«You knew he was weak,» whispered her mother-in-law as he walked away.
«I dont see why we need so much meat,» grumbled Margaret Ellis, peering into the fridge. «Half this amount wouldve been enough for three grown adults.»
Emma silently continued chopping onions for the salad. Tears ran down her cheeksnot from the onions, but from the daily criticism about how she ran the household.
«And the potatoes are all soft,» the older woman carried on. «Where did you even buy these? Some dodgy corner shop?»
«At the market, Margaret,» Emma replied quietly. «Same as always.»
«Oh, of course. And what goods that done? Money down the drain.»
Emma set the knife down on the cutting board and took a deep breath. Five years of marriage, and every day the same. Criticism, dissatisfaction, complaints. And her husband, Daniel, stayed silent, pretending not to hear.
«Daniel, lunch is ready!» she called toward the living room, where he lay on the sofa with his phone.
«Just a minute,» he muttered, eyes still glued to the screen.
«What do you mean, ‘just a minute’?» snapped Margaret. «The foods going cold while he fiddles with that thing. Daniel, come to the table now!»
Obediently, he set his phone aside and shuffled to the kitchen, taking his usual seat beside his mother, opposite Emma.
«Whats for lunch?» he asked, unfolding his napkin.
«Beef stew and meatballs,» Emma said, ladling the soup into bowls.
«Stew again?» Margaret wrinkled her nose. «Gives me heartburn. Emma, you know I cant have anything too rich.»
«You could skip the cream,» Emma suggested. «I didnt add much seasoning.»
«Doesnt matter. Still too heavy. And why so many carrots? You know they make Daniel bloated.»
Emma glanced at her husband, willing him to speak up. But Daniel slurped his soup in silence, as if the conversation had nothing to do with him.
«Next time, Ill just make clear broth,» Emma conceded.
«About time. All these fancy dishesback in my day, people made do with plain food, and they were healthier for it.»
Lunch passed in the usual quiet. Margaret systematically found fault with every dish, Daniel nodded along, and Emma counted the minutes until the ordeal ended.
Afterward, Margaret retired to her room to watch telly, while Emma cleared the table. Daniel tried to slip back to the sofa, but she stopped him.
«Daniel, we need to talk.»
«About what?» He paused in the doorway, irritated.
«Your mother. I cant live like this anymore.»
«Whats she done now? She means well.»
Emma nearly dropped the plate in her hands.
«Means well? Daniel, she criticizes everything I dothe food, the cleaning, the shopping. I feel like a servant in my own home.»
«Shes just used to being in control. Shes run things her whole life.»
«Run things? Then what am I? A temporary guest?»
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
«Emma, dont be dramatic. Shes set in her ways. Just give it time.»
«Ive given it five years! Five years waiting for her to change. Instead, she gets worse.»
«What do you want me to do? Kick my own mother out?»
«I want you to stand up to her. Make it clear Im the one running this houseyour wife.»
Daniel shook his head.
«I cant talk to her like that. She raised me.»
«And what am I, nothing? Were supposed to be a family!»
«Of course we are. But shes my mum.»
Emma felt something inside her shrivel. Every time, the same answer. His mother would always come first.
«Fine,» she said, fighting back tears. «Got it.»
«Emma, dont be like that. You have to understandolder people need patience.»
He reached to pat her shoulder, but she pulled away.
«Go to your mum. Im sure shes missed you.»
Daniel hesitated, then sighed and left. Emma stayed at the sink, surrounded by dirty dishes and heavier thoughts.
Shed met Daniel at university. Hed seemed so steady, so calmunlike her past boyfriends, all loud and argumentative. Daniel never raised his voice, always polite, always considerate. Maybe too soft, shed thought, but after the chaos of her own family, it had seemed a relief.
Shed only met Margaret at the wedding. Back then, shed seemed stern but kind, saying shed always wanted a daughter-in-law to love like her own.
The trouble started when theyd rented a flat near Margarets house. Shed begun dropping by dailyfor salt, for sugar, for any excusealways with a critical eye.
«Emma, whys the floor so dull?» shed ask. «Youre using the wrong cleaner.»
Or:
«The air in heres stale. You should open the windows more.»
At first, Emma brushed it off, thinking Margaret was just protective of her son. But the remarks grew sharper.
Then Daniel lost his job. Money grew tight, and Margaret generously offered them her spare room. Just temporarily, until he found something new.
That «temporary» stretched into three years. Daniel took a low-paying job at a small firm, but they never moved out. And Margaret no longer hid her belief that Emma wasnt good enough for her son.
«My friend Dorothys daughter-in-law is different,» shed say. «Thrifty, efficient. House like a showroom, and knows how to manage money. Respects her husband, too.»
The message was clear: Emma didnt respect Daniel if she dared disagree.
Now, drying the last plate, Emma caught her reflection in the kitchen window. Thirty, but she looked forty. Stress and sleepless nights had taken their toll.
From the living room, the telly murmured, along with Margarets voice. She was telling Daniel about a neighbour whod parked poorly again.
«Someone ought to say something,» Margaret said. «But you know how rude she is.»
«Just ignore her, Mum,» Daniel replied. «Not worth the hassle.»
«Right. No point dealing with difficult people.»
Emma knew the conversation wasnt just about the neighbour. Margaret often hinted that her daughter-in-law fell into the same category. But Daniel, it seemed, was stuck with her.
That night, she tried again. Waiting until Margaret was asleep, she sat beside Daniel on the sofa.
«Daniel, Im serious. Im miserable here.»
«Emma, not this again.»
«What am I supposed to do? Suffer in silence forever?»
«Its not forever. Mum wont live forever.»
Emma went cold.
«So Im supposed to wait for your mother to die?»
«No! I just mean shes getting on. Maybe well move soon.»
«Move where? On your salary, we cant even afford a bedsit.»
«Ill find something better.»
«Youve been saying that for three years.»
Daniel exhaled sharply.
«Why do you keep nagging me? Ive got enough stress without this.»
«Youre stressed? What about me?»
«Emma, enough. Lets just watch something.»
He grabbed the remote, ending the conversation. Emma sat a moment longer, then left.
In their room, she dug out an old journal from their first year of marriage. Flipping through the pages, she found her own hopeful scribbles:
*»I want our own place, just us. Kids running around, me deciding what to cook, how to clean.»*
Kids. Shed wanted them, but Daniel always said it wasnt the right time. First, they needed stability, their own home. Now, there was neither space nor money.
*»Daniels so kind, so patient. Never shouts, always listens. Hell be a wonderful father.»*
A father to children theyd never havenot while living under Margarets roof.
Emma shut the journal. Daniel came to bed an hour later, careful not to wake her. She pretended to sleep.
Breakfast brought another lecture.
«Dorothys visiting today,» Margaret announced. «Havent seen her in ages. Emma, tidy up properlyI wont have her thinking we live in a pigsty.»
«I clean every day, Margaret.»
«Not well enough. Dust on the shelves, smudges on the mirrors.»
Emma checked. No dust, no smudges. But she wiped everything again without argument.
Dorothy arrived at noona loud, brassy woman in a floral dress.
«Margaret, darling!» she bellowed. «And this must be Emma! Margarets told me all about you.»
Emma offered tea. The women settled at the table, gossiping.
«My Lindas on her third husband,» Dorothy declared. «Says the last one was spinelessno backbone at all.»
«Men these days,» Margaret agreed. «No grit anymore.»
Emma kept her back turned at the sink, ears burning.
«And your Daniel? Still at that little firm?»
«Mm. Good boy, but too soft. Lets his wife walk all over him.»
Emma nearly dropped a cup.
«Really?» Dorothy feigned surprise. «He seems so steady.»
«Oh, he is. Just no spine. She snaps, he clams up. I tell him, ‘Daniel, be a man!’ He says, ‘Mum, stay out of it.'»
«I see. And whats she like, then? Tough?»
Margaret lowered her voice, but Emma still heard.
«Not tough. Just… ordinary. Doesnt respect him, thats the problem.»
«No kids, then?»
«Not yet. Emmas too busy with her career. Daniel wont push, of course. Too gentle.»
Emmas hands trembled. Margaret was airing their private struggles to a strangerpainting her as the villain.
Dorothy left at dusk. Daniel came home exhausted.
«Dinner ready?» he asked, hanging his coat.
«Ill heat it up,» Emma said.
Over the meal, Margaret chatted about Dorothys visit, carefully omitting the personal details shed shared.
«Dorothy asked after you,» she said. «Lovely woman, shame we dont see her more.»
Daniel nodded, chewing. Emma seethed, knowing Dorothy would soon spread tales of «spineless Daniel» and his shrewish wife.
Later, alone in the kitchen, she confronted him.
«Daniel, your mother discussed our marriage with Dorothy today.»
«What about?»
«That we dont have kids. That I dont respect you. That youre spineless.»
Daniel frowned.
«She wouldnt say that.»
«She did. I heard her.»
«Maybe you misunderstood. Mums not cruel.»
«She called you spineless! To a stranger!»
«Emma, who cares what people say?»
«I care! This is my life, my marriage. I wont be gossiped about.»
«Its just women chatting. Let it go.»
Emma realised hed never grasp the hurt. Or wouldnt try.
«Fine,» she said. «Then tomorrow, Ill speak to her myself.»
«Dont. Why stir trouble?»
«Whats left? You wont defend us.»
«Defend us from what? Mums harmless.»
«Harmless? She gossips, nitpicks, interferes. Thats normal to you?»
Daniel stood.
«Im tired. Well talk tomorrow.»
But «tomorrow» never came. He worked late, avoided her, let Margaret monopolise his time.
That night, Emma made her decision.
In the morning, after Daniel left, she packed a suitcase. Just essentials.
Margaret noticed it in the hall.
«Going somewhere?» she asked.
«To a friends. For a while.»
«How long?»
«Dont know yet.»
Margaret nodded.
«Maybe thats best. Daniel needs a break from all this drama.»
Emma grabbed her keys.
«Margaret, tell your son if he wants me back, hell come alone. Without you.»
«Well see if he bothers,» Margaret said.
Emma shut the door behind her. On the landing, she paused, listening. Silence.
Outside, the sun was bright, the air crisp. She took a deep breathand for the first time in years, felt something like relief.
That evening, Daniel called.
«Emma, Mum said you left. When are you coming back?»
«Maybe never, Daniel.»
«What? Were married.»
«On paper. In reality?»
Silence.
«Daniel, heres my ultimatum. We live apart from your mother, or we divorce.»
«Dont do this to me.»
«Do what? Ask you to choose between your wife and your mum? Any real man would choose his wife.»
«And if I cant choose?»
The question hung between them. Emma understood thenhed already chosen. Just lacked the courage to say it.
«Then Ill choose for us,» she whispered, ending the call.
She slipped the phone into her bag, turned, and walked away. Where to, she didnt know yet. But with every step, the weight lessened. Not because it was easybut because now, she was choosing herself.
And no one would take that choice from her again.
