She only wanted to see who hed left her for…
Parsheen walked straight into the kitchen in his coat and sat at the table.
“I love another woman. Shes expecting my child. Im leaving you for her,” he said bluntly.
Vita turned off the tap and faced her husband.
“Is it that girl who sells apples at the market stall? Tonya, isnt it?” she asked calmly.
“You knew?” Parsheen looked up sharply.
“Darling, youre a terrible liar. Of course I knew. Tell medo you love her, or are you leaving just because of the baby?”
“Im sorry.” He lowered his head.
*Ten years together, and they mean nothing to you? What about me?* Her eyes screamed the words, but Vita stayed silent.
“Do you plan to marry her?” she asked instead.
“Not now.”
“Then lets keep things normal at the department. I dont want gossip.”
“Agreed. Should I go now?” He stood.
Vita turned back to the sink, turned on the water, and stared at the stream until he left.
He was quickonly took the essentials. Maybe hed come back?
She turned off the tap, sat in his empty seat, and dropped her head onto her folded armsbut didnt cry.
***
She hadnt cried a month earlier either, when her friend said shed seen Parsheen with another woman.
“A student?” Vita had asked. “Theyre always falling for him. What do they even see in him?”
“No, some girl selling fruit at the market near the uni. Names Tonya. From the countryside, lives in a shared flat on Churchill Road. Twenty-three,” her friend rattled off, like some detective in a crime drama.
“How do you know all this?” Vita frowned.
“Small town. My friend lives in that houseLisa Dawson, remember? She was in our year. Your Parsheens there all the time.”
“No recollection. So thats where he goes instead of extra tutoring.”
Seeing is believing. The next day, Vita decided to follow him. She knew his last lecture time, dressed plainly, and waited behind a pillar in the lobby.
When he left, she trailed him, keeping her distance. She wouldnt let him catch her staringshe had her pride. She just wanted to see whod replaced her.
He stopped near the market stall where the girl sold apples and plums. A short queue of three stood waiting. The girl, in a sleeveless vest over a jumper and jeans, weighed fruit briskly. When she bent to the crates, her thick plait swung over her shoulder, loose strands falling into her face. Shed straighten, blow them away, and smiledimples appearing in her round, simple face. Patient with customers, but her dark eyes kept flicking to Parsheen. *Probably shortchanging them. Maybe I should call Trading Standards,* Vita thought bitterly.
An old woman took forever picking each apple, inspecting it before dropping it into Tonyas held-out bag.
“Thats enough,” the woman finally said.
“Take some plums too. Sweet and softgood for jam,” Tonya offered.
The woman squeezed a few, shook her head. “No, just these. How much?”
The bag weighed nearly a kilo, but Tonya named a laughably low price. The old woman brightened, paid, and hurried off before the girl changed her mind.
*Discounts for pensioners?* Vita scoffed. *Probably writes off the loss as spoilage. Or is she putting on a show for Parsheen?*
Vita passed the stall daily but never noticed the girl. Yet Parsheen had.
With the old woman gone, he stepped forward. The way Tonya looked at him*like hes some god. Well, almost-Dr. Parsheen would impress a market girl.* She adjusted his collar, brushed invisible dust from his shoulders. The tender gesture stabbed Vita. Shed thought it was just an affairbut this was love.
She couldnt see Parsheens face but knew it mirrored Tonyas softness. Not waiting to be spotted, Vita walked away.
That evening, home alone, she finally cried.
***
Shed noticed him at uni firstquiet, serious, never at parties, barely speaking to anyone. Handsome, if not for the scowl. Something mysterious about him. He reminded her of Heathcliff.
Once, she sat beside him in a lecture.
“Bored?” she asked.
He looked at herthen smiled. His face transformed. *Hes beautiful,* she thought. After that, they sat together often, then he walked her home.
“What do you see in him?” a jealous friend asked.
“Better you dont know,” Vita said.
Their relationship grew slowly. By final year, they were close; they married after graduation. His parents, dead in a car crash years before, explained his reserve.
In bed, he was gentle. After, hed read Yeats or Auden, his voice stirring her soul.
Vita longed for a child, but doctors said it was unlikely after a childhood accident. Ten years passedno miracle. Parsheen reassured her they could adopt, but she wanted her own.
After uni, they both stayed on as lecturers. Lately, their relationship had cooledcomfortable, but lacking fire. For Vita, their bond was enough. For Alexander (as she called him), it wasnt. He wanted passion. A child. So hed found a simple girl whod give him both.
When Vita learned about the baby, jealousy strucknot over the affair, but the child. *Hell have a son or daughter. Ill never hold my own.*
If she couldnt give him a child, maybe she should step aside. What use was a clever, barren wife? *Does he read her poetry too?*
At work, they acted normaljust left separately now, inventing reasons to stay late or leave early. No one questioned it.
Parsheen moved into Tonyas shared flat. Vita hoped hed return, but weeks passed. Leaving work, she avoided looking toward the market.
Then, between lectures, he whisperedeyes shiningthat the baby had arrived. A girl. Vita forced a congratulations. He rushed to the hospital.
That night, he came back sobbing. Tonya was dead. A stroke. Vita held him.
“The babys alive. What will you do?”
“Ill take her.”
“And work?”
“My aunt will help at first. Ill cut my hours.”
But by spring, the aunt leftgardening season. A hired nanny lasted a day before he fired her for neglecting little Alice.
Desperate, he called Vita. “Please, I cant do this alone.”
“You left me. Now you ask for help?”
“Just come.”
Anger aside, the child was innocent. The moment Vita held Alice, she forgot her hurt. Parsheen had named her after his love for Elton JohnAlice Alexandra Parsheen. It had a nice ring.
At first, Vita just helpedcooking, laundry, babysitting while he taught. Then the housemates complained: the tenant was dead, and a stranger lived in her room with a child. He was evicted.
“Pack your things. You and Alice are moving in with me,” Vita said without hesitation.
They slept apart at first. When Alice said “Mummy,” Vitas heart nearly burst.
One evening, she came home to giggles. Alice toddled toward Parsheen, who caught and tossed her, both laughing. Vita had never heard him laugh like that. Tears welled.
“Youre back!” He grinned. “Watch!” He set Alice down, stepped backshe wobbled to him.
All night, he marveled at her first steps. That night, they were close again. He read poetry, and her heart swelled.
“Did you read to her too?” she dared to ask.
He paused. “Once. She didnt understand.”
Alice grew, resembling Tonya more each day.
Once, passing the market, they saw a different woman at the stallolder, brassy-haired, smoking with dirty nails. She winked at Parsheen.
“Lets go,” he muttered, disgusted.
That night, as Vita washed dishes, he hugged her from behind.
“Thank you. Without you… I adore you both.”
“Without you and Tonya, thered be no Alice.”
Vita had forgiven. If she hadnt, thered be no Alice, no reunited family. Just loneliness.
She pitied Tonyagone too soon. But shed left Alice. One day, theyd tell her about her birth mother. Or maybe not. Vita was her real mum now, loving her as her own.
