All clear, I see now, Victor Brown said, his voice heavy with resignation. Were being thrown out of our own house, he added.
Victor, Mum and I are driving to you! Natty his younger sister shouted into the phone at three in the morning.
Dont bother coming, Victor replied halfasleep. Were still in bed!
Victor, this isnt a joke! Find a spare cot for me and a proper bed for Mum! Natty demanded, irritation clear.
We dont keep any cots, and every bedroom is occupied, Victor said, yawning contagiously.
Are you mocking me? Natty snapped.
Sister, what do you want from me? Why turn up at my door in the dead of night? You have your own flatgo spend the night there! he replied.
Victor! Natty cut him off, voice sharp. You must let us in for the night! We have nowhere else to go!
Whats happened? Victor asked innocently, pushing his wife aside. He covered the receiver with his hand and said, Alice, Mum and your sister are at the door, raving to be let in!
Couldn’t you have found another time? Alice asked, still drowsy.
Its a comfort that were on the same page! Victor smiled.
All the while Natty kept pleading, her words punctuated with sighs, mutters and occasional shrieks.
Now make it short and clear! Victor demanded.
Victor! The front door is jammed!
How badly? he asked.
First the lock stuck, then the hinges warped and refused to close, and when I tried to push it with my shoulder it seized completely; the lock wont turn at all! Natty sobbed, beginning to wail. Mum and I were in our dressing gowns on the front steps! Were neighbours, you know how nosy they can be.
Very interesting! Victor beamed. The doors payback finally caught up with you!
His wife, who had been listening, shook her head theatrically, covering her mouth to stifle a yawn. She wanted to laugh out loud, but didnt want to interrupt him.
Victor, well have to wait until morning and then call a handyman! Order a cab and pay by cardwe have cash in the flat!
So are you staying or waiting? Victor tried to clarify.
Dont be daft! Natty shouted. Were sitting here like two hens on the doorstep, trapped by these cursed doors!
In the early days, parents loved their children equally, giving them all they could. As the children grew, favourites emergedsome were loved more, some less. The same applied to care: the beloved got the lions share, the rest received whatever was left.
When Victor was about to marry, his younger sister Natty immediately raised the issue of him and his new wife sharing the family flat.
Victor, thats your wife, not my aunt! And I, by the way, have my own house! I want to live, speak and act as I please!
How can I help you? Victor asked, puzzled.
The mere presence of a stranger makes me uneasy! Natty confessed, quoting some online wisdom.
What kind of unease? Victor frowned. Alice and I work days apart. In the mornings you and Mum are still asleep, and at night we all return to our own rooms after dinner!
Exactly! Natty huffed. And you wont even use the bathroom? I might be in the yoga studio at that hour!
Believe me, theres nothing exciting for us here, Victor said. Who would even look at you?
Victor! Natty yelled, then added her mother to the call. Tell him! Why do we need a stranger in the house?
Natty, their mother, Eleanor Brown, replied, shes your brothers wife, and to us shes a daughterinlawalmost family.
Thats a distant relative in some faroff village, but by law shes a stranger! Mother, I dont want to live in a communal flat!
Eleanor, who favored her daughter because her son reminded her of a former husband who had abandoned her and their two children, took her daughters side, though gently.
Victor dear, we love you, but we barely know your Alice. Well meet her, yet starting a relationship with a houseshare feels odd, she said, her tone calm but persuasive. Youre a man, after alldont you think its wrong to be perched on Mums neck? Your children will come, and Natty is still young! Perhaps the night you decide to gather friends at home, the kids will be a bother, and youll argueyet youre family!
Everythings clear, I understand, Victor sighed again. Were being driven out of our own home!
Victor, no ones evicting you, his mother said. We just want to avoid trouble when it can be avoided.
You could live without a wife, Natty said, but with a wife, go your own way!
Alice quickly realized something was amiss between Victor, his mother and sister, for after the wedding theyd planned to stay with them to save for a deposit on a home. Yet three weeks before the ceremony Victor moved his belongings into a rented flat and brought Alice there. She saw the strain but did not intervene. She, too, was not thrilled at the prospect of living with her husbands relatives, but for Victors sake she endured as long as necessary.
It didnt work out, and thats fine, she told her friend. Victor just looks gloomy now.
Alice, stay out of this! her friend Katie warned. The less you think about it, the healthier youll feel!
Ill manage, but Victors having a hard time!
Thats why youre a wifeto support him! Youre his family now, the others are just kin.
Victor might have been compliant, but the insult faded quickly as his own familys affairs piled up. He had to sort out a roof and a garden, and then Alice gave him a son.
Pulling any further is pointless, he said sadly. Well never manage to save properly. Well just scrape by.
I think the same, Alice agreed. When the mortgage payment is due, you either want it or you dont, but youll have to pay.
They took out a thirtyyear mortgage, originally hoping for twenty, but a longer term meant no money left for pleasures. Four years after little Tommy was born, joy began to ebb. Their second son, Harry, entered the world with a triumphant cry.
Nothing to worry about, Victor said. Well cope!
Of course, love! Alice encouraged. Where shall we go?
When the younger boy turned five, Victor managed to secure two tickets for a holiday cottage. They rarely vacationed beyond a visit to Alices relatives in the countryside, and even garden work felt like a break.
Alice, theres a spa with a pool, treatments, a disco for the overthirties, and fivetimesdaily meals! Its practically regal!
And the children?
For a small extra fee we could take them, though perhaps wed be better off leaving them behind.
Should we leave them in a locked room or deliver them to my mum in the village? Alice asked with a grin.
Locking them up or sending them off were merely jokesshed never mind; work, the garden and the house keep her busy enough. She imagined a TVfilled playroom with meals on a schedule.
Mother, Victor begged, may I take the kids with me for a week? Alice and I want a break.
What do you mean, where to? Natty asked, cutting her mother off.
To the sanatorium outside town, Victor replied. We havent had a proper holiday in eight years.
So youre off to the sanatorium and we have to watch your little bandits? Natty retorted. What a brilliant prospect!
Mother, Victor turned again to his mum, theyre decent ladsfeed them, check theyre clothed, put them to bed on time. Otherwise theyre almost selfsufficient.
Eleanor mused, Well
Victor, no! Natty answered for her mother. Mum and I just renovated, bought new furniturecost a fortune!
And now your kids will wreck it all? Youll have to reimburse us? Besides, sometimes a bloke drops by, and theres never enough room for children!
Mother! Victor exclaimed, his hope fading.
Son, weve just finished the renovation, and Natty is sorting her own life. You and Alice are a familyhandle your own affairs!
Thanks, Mother, Victor said, each syllable a grateful breath.
They went to the sanatorium with the children, and for a while Victor didnt think of his relatives at all. Then trouble struck unexpectedly, and Victor had to turn to family for help.
Mother, Natty, our wages have been delayed. We need to pay the mortgage instalment urgently. Can you lend us three or four days wages, please?
We dont have that, dear, Eleanor said, looking at Natty.
We do, Natty slapped her mothers hand, dont worry!
Youve saved my skin! Victor sighed with relief.
No! Natty snapped. Youll have to save yourself; our moneys earmarked for a new front door. The installer is due next week. We need a deposit for the doors and the labour.
Natty, whats this about? Victor asked, bewildered. Im only asking for four days.
Its unknown how youll repay! I have to pay someone in a week, and in five days hell be fitting the doors and expects full payment!
Youll settle it, Natty! Victor protested. Our situation is urgent! The loan must be repaid tomorrow, but the salary comes the day after. Ill bring the cash straight away or transfer it!
You speak nicely, but Im not handing over the doors! Natty replied. If they hold you up longer, what will I do?
Lets at least go to the solicitor now and sort everything. You could even charge me a thousandpercent penalty!
Ill take your fines first, then the door discount ends! So, brother, off you godont linger!
Victor, true to his word, drove to the old friends solicitor and paid the money even before the deadline. Yet his mother and sister were soon put on his blacklist. He recounted the whole saga to Alice, who answered with a line shed once read: A wise person does not seek revenge; they wait for life to repay them.
The waiting didnt last long.
Here we are! Victor declared. My card is empty, and I have no desire to search for aid for relatives, especially such demanding ones!
Youre mad! Were family!
And the doors! Victor added. Your doors have become the final chord, after which I have no desire to speak to you any longer!
How can you be so low, son, to seek such petty revenge! his mother shouted.
Im not taking revenge, Victor replied. Im finally returning what Ive taken!
You never took anything from us? Natty asked, missing his meaning.
I took your attitude, your love, your carethe very things you gave me. Now Im giving them back in equal measure!
He hung up, the line dead. It was not vengeance, but a debt repaid.
