a cabinet meeting, all pretending theyre important. What sort of friends are these, whose wife knows nothing about them?

Simon, overturning his chair, leaps up and darts toward Tessa, trying to whisk her away from his mates eyes. His smug companions exchange bewildered looks. A whisper ripples through the crowd: Why is he hurrying to the housekeeper? Everyone snorts, smiling ambiguously.

Only the tall man in the farright seat remains indifferent.

Housekeeper? Tessa whispers behind the closed doors, Cook?

Its absurd to picture you, in those threadbare jeans, as a wife, Simon says as if hes stating something Tessa should already understand. We have respectable gentlemen here.

Respectable jeans.

The frayed seams stick out, but they dont catch the eye.

Theyre fine for a workhorse, but a successful businessmans wife cant look like a beggar!

A successful businessman? Did you just make that up? Where did you hear it?

I was at the billiards hall on Oxford Street today and beat them! All five of them! They were impressed with my skill and invited me for a stiff drink. I asked about work. They said they could fund my carshowroom project. Theyre investors!

All your investors are playing dominoes in the garage.

Today Tessa sees how her husband treats her as service. She may not be a cook, but she supports the family financially. She brings in the money, then slips away like a mouse under the skirting board.

She mentions dominoes again.

If you dont trust your husband, why get angry that he doesnt believe in himself and doesnt work? How can you build a successful career when your own wife undervalues you?

Now they agree that Simon will drop off her suits at the dry cleaners. Tessa favours classic tailoring. She wears the suits to important meetings and, on ordinary days, drags around her wornout jeans.

Did you take the suits?

No! When did I have time? I was trying to win over the investors

Where? At the billiards?

You think I cant also relax?

When I handled the finances, you handled the home.

But I said I need time for hobbies and selfrealisation.

You have plenty of that! Theres no time for the home. I pay for cleaning and eat wherever. In the evenings you order sushi or pizza! Wheres the domestic life you dreamed of when you moved in? At the billiards you dreamed of playing from dawn till dusk!

Lower your voice, love, he mutes her with his hand. If the investors hear you, they wont see a profitable business.

Then well never see it, because those investors will oversleep tomorrow and forget your name.

Tessa envies her colleagues who go to work to break the monotony of housewife life and earn their own money. They dont stay late, dont bring reports home to pore over charts into the third night without sleep. Their sector is undergoing layoffs, and Tessa worries theyll lose their peace, but they keep gossiping over tea as usual. Even if theyre cut, their husbandssome earning a fraction more than their wivesstill have a safety net. Losing a job isnt terrifying for them.

Tessa fears the cuts like a fire. She works harder, faster, more productively than anyone, yet it brings no relief.

Simon scoffs, You, dear, are a negotiation amateur. Go have a laugh with those new friends about the careless cook who mixed everything up and didnt collect his suits from the cleaners.

Tessa stays silent.

If she intervenes, Simon will bring up divorce again.

They only start thinking about a child

Simon and Tessas flat is in a new development. Theres a lobby serving three apartments, not the cramped panel blocks of old, but a spacious room with visitor chairs that opens onto a balcony. Tessa steps onto the shared balcony.

Even I once had a wife, a voice says overhead.

Tessa screams. Simon and his guests are too caught up in their laughter to hear her.

It turns out the tall investor, who never smiles at the ambiguous housekeeper situation, looms over her.

Are you hearing voices? And you think were having a lively debate? Tessa asks, furious at his audacity. Whats that comment about a wife when I never spoke to you? Im not interested in who you were with.

He isnt rattled.

I also had a wife.

Stuck?

I had a housewife, he says. She didnt work, we had no children, and I often ordered cleaning for her. The difference? She welcomed me gladly.

Im not a housewife.

No, Im not talking about you. Im talking about the person you mistakenly called a husband. In my family I earned money, built a business, and my wife tended the home and her hobbies. I never blamed her. I was on cloud nine because I could give her such a life she never worried about where the next loaf would come from. But if my beloved wife had called me a servant and bragged about it to her friends, shed have become my ex in an instant not on paper, but in my heart. You can forgive many things, but not disregard someone youd give your life for. My wife loved me too.

What then split you, if you loved each other so?

A drunken, halfwitted trader that Simon met in the billiards hall drops the line.

Tessa doesnt let his divorce talk sway her. She knows she must walk in someone elses shoes to understand their path Simon mutters that drunkenly. Divorce over that? theyre already pondering a child, and Tessa has always longed for one. Who will be the father at thirtyseven?

Cancer. It tore us apart.

Excuse me

Its fine, Tessa, never let anyone treat you disrespectfullynot even a husband. Where theres no respect, theres no love.

Family therapist.

No, Im a programmer.

What did you lose in this merry band of investors and the guy trying to milk them?

Im not poor; I could fund something myself, but Ive been wandering with them for company. Home feels empty, barren. So when Im not working, I stroll. Sorry, if Id known youd come, I wouldnt have let you in, nor would I have let them. Still, I dont regret meeting you. Youre charming.

You havent even introduced yourself.

Ian, with a single sweep of his hand, quiets the laughing crowd and sends everyone home.

Tessa proves right. The next morning, when Simon phones his new investor friends, they cant even recall his name or what they drank the night before.

No hint of regret.

Simon merely pretends to chase business dreams. He needs nothing. Working for someone else isnt his style; hes an entrepreneur, but even then he creates an illusion rather than a real venturejust a façade.

A simple façade.

They didnt answer, and they wont. Theyll chase after me later.

Simon, what about my maternity leave?

What?

If I go on maternity, how will we survive?

Youll only be on leave briefly a month before the birth and three months after. After that a nanny will manage.

You said okay when I suggested you either support the family or look after the baby.

I said okay, not I promise. Where does the baby fit? Im not a nanny. Youre the mother. Sort it out yourself.

So youll get a job?

Well see

Do you have any answers beyond well see?

Tessa! Youve ruined my appetite this morning! Dont load me with this baby. It will happen. Everything will happen. Tomorrow we start working on it.

And they try.

Tessa is pregnant.

She plans to find a nanny and work parttime during her leave, but discovers no one at her firm is waiting for her back.

Mark, the company is going bust! Anna tells her.

What does that mean?

It means in a month well all be jobless.

But Im pregnant You cant fire a pregnant woman.

If the firm collapses, how can we keep anyone employed?

Tessa falls into a slump. She stops eating, avoids people, until a faint hope flickers that perhaps her husbands lucky hour will arrive and hell become the man of the house.

Simon looks at his wife skeptically.

If I take a job, the pay will be laughably small, nowhere near what you earn. I have a huge gap in my résumé, my skills are rusty, my qualifications are outdated. Tessa, I cant shoulder that responsibility.

But I need time to find a job, and there isnt much A couple of months and the baby will be visible.

How many weeks now?

Ten.

Ten, right. Still time.

What do you mean?

On the brink! Dont even think about giving birth now. I called mum; she was horrified by your recklessness. Going on leave when you have that much on your plate you have to feed yourself. I cant work right now. Our parents expect us to help with the fence and the bills. They wont give us any nice things. Mum says theres no talk of a baby now. She doesnt even know you wont go on leave; youll be jobless. No, no, love, that wont work.

But you also said its time to become parents.

Thats because you tangled my head up with this baby. When hes born, hell take the whole blanket. Am I to become penniless because the last of our money goes to the child? Thats too heavy a burden. Be sensible and hurry. We must meet the deadline or well have endless woes because of your child.

Tessa dashes for her things.

The manager who warned her about the bankruptcy also packs up.

And he sent you on a break?

Yes.

What does he say?

We wont make it.

Will you or wont you manage two children?

I dont know about the job, I need something quickly to get maternity pay or do as Simon wants. If I decide to have the baby, hell divorce me. I know hell file. Or if we dont split, hell walk out. How do I live without work and a child without a husband?

Without a husband who doesnt earn? Your logic is twisted. Surviving on benefits with a child is tough. With a child and a husband who doesnt work, its even tougher, isnt it?

Well, he isnt working now, and if

Svetlana

So?

Nothing more.

The disaster has already hit. Tessa is pregnant and faces cuts, yet Simon still wont work.

She must sprint from interview to interview.

She cant lie about her pregnancy if asked, but if they dont ask

Determined, Tessa marches home, sends out résumés, and waits to see what offers appear.

Hello, housewives! the tall man jokes.

Was he in my building?

Im not a housewife.

Simon claimed otherwise. Youre now unemployed.

Did you come to our flat?

No, I tried to go up, but I ran into Simon on the landing. He was hauling his presumably his own things. He might be filing for divorce.

Clearly, Simon is fleeing a sinking ship.

Determination fades.

Unemployed and abandoned, Tessa says.

Well, Ill provide you with work if you want.

Simon didnt tell me I was pregnant?

He did. First his panic, then he himself. How will that affect your professional skills? Ive heard you work tirelessly. I think youll fit a lowstress role. Ill put in a good word for you, he says, Tessa, Ive always wanted a child. My wife never delivered I couldnt help her. Why cant I help you? Come to this office tomorrow. Its my friends firm. Ill be there too so you dont feel awkward. I hope this isnt our last meeting.

And I hope so too.

Later Tessa gives birth to a daughter, then a son, then another son. Even though the first girl is technically a stepchild, Ian never makes a distinction. He never reminds Tessa of it.

Simon, however, never stops reminding her that hes the one who got everyones ears buzzing, as if Tessa had cleverly run away from him. All for Ian, who is now richer

The Anniversary Invitation Was a Trap… But the Gift I Brought Changed Everything When I received the invitation, I read it twice, then a third time—almost as if the words might reshape themselves to reveal the real story. “Wedding Anniversary. We would be delighted if you could join us.” So polite. So polished. So… not her style at all. I’ve never had trouble being a guest at someone else’s celebration—even when their happiness is built on top of my silence. Yes, I knew the man by her side tonight once stood beside me. But no, I didn’t feel humiliated by being ‘replaced’. You can’t replace a woman—you simply leave one version of yourself behind and choose another. But the reason the invitation unsettled me wasn’t the past. It was the tone. As if someone was inviting me, not as a friend… but as a member of the audience. Yet I accepted. Not to prove anything, but because I wasn’t afraid. I am the kind of woman who doesn’t walk into a room to compete with other women. I walk in to reclaim my own space. It took me time to prepare, but not because of my dress. Because of my decision of how I wanted to look in their eyes. I didn’t want to be ‘the wounded one’. I didn’t want to be ‘the proud one’ either. I wanted to be just right—the kind of woman no one can use as the backdrop for their self-assurance. I chose a champagne-coloured dress—simple, without unnecessary embellishment. My hair was swept up—not playfully, but confidently. My makeup was soft, natural. I looked in the mirror and told myself: “Tonight, you are not here to defend yourself. Tonight, you’re here to observe.” When I entered the hall, the light was warm—chandeliers everywhere, laughter, glass after glass clinking. There was music that made people smile, even if they weren’t happy. She saw me instantly. She couldn’t not. Her eyes narrowed for a split second, then widened—rehearsed joy, dressed up as ‘good manners’. She approached, glass in hand. She kissed my cheek lightly, but didn’t truly touch my skin. ‘What a surprise to see you!’ she said, a little too loudly. I knew the game. When you say something just loud enough, you want everyone to hear how ‘gracious’ you are. I smiled softly. ‘You invited me. So I came.’ She gestured toward a table. ‘Come with me, I’ll introduce you to a few people.’ That’s when I saw him. He was standing by the bar, laughing with two men—laughing the way he used to, back when he could still be gentle. For a moment, my heart reminded me it has a memory. But I had something stronger than memory: Clarity. He turned. His gaze landed on me, as if a curtain had been pulled aside. No guilt. No courage—just that awkward recognition: ‘She’s here. She’s real.’ He walked over. ‘Glad you made it,’ he said. Not ‘sorry’. Not ‘how are you’. Just a sentence for the sake of manners. His wife jumped in immediately: ‘I insisted!’ she smiled. ‘You know me—I’m all about… grand gestures.’ Grand gestures. Yes. She loved putting on a show. Loved looking good. Loved being at the centre. And above all, she loved proving “there’s no problem”. I said nothing. Just looked at them and nodded. They sat me at a table close to theirs—just as I expected. Not far, not comfortably—on display. Around me, people laughed, toasted, took endless photos, while she—she floated around like the perfect hostess from a magazine. Sometimes her eyes flicked to me, as if checking whether I was crumbling. I didn’t crumble. I’m a woman who has survived quiet storms. After you’ve walked through them, loud people start to seem… silly. Then came the moment she had orchestrated. The MC stepped onto the stage, telling everyone how ‘strong the couple was’, ‘how inspiring their love is’, and how it’s ‘proof that true relationships conquer all’. Then, in front of everyone, she took the microphone. ‘I’d like to say something special,’ she declared. ‘Tonight, someone very important is here… because some people teach us to truly appreciate love.’ Eyes turned to me. Not everyone knew the story, but everyone sensed this was THAT moment. She smiled sweetly. ‘I’m so happy you’re here.’ I heard them whisper—like needles, exactly what she wanted. She wanted to set me up as ‘the past’, sitting meekly, clapping for the present. Her husband stood there like a statue. He didn’t even look at me. And then I stood up. No performance. No theatrics. I simply and calmly stood, straightened my dress and took a small gift box from my bag. The room hushed, not from fear, but from curiosity. People adore other people’s tension. I approached them. She was ready—expecting some polite, pitiful sentiment: ‘I wish you happiness’ and ‘all the best’. She wasn’t going to get that. I took the microphone, but didn’t clutch it tightly. I held it the way you hold truth: gently. ‘Thank you for inviting me,’ I said quietly. ‘Sometimes, it is brave to invite the past to your celebration.’ She smiled nervously. The audience shifted in their seats. ‘I brought a gift,’ I continued, ‘and I won’t keep you long.’ I handed the box to her. Directly to her. Her eyes lit up—not with joy, but with suspicion. She opened it. Inside was a small black USB stick and a folded sheet of paper. Her face froze. ‘What is this…?’ she tried to ask, her voice thinner than before. ‘A memory,’ I said. ‘A very precious one.’ He stepped forward. I saw his jaw clench. She unfolded the note. She read, and colour slowly drained from her cheeks. There was no need for me to shout the truth. It wrote itself across her face. Because the note held a short message—not long, but precise. Extracts of conversations. Dates. A few facts. Nothing crude. Nothing low. Just the truth. And a single sentence at the end: ‘Keep this anniversary as a mirror. In it, you’ll see how it all began.’ People could feel it—nothing is louder than suspicion in a room full of luxury. She tried to smile. Tried to joke. But her lips trembled. I looked at her calmly. Not like an enemy. Like a woman who simply reached the end of a lie. Then I turned to him. ‘I won’t say more,’ I said. ‘Just this: I wish you could be honest, just once. If not with anyone else… then at least with yourself.’ He was struggling to breathe. I knew him. When you corner him, he shrinks. The crowd wanted a spectacle, but I didn’t give them one. I handed the microphone back to the host. Smiled softly and nodded my head. And walked toward the exit. I could hear chairs moving behind me. Someone asking, ‘What just happened?’ Someone else saying, ‘Did you see her face?’ But I didn’t turn. Not because I didn’t care. But because I wasn’t there to fight anymore. I was there to close a door. Outside, the air was cold and pure, like the truth after a long lie. I glimpsed my reflection in the entrance glass. I didn’t look like a loud victor. I looked… at peace. And for the first time in a long time, I felt not hatred, nor sadness, nor jealousy— I felt free. My gift wasn’t revenge. It was a reminder— that some women don’t shout. Some women simply walk in, lay the truth on the table, and leave like queens. ❓What would you have done in my place—would you have kept quiet ‘for the sake of peace’, or let the truth do the talking?

There’s Still Work to Do at Home… Granny Val struggled to open the garden gate, hobbled to the door, wrestled with the old, rusted lock, then stepped into her chilly, empty cottage and sank onto a chair beside the cold hearth. The house felt abandoned. She’d only been away three months, but cobwebs now draped the ceilings, the ancient chair creaked mournfully, and the wind howled down the chimney—the house greeted her crossly: Where’ve you been, mistress? Who did you leave us with? How will we manage through winter? “I’m here now, my dear—just let me catch my breath…and soon I’ll have us warmed up again.” Just a year ago, Granny Val bustled about the old cottage—whitewashing, tidying, fetching water; her slight, nimble figure bowed before icons, busied at the stove, and flitted through the orchard to plant, weed, and water everything. The house rejoiced with her, the floorboards creaking under her light steps, doors and windows flinging open at a touch of her work-roughened hands, and the old range baking gloriously plump pies. Val and her cottage were happy together. She’d buried her husband early, raised three children—educated them all and sent them out into the world. One son captained a freighter, another became an Army Colonel, both living far off and rarely visiting. The youngest, her daughter Maureen, stayed in the village as head agronomist, always busy, stopping in on Sundays with fresh pies to nourish her mother’s soul—then another week passed with no visits. Her comfort was her granddaughter, sweet Susie, practically raised at Gran’s knee. And what a beauty Susie grew up to be! Big grey eyes, masses of golden hair tumbling to her waist, as bright as polished wheat—just blinding the local lads with her looks and polished posture, rare for a country girl. Granny Val had been attractive in her day too, but if you put an old photo of her beside Susie’s, you’d see a shepherd girl and a queen. On top of that, Susie was clever—she’d finished Agricultural College in the nearest city, returned to work in the local council office as an accountant, and married the village vet. The young couple were awarded a brand-new house through a government programme—a solid, handsome brick place, practically a mansion by village standards. There was only one thing: While Gran’s old cottage was surrounded by a lush, flower-filled garden, Susie’s new house boasted just three scraggly plants. Susie, despite being raised in the country, wasn’t suited for gardening—her granny had always protected her from drafts and hard work. Then Susie had little Jack, and there was simply no time for gardening at all. Susie began inviting Gran to live with her: “Come live with us, Gran—it’s a big, warm house. No more tending fires!” Turning eighty, Gran finally relented—her legs, once so spry, now tired and unreliable, as if the years had been waiting for this milestone to catch up with her. She spent a few months at Susie’s, but soon heard: “Gran, I love you, you know that, but why are you just sitting here? You’ve always been up and about, keeping house, and here you are, just… settled. I was hoping for your help since I want to start managing my own home.” “But my dear, I can’t—my legs don’t work now, I’m old…” “Hmph. Funny, you suddenly got old when you moved in with me.” In the end, Gran, unable to fulfil their hopes, was gently sent back to her own cottage. Her disappointment in failing Susie weighed heavily—she struggled to cross from bed to table, let alone to her beloved church. Father Brian, her faithful parish priest, began coming to her, helping with chores, bringing food, chopping firewood, and checking on her well-being. He even wrote addresses on the envelopes when her shaky handwriting failed her. The letters to her sons always boasted in bold, trembling script, “I’m doing very well, my dear sons. God has blessed me with everything!” Yet the ink stains betrayed her tears. Neighbours tried to help, and Maureen, still tirelessly working as village agronomist, did what she could, but soon tragedy struck—Susie, who’d had stomach trouble, was diagnosed with untreatable lung cancer. Within six months, she was gone. Her husband became lost in grief, and four-year-old Jack was left uncared for—hungry and unwashed. Maureen took him in, but her demanding work left her little time, and soon social services began discussing sending Jack to a residential school. Refusing to let this happen, Granny Val arrived, ferried by her burly neighbour Pete on his old motorbike with sidecar: “I’ll take Jack to live with me.” “But Mum, you can barely walk! How will you cope with a child?” “As long as I’m alive, Jack isn’t going to any institution,” Gran said firmly. Even the neighbours were shocked: “She must be losing her mind—she can barely manage herself, and now she’s taken on a child!” Father Brian feared the worst when he visited—but found Jack clean and smiling, listening to fairy tales on Gran’s ancient record player, and Granny Val bustling happily around the kitchen, baking cheese pastries, her old legs moving nimbly once again. “Wait a tick, Father—I’ve just got some pastries in the oven for Mrs Alexander and young Tommy…” Father Brian returned home, amazed and shared the story with his wife, who pulled out a family notebook and read him an old story of her great-grandmother: bedridden and near death, she found new life when a newborn great-grandchild arrived in the house and postponed dying for another decade just to help raise her beloved great-granddaughter. And, as she finished the tale, Mrs Alexander smiled at her husband and said, “It’s just as the old song goes: ‘It’s not time to die yet—we’ve still got things to do at home!’”

“YOU’RE TOO LATE, MARINA! THE PLANE’S GONE! AND WITH IT, YOUR JOB AND YOUR BONUS! YOU’RE FIRED!” — HER BOSS SHOUTED DOWN THE PHONE. MARINA STOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF A TRAFFIC JAM, STARING AT THE OVERTURNED CAR SHE’D JUST PULLED A STRANGER’S CHILD FROM. SHE LOST HER CAREER, BUT FOUND HERSELF. Marina was the model corporate high-flyer—a regional director at 35, tough, efficient, always on call, her life scheduled to the minute in her Google calendar. That morning was the biggest deal of her year—a contract with a Chinese firm. She needed to be at the airport by 10:00. Leaving with time to spare (she was never late), she sped down the motorway in her new SUV, rehearsing her pitch. Suddenly, a battered old Ford ahead skidded, hit the verge, and tumbled into a ditch, landing wheels-up. Marina slammed on the brakes—calculating instantly: “If I stop, I’ll be late. Millions on the line. They’ll destroy me.” Other drivers slowed, took photos, drove on. She checked her watch—8:45. Time slipping away. Foot on the accelerator, she almost swerved round the forming jam, when she saw a child’s gloved hand pressed to the window of the upturned car. Marina cursed, hit the wheel, and pulled onto the shoulder. Running through the snow in stilettos, the smell of petrol filled the air. The driver—a young man—was unconscious, head bloody. In back, a five-year-old girl trapped and sobbing. “Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart!” Marina shouted, yanking at the jammed door. When it wouldn’t budge, she smashed the window with a stone, glass nicking her face, scratching her designer coat. She pulled the girl free, then—with help—got the driver out just before the car ignited. Shaken, tights torn, hands trembling and face covered in soot, she sat in the snow, clutching the girl. Her boss’s number flashed again. “Where are you?! Check-in closes in minutes!” “I can’t make it, Mr. Harrison. There’s been an accident. I was helping survivors.” “I don’t care! You’ve blown the deal! You’re finished! Out of the industry, do you hear!” She hung up. The ambulance arrived. The paramedic said, “They’ll live. You’re their guardian angel—without you, they’d have burned.” The next day, Marina woke up jobless. Her boss had kept his word—besides firing her, he blacklisted her in their tight-knit field. Doors kept slamming. She slid into depression, financial pressure mounting. “Why did I stop?” she wondered each night. “If I’d just driven on, I’d be in Shanghai sipping champagne. Now I have nothing.” A month later her phone rang—an unknown number. “Marina? It’s Andrew—the man from the Ford. You saved us. Please, we’d like to see you.” Visiting their council flat, Andrew (in a back brace), his teary wife, and their daughter Dasha (with a crooked angel drawing for Marina, black hair just like hers) offered her all they had: tea and gratitude. “I don’t know how to thank you,” Andrew said. “We’ve no money… but if you ever need anything…” “I need a job,” Marina admitted ruefully. Andrew had an idea—his mate, a quirky Yorkshire farmer, was looking for a manager—not mucking out barns, but sorting paperwork, grants, logistics. Modest wages, room included. Desperate, Marina went to see. Gone were the marble desks and Armani suits—just a battered desk, jeans, and wellies. She got to work—streamlining systems, securing subsidies, finding new markets. Within a year, the farm turned a profit. And she discovered a new peace—fresh bread, a loyal dog, no more layers of fake makeup or backstabbing games. For the first time, she felt alive. One day, a city delegation came to source farm produce for top restaurants—her former boss among them. He barely concealed his scorn, sneering at her weathered face and old jeans. “Well, Marina? Queen of muck, are we? You could have stayed on the board. Regret playing the hero?” She smiled, feeling nothing but indifference. “No, Victor. I saved two lives that day—and a third: my own. I saved myself from ever becoming you.” He harrumphed and left. She headed to the barn to greet a newborn calf, its nose nuzzling her palm. That evening—barbeque with Andrew, Lena, and Dasha—now close friends. Under vast stars invisible in the city, Marina knew she was finally where she belonged. Moral: Sometimes, losing everything is how you find what really matters. Career, money, status—they can all go up in smoke in an instant. But compassion, a life saved, and a clear conscience stay with you forever. Don’t be afraid to change course when your heart says “stop”—it might just be your true turning point.