You wont lose anything, will you?
Poppy, Im asking again, where did you put the bracelet? Did it fall somewhere? Or did you pawn it? Why on earth? Whats happening?
Her mother took it she lowered her gaze.
A heavy silence settled over the flat. Victor Harper sank onto the sofa, eyebrows raised. The whole affair seemed absurd to him.
Took it? he asked, surprised. How should I understand that?
Well, she first asked me to try it on. Then she said it suited her, and I didnt feel right taking it back. Shes, after all, a mother
Victor looked at his wife as if seeing her for the first time. He knew Poppy was gentlenatured, but he hadnt expected it to run that deep.
So she just walked off with your bracelet? Poppy, how can that be? Tell me everything, step by step, he demanded.
It sounded almost ironic. Victor had always wanted his wife to never need anything. Now he could finally allow himself that luxury, but Poppy could not.
Once things had been different. They had met in their first year at university through a mutual friend circle. Back then Victor was naïve and dreamy. Hed grown up in a modest family and had promised himself that his wife and children would always have the best. He didnt yet know how to make that happen, but his enthusiasm was boundless.
Poppy had no grand ambitions, only a kind heart. Victor realised he fell in love when she once turned up at his flat, shivering with a thermos of hot soup.
Sergey told me you were ill. I thought Id stop by, she whispered, sliding off her shoes.
You shouldnt have. Youll catch it too, Victor replied, but he didnt send her away.
If I do, well both be feverish and care for each other, she smiled. Im not sugar, I wont melt away.
In Poppy Victor saw the woman who could hold the fort, doing everything out of pure goodwill because she liked him and wanted to look after him.
A year later they were sharing a rented flat in Manchester, a cramped kitchen with a humming fridge, a leaking tap and the occasional cockroach parade. They survived sleepless nights before exams, hustled side jobs together. Victor lugged boxes in a warehouse, while Poppy waited tables.
They endured everything. They learned that instant noodles were still pricey. Poppy was terrified when Victor ended up in hospital with gallstones and she had not a penny for medicine. They borrowed from parents, from friends, from anyone who would lend a hand.
Fortunately Victors circle was generous. Someone needed a site assistant, another wanted a garden fence painted for a token sum. Victor took any odd job; he tried not to overload Poppy.
I want to help! she declared when he signed up for another gig.
Right. And how will you help? Carry coal? Youll tire yourself out and our treatment will cost more, Victor grumbled.
He appreciated the heartfelt offer, so he didnt push her away even when the bills grew large.
Step by step he chased his goal. First they earned their degrees. Victor drifted through firms until a friend landed him a junior role at a big corporation. The schedule was brutal: late nights, weekend raids.
Poppy kept the home afloat, despite her own job. She delighted him with homemade meals, kept the flat tidy, tended his dog even when the animal grew too old to walk.
Itll pass, she said on the hardest days.
When Victor rose to head of logistics, responsibilities multiplied, yet he felt the love waiting at home. That was enough to move mountains.
A new chapter began. They bought a proper house in a suburb, a car, a small cottage. They purchased furniture from highstreet stores rather than secondhand listings, swapped clothes for pleasure, vacationed abroad instead of staying with relatives in the countryside.
Victors gifts grew from chocolate bars to fur coats, designer bags, gold jewellery, given for no special reason other than a Friday night or a good mood. Poppy was shy about price tags, but it thrilled Victor to pull her out of the pennypinching routine.
At first everything glittered. She thanked him, hugged him tightly, swore on new perfume, strutted in branded outfits, cooked in a multicooker with a hundred functions.
Then something shifted. Poppy reverted to an old slowcooker, walked around with a cracked handbag, stashed her perfume away. Victor first thought she simply disliked the scent, then blamed old habits. But it didnt add upwhy wear shoes that blister when new ones were waiting?
He decided to test her, and a convenient chance appeared.
When his colleague Simon invited them to his birthday, Victor bought Poppy a set: a gold bracelet and sapphire earrings, hoping the world would see the woman he adored.
Wear the dress we got last Friday, and the set I gave you a week ago, Victor said. They match perfectly.
Poppys face twisted. She mumbled that the bracelet was broken, that shed given it to a jeweller, but she couldnt recall where. Then she confessed that her mother had taken the gold. Not just the gold.
So everything I gave you ended up in your mothers hands? Victor pressed his lips together. Poppy, seriously? Cant you argue back?
She looked away.
I dont know how. I tried. She gets angry, says she raised me, that I owe her everything, that no one will ever give her such things again, yet you still buy me more. It wont cost you anything, she says.
Victor covered his face with his hands, feeling as if hed been robbed. It wasnt the jewellery; it was a moral theft.
Thats clear, he sighed. Then Ill only give you things that wont be whisked away to your mum within a week.
She fell silent. She had nothing to retort. Poppy was too easy to manipulate. Victor wanted to shake her, to tell her this was wrong, but he knew it was futile. He simply accepted her as she was.
Victor realised that to keep a warm hearth, the leak wasnt Poppys fault but the seep from Vera Thompson.
Vera Thompson was loud, brazen, clingy. Victor had met her shortly after beginning his relationship with Poppy.
I dont mean to intrude, but shed begin, then launch into a torrent of advice.
Vera was an accountant; her husband was a whateverdoesthejob type, earning a modest salary.
From day one, the motherinlaw tried to force herself into their life, showing up unannounced, sometimes at eight in the morning. Once, during a romantic evening, Victor simply refused her entry. Poppy paled, whispered Its my mum, but Victor held firm.
Yes, Mum, he nodded. But we werent expecting you. Please arrange visits with us first.
Now Vera slipped in not through the door but via guilt she cultivated in Poppy.
Oh, what lovely perfume you have! No one ever gives me that. May I borrow it for a week? Ludkas birthday is coming, Ill splash it everywhere and be the envy of everyone, she cooed. You wouldnt mind your motherinlaw having it, would you? Ive given you everything.
How to fight this? Prevent the thefts. Poppys birthday was approaching, and Victor devised a new plan.
When everyone gathered at the table, he rose and handed his wife a small envelope.
Sweetheart, this is for you. I know youve always wanted to visit Italy. Heres a holiday, on the house.
Veras eyebrows shot up.
Oh! How lovely. Ive always wanted to sunbathe there, see the Italians, their monuments!
Wanting isnt a crime. But note, Vera, the second ticket is mine. Youll have to travel with me, and Im not the most pleasant companion. I snore loudly, blast music at night, stroll around the room naked. Are you ready?
Laughter burst around the table. Poppy lowered her gaze shyly, then smiled. Vera flushed, pursed her lips, and turned away. She stayed silent the whole evening and left before anyone else. Victor merely smirked: that day hed received two giftsa genuine smile from his wife and the quiet of his motherinlaw.
