Thats all your friend, said the exhusband.
Hold on, hold on, Im not following a word of this.
Oh, of course you arent! Youre playing the clueless, everkind, completely uninformed victim. Do you think Ill just pretend I dont notice?
Sometimes life is a pictureperfect postcard: a decent income, a loving family, a solid circle of mates and even a boyfriend who actually likes you.
And then, right in the middle of that sunshine, a tiny grain of sand appears. Its so small you barely see it against the backdrop of contentment, but the longer it sits there the more it irritates you, making you want to fling it far, far away.
In Emilys case that grain was a personone shed known almost since nursery.
Her best friend Claire had been by her side since they were five, and everything seemed fine until after university, when the two ladies stepped into the adult world and, suddenly, Claire turned into a different person.
Maybe their social circles had split, maybe Claires life was a step down the ladder and she started to feel a twinge of envy. Envy, it turned out, loves to express itself in the oddest ways.
Honestly, for the first year, two years, even five, it wasnt a problem. Then as the saying goes, water wears away the stone.
Emily, this dress isnt exactly maternityfriendly.
You could buy it, sure, but until you get your shape back itll be out of fashion a hundred times over.
Better to go for that little suit we looked at earlier, huh?
Emily stepped out of the fitting room, glancing at Claire, feeling something boil inside her.
Listen, could you stop slathering me with criticism?
What criticism? Claire snapped her eyes shut.
Like, not for a postbaby figure, wait until youre back in shape
Are you some sort of fashion police?
Claire, you invited me over to help you choose, didnt you? Im being honest. If you just wanted me to say yes, it looks great, take it, you should have said that from the start.
What should I have said? That you cant be a pest with your toxic comments? That there are some limits to normalcy?
Stop, stop, Im still not getting any of this.
Exactly! Youre playing the clueless, everkind, totally clueless act. Do you think Ill just stand by while you dump all your negativity on me?
Well, I wont. Thats enough for me. You can stop calling, you can stop even saying hello!
And Im still taking the dress, FYI! With that, Emily snatched the dress she liked and bolted out, leaving Claire rooted to the spot like a statue.
What seemed to bother Claire most wasnt the fact that passersby were watching their squabble, but that shed finally run into a real snag. She lingered for a minute or two, mulling something over, then, with a sigh, trotted to the exit of the Westfield centre as if nothing had happened.
Emily never called her again, nor tried to patch things up, because she finally understood where the sudden dislike had sprouted. Either it would reach Emily or it wouldntthere was no point in trying to bend someones mind after theyd already turned their back.
Emily went on living the life she thought was best. No more snide remarks about helping relatives, no more jokes about the husbands involvement in housework, and, most importantly, none about the little girl, Lucy, starting nursery.
Her motherinlaw, upon hearing about the tiff with Claire, simply sighed and muttered something about eventually having to shake the parasites off her neck. Emilys own mother said the same. Then
The oddities began.
First, Lucys new nursery teacher, a woman with a voice eerily similar to Claires, mentioned that Lucy displayed some behavioural quirks that might hint at an unpleasant diagnosis. She suggested a visit to a neurologist and a psychiatrist, preferably privately, to catch any issues early.
Oh, they just love to pathologise everything. Weve never had an autistic child or any mentalhealth trouble in the family, the motherinlaw sighed when Emily told her about the teachers warning.
Still, Emily, just to keep her conscience clear, booked the appointments. At the clinic the doctor said, Good youre here earlywhile shes still little we can correct a lot with minimal fuss.
It clicked thenClaire had, half a year earlier, halfjokingly mentioned a neurologist and psychiatrist, saying maybe we should get Lucy checked, shes acting odd. Emily, who had already labelled Claire as toxic and bad, brushed it off, never expecting it to bite back.
Later, Emilys mother and motherinlaw started making weird calls, both hinting that they didnt really need a grandchild, just a nice, fat wallet. As soon as any extra money was needed for Lucys care, the grandmothers vanished one by one, always replying with the classic wed love to help but were swamped.
Then Emilys husband dropped the bomb:
Look, Emily, I promised to stick by you through thick and thin, but these endless Lucy diagnoses and the constant circus they create leave no time for the rest of the family. Im filing for divorce.
Within months the oncehappy household fell apart at the seams. Emily took Lucy and moved into the flat shed inherited from her grandmother. That meant she now had to clash with her own mother, who had grown used to using that flat whenever the whole clan came to visit.
Emily, you realise itll be a nightmare if you move into that flat! Family should support each other in hard times, and you
Yes, yes Ive heard that a thousand times, Emily muttered. Only Claire, watching from the sidelines, could see that the help shed been getting from Emilys side was a oneway street.
Claire wasnt releasing toxic comments as shed once claimed; she was trying, within her limited power, to open Emilys eyes to what was happening at home.
Now the motherinlaw, as if nothing had changed, tried to dust off an old tune, even though shed repeatedly refused to help her own daughter in tough moments. She worried less about where Lucy and her motherinlaw would live and more about how to accommodate visiting relatives without stepping in mud.
Claire was right about everything, and Emily well, shed just been blindsided.
Finally, after a fullblown fallout with her own mother and settling into the grandmothers flat, Emily gathered flowers, a bottle of Prosecco and a box of chocolates, hoping the gifts wouldnt be tossed back at her at the doorstep, and headed to Claires house to make peace.
Claire, please hear me out, dont shut the door on me straight away, Emily blurted as the door opened. Im such a fool, Claire.
Come in, tell me everything, Claire sighed, letting Emily and her gentlemans kit inside.
Tears were shed, vows of friendship renewed, and promises made that neither would ever again suspect the other of ulterior motives. Emily finally saw who truly wished her well and who only thought of themselves, bolting away as soon as life got tough.
The two friends reconciled, though Claire warned Emily that history would not repeat itself, and Emily swore shed keep it that way.
Her exhusband tried to patch things up later, but Emily flatout refused to rebuild the wreckage hed helped create.
Its all your friend! She turned you against the family, the exhusband declared.
The same line was echoed by Emilys mother and her former motherinlaw, oblivious to the fact that theyd each sewn their own blankets of trouble, and Claire had nothing to do with it.
