**Diary Entry A Long Days End**
*”What now? Where are you off to? Whos making dinner?”* I muttered under my breath as I watched my wife, Eleanor, storm out after another row with my mother.
She glanced through the window. Grey clouds loomed overhead, despite it being early spring. In our little town up northsomewhere near Yorkshiresunny days were rare. Maybe thats why everyone here seemed so glum and cold. Eleanor herself had stopped smiling ages ago, the permanent frown on her forehead adding years to her face.
*”Mum! Im going out!”* called our daughter, Lily.
*”Right,”* Eleanor replied flatly.
*”Whats right supposed to mean? Give me some money.”*
*”Since when do walks cost anything?”* she sighed.
*”Mum! Why the interrogation?!”* Lily snapped. *”Just hurry up! Is that all?”*
*”Enough for ice cream.”*
*”Cheapskate,”* Lily muttered before slamming the door behind her.
*Unbelievable* Eleanor shook her head, remembering how sweet Lily used to be before the teenage years hit.
*”Ellie, my stomachs growling! How much longer?”* grumbled my husband, Thomas, from the living room.
*”Help yourself,”* she said coolly, setting a plate on the table.
*”Or bring it here?”*
She nearly dropped the pan. Who did he think he was?
*”Dinners in the kitchen, Tom. Take it or leave it.”* She sat down alone.
Fifteen minutes later, Thomas wandered in.
*”Cold gross.”*
*”Shouldve come sooner.”*
*”I asked you! Not a shred of care in you! You know the match is on!”* He shoveled in the chicken. *”Tastes rubbish.”*
Eleanor just rolled her eyes. Football had turned him into a different manbetting, kits, expensive ticketsthough hed never cared for sports when they were younger.
Grabbing a can of lager and a bag of crisps, he stormed back to the telly. Eleanor stayed behind, clearing the mess.
*Wasted effort. No one appreciates it.*
She was exhausted after her shift as a senior nurse at the hospital. Patients came to her with their aches and tempers, and home was no refugejust another shift of fetching, cleaning, and biting her tongue.
*”Any more beer?”* Thomas yanked open the fridge. *”Whys there none?”*
*”You drank it all! Am I supposed to buy that too? Have some decency!”*
*”Oh, arent we posh”* he sneered before storming out to restock his *”supplies”* for the next match.
Too tired to argue, Eleanor decided to sleeptomorrow was another long day. But she couldnt. Worry gnawed at her. Where was Lily? Who was she with? It was dark, and still no sign of her. She didnt dare call; last time, Lily had screamed:
*”You embarrass me in front of my friends! Stop calling!”*
So Eleanor waited, telling herself Lily was eighteen now. No job, no studiesjust *”finding herself”* after finishing school.
Half-asleep, she heard Thomas whooping. Someone mustve scored. Then the neighbour popped round, then his girlfriend, and soon the three of them were cheering like mad. Later, Lily clattered in, raided the fridge, and stomped off to bed. Just as silence fell, the cat yowled for food.
*”Can no one else in this house feed the bloody cat?!”* Head pounding, Eleanor stormed out. But Lily had her headphones in, scrolling on her phone, and Thomas was passed out with a can in his hand.
*”Ive had enough bloody had enough.”*
The next morning, her mother-in-law rang.
*”Eleanor, love, have you forgotten its planting season? We need to sort the allotment.”*
*”I remember,”* she sighed.
*”Tomorrow, then.”*
Her one day off was spent toiling under Margarets orders.
*”Not like that! Hold the broom properly!”* Margaret barked from her perch on the bench.
*”Im nearly fifty, Margaret. I can manage.”*
*”And Thomas”*
*”Where *is* Thomas? Why isnt *he* here? Why did we take the bus for three hours while you dote on him?”*
*”He works hard.”*
*”And I dont?”*
Then it started. Eleanor regretted speaking up. Margaret loved a debate, but her fairness only went one waynever to Eleanor. A lifetime of coddling Thomas, while Eleanor was the dutiful drudge barely tolerated.
They rode home in silence, opposite ends of the bus. The next day, Margaret complained to Thomas, and he erupted.
*”How dare you speak to my mum like that!”* he growled.
*”Or what?”* Eleanor crossed her arms. Shed reached her limit.
*”Youd still be at the GPs surgery if not for her!”* He played his trump cardMargaret had pulled strings to get Eleanor into the county hospital. Better pay, but at the cost of her sanity. Shed regretted it more than once. *”Where dyou think youre going?”*
Thomas froze. What Eleanor did next, he never saw coming.
**Lesson learned:** A life spent pleasing others leaves you empty. Sometimes, walking away is the only way to keep yourself whole.
