The boy simply hadnt outgrown his games.
“Alright, love, Ive got to dashthe lads are waiting! No time to lose! See you later!”
With those words, more than just the evenings plans collapsed. Something inside Eleanor sank. Yesterday, shed been slaving over the stove, and today, after a gruelling day, shed rushed home in anticipationonly for this? A hurried meal, a guilty peck on the cheek, and then hed be off?
“What do you mean, dash? Edward, todays supposed to be *my* day!” she reminded him.
Edward, already slipping on his shoes, straightened up and stared at her, baffled. He truly didnt seem to grasp the problem.
“But weve already had our time,” he said, nodding at the plates. “Ate, had some wine. I even got you that curling wand you wanted. Its only Tuesday. Well celebrate properly on Saturday when the mates come round.”
“But I wanted *you*. Just ustonight!” Eleanor protested, the shadow of loneliness creeping over her.
Edward sighed and spread his hands.
“Come on, love, whats the fuss? Im not off to the pubjust meeting the lads. Weve got a game lined up.”
His words stung like mockery. *They* were waitingbut hadnt *she* waited? Shed hoped for just one evening a year where it could be the two of them, without his “mates.” But even that, it seemed, was too much to ask.
“Fine, go then,” Eleanor snapped, turning away. “But know thisit mattered to me. A lot. We might as well be flatmates for all the time we spend together.”
He shrugged, as carefree as if they were debating which film to watch. But this wasnt about her birthday. It was a cry from the heart. Lately, with Edward, shed never felt more alone.
…It had all begun long ago. If she were honest, shed reaped what shed sown. Shed chosen Edward because he was fun and easygoing. But what worked for courtship didnt always work for marriage.
When theyd first met, hed whisked her off to gatherings and board game nightsnot the rowdy, boozy sort, but civilised affairs with polite, even intellectual company.
Eleanor had grown up in a home where her father drank heavily and her mother complained from dawn till dusk. With Edward, shed glimpsed another worldcalm, safe. Shed missed out on childhood, and with him, shed tried to reclaim it.
When hed proposed, shed been over the moon. Hed seemed the sort to build a life withcheerful, quick-witted, well-read. Financially secure, too; his inheritance meant he could work part-time, remotely, no commute.
The first weeks of marriage had been a fairy tale. Edward had arranged a proper honeymoontrips across the countryside, seaside escapes, long talks under the stars. Shed felt like a princess.
But returning home, the carriage turned back into a pumpkin. That very first night, hed left her unpacking while he dashed off.
“The lads will think Ive gone missing,” hed said. “Just popping round to show them the photos.”
She hadnt minded much then. Almost. Shed told herself: strong friendships were good. He was the life of the partywhat wasnt to like?
But it kept happening. And each time, Eleanor was left alone with the illusion of a marriage.
Memories of recent months flooded back.
Shed come home exhaustednine-hour shifts, traffic, the endless race to keep up. Now, socialising was the last thing on her mind. Shed open the door to find Edward in his gaming chair, headphones on, roaring with laughter. A dirty plate and empty soda cans littered the desk.
“Edward, could you take the bins out?” shed ask quietly, clearing the dishes.
“Right-o, sunshine! Just finishing this round, then Ill sort it.”
“Just finishing” stretched into hours. Eventually, shed haul the bags down herselfbecause *she* needed to cook, *she* couldnt stand the smell.
It was the same with everything.
Hed stay up till dawn while she rose for work. Sometimes shed wake to his voice, arguing passionately over the headset.
They lived side by side, not together. Like siblings in separate worlds, barely touching.
Of course, shed tried to explain. He hadnt understood.
“What more do you want? Weve got everything. Im home most of the day. I cant be glued to you,” hed say.
All shed wanted was simple attention, shared evenings.
Eventually, shed confided in friends. Charlotte, ever the optimist, had urged patience:
“Count your blessingshe brings in money and doesnt stray. My Toms off working construction up north; Ive got the kids alone and Im grateful to see him once a month. Youve got it all.”
Maggie, blunt as ever, had disagreed:
“Ive lived that marriage. Youre lonely *with* him. Just a cook and cleaner. The boys not done playingwhat does he want with a family? Have a kid, and youll never see him. His mates are more fun than a screaming baby.”
Those words had stuck. Eleanor had wavered. Maybe Charlotte was rightEdward was decent, sober, reliable. Maybe she should endure?
But now, sitting alone on her birthday, surrounded by uneaten salads and wine, she knew: she didnt want to be Charlotte. She didnt want scraps. She didnt want a relationship where she dreaded his presence.
The roasted meat had gone cold. The carefully prepared salads untouched. Shed shopped, cooked, left work earlyhoping for one small celebration.
And Edward, as ever, had shrugged on his jacket and left. Left her with the wine, the tears, the certainty that this would be her lifeforever waiting for him to outgrow his games. Birthdays, children, old ageall would pass him by.
She couldnt bear the loneliness. Not today. She called a cab and went to her mothers. Beatrice had lived alone these past five years. She took one look at Eleanors red-rimmed eyes and pulled her close.
“Never mind,” her mother said after hearing it all. “Well celebrate. Well order inwhatever you fancy.”
That evening, Eleanor remembered what family felt like. Imperfect, but real. They talkedsometimes in fragments, sometimes in silencebut her mother listened. Edward had long since stopped.
So when he rang late that night, she ignored it. She switched off her phone. Only in the morning did she answer.
“Where were you all night?”
“With Mum,” she said calmly. “Celebrating with someone who cares.”
“Elliedont be daft. Come home. Ive done nothing wrong.”
“Exactly. *Nothing.* Youre just absent.”
“Come off it! We had time yesterdaywasnt that enough?”
“Oh yes. Five whole minutes before you ran off.”
“Bloody hell, EllieIm not cheating! Dont make a mountain out of a molehill.”
“You know Id almost prefer if you were. At least then Id know what Im fighting. As it is, youve already got a familyyour mates. Im just passing through.”
Silence. For once, Edward had no reply.
“Edward,” she said, “I didnt want it to come to this, but choose. Them or me.”
“Ultimatums now?” he scowled. “Ellie, you know I love you. But a man doesnt abandon his friends”
Eleanor sighed. Suddenly, everything was clear.
“Then live with them.”
She hung up and went to breakfast. Her mother had made her favourite pancakes. At first, she wept into themthen felt as if a great weight had lifted. It hurt, yes, but she could move forward.
She returned only for her things. Edward barely glanced up from his screen. Just muted his mic.
He stayed in his worldwhere games and mates came first. Eleanor walked into herswhere she wanted a real relationship, not a backseat in his life. Edward had chosen perpetual boyhood. They were no longer on the same path.
