«You ought to help meyou’re my mother,»
«Emily, back again, I see,» murmured Caroline, shrugging off her coat as she watched her daughter rummage purposefully through the fridge. «Why did you move out if you keep coming back? Perhaps it wasnt necessary after all…»
Emily spun round sharply, clutching a packet of ham to her chest. «Mum! Must you creep about like a ghost?» she protested, though her indignation quickly melted into a disarming smile. «I only stopped by to see how you were.»
Caroline set her shopping bags on the table and studied her daughter. At twenty-four, Emily looked every inch a grown woman, yet there was still something childlikesomething helplessflickering in her eyes.
«Come to see me, or to raid the fridge?» Caroline asked gently.
Emily flushed, her gaze dropping to the floor. She hesitated, gathering her thoughts, then blurted in one breath, «The thing is, Mum, my wages vanished suspiciously fast. Ive another week to stretch them, and theres barely a scrap left. Thats all there is to it.»
Caroline suppressed a weary sigh. Emily had rushed into independence, eager to prove herself. But who could have stopped her? The young always leap at freedom, never counting the cost.
«Spare me the ‘I told you so,'» Emily cut in, raising a hand to forestall any reproach. «I simply misjudged things a little. Itll be fine, Mumreally! Soon Ill be the one bringing you gifts and ordering your groceries. Youll see.»
Caroline shook her head. Her daughters youthful idealism hadnt faded with time.
«Take what you need, love. Dont fret.»
She watched as Emily methodically emptied the fridgeham, cheese, cream, vegetablesall vanishing into her oversized tote. From the cupboards went packets of rice and pasta; from the pantry, a hefty sack of potatoes.
«Thatll see me through the week!» Emily exclaimed cheerfully, planting a loud kiss on her mothers cheek. «Thanks, Mum! Youre the best!»
Caroline saw her to the door, giving her shoulder a fond pat.
Silence settled over the flat. Leaning against the wall, Caroline thought back to herself at Emilys agework, a husband, a small child in her arms. How had she managed it all? Now even a trip to the shops sapped her strength.
«Where did my youth go? Flown past, with no promise of return,» she whispered, studying her reflection in the hallway mirror. Wrinkles at her eyes, silver threads woven through what had once been rich chestnut hair. Time was relentless. Her best years had slipped away in toil and carestudies, work, raising Emily. She regretted none of it, yet sometimes a sorrow rose in her so sharp it near choked her.
A week later, Caroline called her daughter. A mothers heart knows no peace.
«Shall I send you some money? Do you need help?» she asked the moment Emily answered.
Light laughter trilled down the line.
«Mum, Ive been paid nowdont fuss. Im a big girl!»
«Big girl, indeed,» Caroline muttered. «And who was it last week with nothing left for food? Emily, listenperhaps you ought to come back home? Itd be easier for us both.»
Silence. Then a sharp exhale, irritation barely checked.
«Mum, Im grown! I want my own life. So its not perfect yetIll manage. Why cant you believe in me?»
Caroline faltered. She hadnt meant to woundonly to care.
«Forgive me, darling. I worry, thats all. To me, youll always be my little girl.»
The conversation soured, leaving bitterness in its wake. Long after, Caroline sat clutching the phone, lost in thought. Raising Emily had been hardbut letting her go was harder still.
Three days later, Caroline returned home late from a friends. The moment she stepped inside, she heard noise in the kitchen. Her heart lurchedburglars? But nothere stood Emily by the open fridge, devouring a sandwich.
«Back already? Just helping myself to your stores. Paid the rent today and realised Ill be skint till payday. Same old story…»
Emily smiled, but Caroline saw no warmth in it nowonly something calculating in her gaze.
«And who was it said they were all grown and independent?» Caroline asked wearily, sinking into a chair.
Emily tossed her hair, packing food into her bag.
«I *am* independent. But youre my mother. Ive every right to ask for help. Its your sacred dutyto care for your child.» She spoke the last words with such a smile it near stopped Carolines heart. «Im giving you the chance to show a mothers love.»
Into the bag went fruit, vegetables, a container of salad, five pots of yoghurt. Caroline watched in silence. A *duty*? Since when had love been an obligation?
Emilys raids grew frequent. New shoes had strained her budget; her phone needed replacing; the landlord raised the rent. Always a pressing reason to visit Mum and strip the larder bare.
Caroline bore it in silence. How could she reproach her own child? Yet with each visit, the weight grew heavier. Emily no longer pretended she came to visit. She never asked after her mothers health, never spoke of her life. She came, took what she needed, and left.
One evening, Caroline returned home soaked through. Autumn rain had caught her halfway from the shops. Shrugging off her wet coat, she moved to the kitchen.
«Must thaw the chicken,» she murmured, opening the freezer. «Roast it with potatoes and peppers. A salad, too…»
Her hand stilled. The compartment gaped empty. Four shelves, that morning stocked with meat, vegetables, ready mealsall bare. Caroline flung open the fridge door. On the middle shelf sat only a jar of mustardEmily loathed the stuff.
With trembling hands, Caroline dialled her daughter.
«Mum? What is it?» Emily answered, irritation plain.
«Emily, did you take all the food?» Carolines voice shook.
«Course I did!» came the breezy reply. «No point traipsing over every other day. Waste of time!»
Caroline shut her eyes against rising tears. How could her child be so callous?
«Emily, how could you? Why no warning? I came home meaning to cook»
«Mum,» Emily cut in, exasperated. «Pop to the shops! The walkll do you good. Doctors say so. Anyway, must dashbye!»
The line went dead. Caroline slumped into a chair, staring at the darkened screen. Bitterness spread through her. Had she become nothing but a free pantry to her daughter?
The emptied fridge became routine. Fortnightly, Caroline found bare shelves. Emily no longer bothered with excuses.
One night, the crash of breaking glass woke Caroline. She bolted to the kitchen. There knelt Emily, mopping up spilled mustard amidst shattered jar shards.
«Even took the mustard, did you? The one thing you hate?» Carolines voice was sharp.
Emily looked up, affronted.
«Oh, Mum, dont start. Just help me clean this!»
«Why didnt you wake me? Slipping in like a thief in the night»
Emily flung down the cloth, leaving yellow streaks on the tiles. She rose, arms crossedjust as Caroline did when vexed.
«Ive a key, Mum. Forgotten, have you? This is my home too! Must I announce myself like a guest? Or am I banned now?»
Caroline shook her head.
«Come whenever you likebut you dont come for me, only the fridge. Emily, Im not made of money. I cant feed us bothnot when you strip it bare.»
Emily slammed the fridge door. Anger flashed in her eyes.
«Grudging your own daughter food? You said I could take what I needed!»
«I thought it would be once! But you treat this place like a free supermarket! I never know if Ill have supper or go hungry. This isnt right, Emily!»
Emily backed toward the window, skirting the broken glass.
«Regretting that first offer, are you? Just say it! And here I thought you were my mother! That youd always help! Youre *supposed* toyou *have* to!»
«Emily, youre twenty-four!» Caroline interrupted. «I dont *have* to feed you! Youre a woman grownact like it! If you cant manage, come home! Pay your share of food and bills. At least youd save on rent.»
For a heartbeat, Emily froze. Then her face twisted with rage.
«I dont *want* to live with you! Understand? Andrew and I are seriousweve moved in! But I never thought hed eat so much! Like a bottomless pit!»
Caroline went very still. Her daughter had a live-in lover and hadnt breathed a word. Yet shed gladly stripped her mothers shelves to feed him.
«And whats that to me?» Carolines voice turned icy. «Hes your man, your family.»
«But you *have* to help! Youre my mother!» Emily near shouted.
«Let your Andrew empty *his* mothers fridge!» Caroline sank onto a chair, strength failing. «Or let him find extra work. If two of you cant feed yourselves, perhaps thats the problem. Ive dipped into savingsfor what? To feed your greedy beau?»
Emilys face blotched red.
«How *dare* you? Andrews wonderful! And youyoure a rotten mother! A good one would support her daughter, help with money! But you begrudge me bread!»
Caroline cradled her head. Hurt clenched her throat.
«Emily, go. Please.» Her voice was hollow. «For half a year, youve seen me as a fridge with legs. I need time to think. Youve lied, youve used me. Take whats left. Consider it a parting gift. And go.»
She didnt look up as Emily filled her bag. Only the slam of the door made her flinch. Silence settled, broken by the kitchen clocks ticking.
Slowly, Caroline rose and went to the window. Somewhere in that vast city, her daughter was returning to Andrew with the last spoils from her mothers house.
«Tomorrow, Ill change the locks,» she murmured. «Time children learned responsibility. Let them live within their means.»
The locks were changed. For a long while, Emily made no soundno calls, no messages. Shed taken offence… Yet it was better than being a free larder for a grown daughter and her beau.
A month passed before Emily rang.
