Hey love, listen upso Im still trying to figure out what happened to that bracelet you asked about. Did you lose it? Pawn it? Whats the story?
My mum took it, Emma said, looking down.
Silence hung in the room. James plopped onto the sofa, eyebrows raised. This whole thing sounded ridiculous to him.
Took it? he asked, surprised. What does that even mean?
She just asked to try it on at first, Emma started, and then she said it suited her, so I felt uncomfortable taking it back. After all, shes my mum
James stared at his wife like he was seeing her for the first time. He knew Emma was gentle, but hed never imagined it would be this intense.
And then she just walked off with your bracelet? Emma, seriously? Give me the full rundown, he demanded, a hint of irony in his voice.
James always wanted Emma never to need anything. Now he could finally let himself be a bit selfishEmma, on the other hand, wasnt having it.
Back when they first met at university, it was through a bunch of mutual friends. James was a wideeyed dreamer from a modest family, promising himself that his future wife and kids would always have the best. He didnt know exactly how hed make that happen, but he had plenty of enthusiasm.
Emma didnt have big ambitions, but she had a big heart. James realized hed fallen for her the day she showed up at his flat, sick, carrying a thermos of hot soup.
Mark told me you werent feeling well. I thought Id pop over, she whispered, slipping off her shoes.
You didnt have to. Youll catch it too, James replied, but he didnt push her out.
If I do, well both be lying in bed with fevers together, she smiled. Im not a sugar cubewont melt away.
He saw in Emma the kind of woman who could keep the home front safe, doing everything out of pure kindness because she liked him and liked looking after him.
Within a year they were sharing a rented flat in Manchester, starting out in a tiny kitchen with a humming fridge, a leaky tap and the occasional cockroach sighting. They pulled allnighters before exams, did odd jobs together. James lugged boxes at a warehouse while Emma worked the night shift as a waitress.
Theyd been through everything. They learned that instant noodles werent cheap after all. Emma panicked when James ended up in hospital with gallstones and they couldnt even afford his meds. They kept borrowing from parents and mates.
Luckily James had plenty of friends who kept feeding them odd gigspainting a fence at a country cottage for a token, helping on a building site, anything. Hed take almost any job, while Emma tried not to add to his load.
I want to help! she said when he was about to head off on another sidehustle.
Sure, and what will you do? Carry coal? Youll break a bone and well be paying for your treatment, James grumbled.
He appreciated her eagerness, though, and never left her hanging even when the bills grew bigger.
Step by step he chased his goal. First they got their degrees. James bounced around a few firms before a friend landed him a junior role at a big logistics company. The schedule was brutallate nights, weekend shifts, the works.
Emma kept the home afloat, juggling her own job, cooking his favourite dishes, tidying up, even looking after their old Labrador when she could no longer take him for walks.
Itll pass, love, Emma would say when things got rough.
And they did pass. When James became head of the logistics department, the responsibilities only multiplied, but he felt the love waiting for him at home. That was enough to keep him going.
Soon they moved into their own flat, bought a modest car and a weekend cottage out in the Cotswolds. No more buying secondhand sofas on eBay; they were getting brandnew furniture from the high street. Clothes werent just replaced when worn outthey bought what they liked. Vacations werent a visit to the grandparents farm; they were short trips to Spain or Italy.
James stopped gifting Emma chocolates and cakes and started buying her leather bags, scarves, even jewelleryjust because it was Friday night or because he was in a good mood. Emma still blushed at price tags, but he loved pulling her out of that pennypinching mindset.
At first everything was lovely. Shed thank him, hug him tight, wear a new perfume, flaunt a designer coat, and whip up meals in a fancy multicooker with all the bells and whistles.
Then something shifted. Emma started pulling out the old multicooker again, lugging around a cracked handbag, and stashing her perfume somewhere odd. James first thought she just didnt like the scent, then that she was falling back into old habits. He wondered why shed keep wearing shoes that gave her blisters when a comfortable pair sat in the cupboard.
He decided to test the waters, and a perfect chance came up. When his colleague Simon invited them to his birthday, James bought Emma a gold bracelet and sapphire earrings, hoping everyone would see the woman he adored.
Wear that dress we got last Friday and the jewellery I gave you, James said, they match perfectly.
Emma stammered, claiming the bracelet was broken, that shed taken it to a jeweller, but couldnt remember which one. Then she confessed her mum had taken the goldplus more than just the gold.
So everything I bought you ended up with your mum? James pressed, his lips tightening. Seriously, Emma? Cant you argue back?
She looked away.
I tried. She gets upset, says she raised me and I owe her everything. She says no one else will give me gifts, yet you still buy me things. It wont cost me anything, she says.
James covered his face with his hands, feeling robbednot of the jewellery, but of his respect.
Alright then, he sighed. From now on Ill only give you things that wont make it to your mums hands within a week.
Emma was silent. Shed been too quick to fall for the manipulation. James wanted to shake her up, to tell her this wasnt okay, but he knew it was pointless. He just accepted her as she was.
He realised that to keep the warmth at home, the leak wasnt Emmait was the motherinlaw, Vera Carter.
Vera was loud, brash and a bit clingy. James met her almost as soon as he started dating Emma.
I dont mean to intrude, but shed begin, then launch into a stream of unsolicited advice.
Vera worked as an accountant; her husband was wherever a job needed him, earning a decent wage.
From day one Vera tried to insert herself into their lives, dropping by unannounced at eight in the morning. One evening, when she showed up in the middle of a romantic night, James simply didnt let her in. Emma turned pale, whispering Its my mum, but he held his ground.
Yes, mum, he nodded, but we werent expecting you. Please let us know next time before you pop over.
Now Vera tried to worm her way in through guilt, feeding it to Emma.
Oh, look at those perfumes! No one ever gifts me these. Can I borrow them for a week? Lucys birthday is coming up, I want to spritz myself and be the talk of the town. You wouldnt mind, would you, love? Ive given you everything.
James wondered how to stop the pilfering. Emmas birthday was coming up, and he had a new plan.
When everyone gathered around the table, he stood up, handed Emma a small envelope, and said,
Sunshine, heres a little something. I know youve always wanted to visit Italytake a proper break.
Veras eyes lit up.
Oh! How lovely. Ive always wanted to soak up the sun in Italy, see the monuments, taste the gelato!
Sure, but mind you, Vera, the second tickets on me. Youll be travelling with meI’m not the most courteous roommate. I snore loudly, blast music at night, and wander around the hotel naked. Ready?
Everyone laughed. Emma blushed and smiled, Vera flushed, pursed her lips and quietly slipped out early. James grinned: hed just scored two giftshis wifes genuine smile and his motherinlaws silence.
