13June2025
Emilyonce more, where did you put that bracelet? Did you lose it, or pawn it? Why would you do such a thing? Whats really going on?
Her mum took it she lowered her eyes.
The room fell silent. I sank onto the sofa, eyebrows raised. The whole affair seemed absurd.
Took it? I repeated, bewildered. How do you mean that?
She first asked if she could try it on. Then she said it suited her, and I felt awkward refusing. After all, shes my mother
I stared at Emily as if Id never seen her before. I knew she was gentlenatured, but never imagined shed be that pliable.
And then? She just walked off with the bracelet? Emily, seriously? Explain it step by step, I demanded, halfjokingly.
It was ironic. Id always wanted my wife never to need anything. Now I could finally afford to let her be independent, but Emily still clung to the familiar.
Wed met on our first year at university through mutual friends. I was naive and dreamy then. My family wasnt welloff, so Id promised myself that my future wife and children would always have the best. I didnt yet know how to keep that promise, but I had plenty of enthusiasm.
Emily had no grand ambitions, but she had a kind heart. I realised Id fallen for her the day she turned up at my flat, sick, with a thermos of hot soup.
Sam told me you were ill. I thought Id drop by, she whispered, slipping off her shoes.
You shouldnt have. Youll catch it too, I replied, but I didnt send her away.
If we get sick together, well keep each other warm, she said with a smile. Im not made of sugar; I wont melt away.
In Emily I saw the woman who could watch my back without keeping a ledger. She did everything out of pure kindness because she liked me and wanted to look after me.
A year later we were sharing a rented flat in Manchester. The kitchen was tiny, the fridge rattled, the tap leaked, and the occasional cockroach made an appearance. We pulled allnighters before exams, both took parttime jobs. I hefted boxes in a warehouse; she waited tables at a local pub.
We survived everything. We learned that instant noodles werent cheap after all. Emily was terrified when I ended up in hospital with gallstones and couldnt afford the medication. We borrowed money from parents and friends on a regular basis.
Luckily I had a good circle of mates who tossed odd jobs my waypainting a fence for a token sum, helping on a construction site, anything that paid a few pounds. I took almost every offer, while trying not to overload Emily.
I want to help you! she said when I was about to start another gig.
Right. And what exactly will you do? Carry coal? Youll be knackered and well end up paying for your treatment, I muttered.
But I appreciated her spirit, and I never left her side even when the bills grew large.
Step by step I chased my goal. First we earned our degrees. I drifted through a few agencies before a friend got me a junior role at a logistics firm. The hours were brutal; sometimes we were asked to stay late, occasionally we worked weekends.
Emily kept me afloat. She ran the household, cooked my favourite stews, kept the flat tidy, and tended to our Labrador, Max, even when he stopped walking.
Itll pass, love, shed say during the toughest weeks.
It did not pass. When I became head of the logistics department, responsibilities multiplied. Yet I felt loved and awaited at home, and that was worth any sacrifice.
From then on life upgraded. We bought our own terrace house in Leeds, got a modest car, a weekend cottage in the Cotswolds. We purchased furniture from the high street rather than hunting bargains on Gumtree. We replaced clothes when we fancied, not just when they wore out. Vacations shifted from staying with relatives in the countryside to a short break in Spain.
My gifts to Emily turned from chocolates and cakes to cashmere coats, leather bags, and gold jewelleryno special occasion needed, just a Friday evening or a bright mood. She still blushed at the price tags, which only made me more eager to pull her out of her thriftbydefault routine.
At first everything was wonderful. She thanked me, hugged me tightly, wore a new perfume, strutted in designer dresses, cooked with a multifunction slow cooker.
Then things slipped. She brought out an old slow cooker, started carrying a cracked handbag, misplaced her perfume somewhere. I first thought she disliked the scent, then blamed old habits. But it didnt add upwhy keep wearing shoes that blister your feet when a new pair sits in the closet?
I decided to test her, and an opportunity presented itself. When my colleague Steve invited us to his birthday, I bought Emily a gold bracelet and sapphire earrings, hoping everyone would see the woman I adored.
Wear the dress we bought on Friday, and the jewellery I gave you last week, I urged. Theyll match perfectly.
Emily hesitated, then stammered that the bracelet was broken, that shed given it to a jeweller, but she couldnt recall where. Finally she confessed that her mum had taken the gold. Not only the gold.
So everything I bought you has ended up with your mum? I pressed my lips together. Emily, seriously? Cant you argue back?
She looked away.
I dont know what to do. I tried, but she gets offended. She says she raised me, that I owe her everything, that no one will ever give her gifts now, and yet you still buy me things. She says it wont cost me anything.
I covered my face with my hands, feeling as if Id been robbed not of money, but of dignity.
Fine, I get it, I sighed. From now on Ill only give you things that wont end up with your mum in a week.
She fell silent. She had nothing to say. Emily was far too willing to be manipulated. I wanted to shake her awake, to tell her this was unacceptable, but I knew it would be futile. I simply accepted her as she was.
I realised that if I wanted warmth in our home, I had to deal not with Emily, but with the leak. Even if that leak was called Mrs. Clarke.
Mrs. Clarke was loud, forward, and clingy. I met her shortly after I started dating Emily.
I dont mean to intrude, but shed begin, then launch into a sermon of unsolicited advice.
She worked as an accountant; her husband kept a lowprofile job, earning a modest wage. From day one she tried to insert herself into our lives, turning up unannounced, sometimes at eight in the morning. Once, during a romantic evening, I simply refused to let her in. Emily paled, whispered Its my mum, but I stood firm.
Yes, mum, I nodded. But we werent expecting you. Please let us arrange visits in advance.
Now Mrs. Clarke invaded not through the front door but via guilt she cultivated in Emily.
Oh, what lovely perfume you have! No one ever gives me that. May I borrow it for a week? Lucys birthday is coming, Ill spritz myself and be the envy of everyone. You wouldnt mind, would you, dear? Ive given you everything.
How do you fight that? Stop the theft at its source. Emilys birthday was approaching, so I tried a new tactic.
When everyone gathered around the table, I rose and handed Emily a small envelope.
Sweetheart, this is for you. I know youve always wanted to visit Italy. Have a proper holiday, on me.
Mrs. Clarkes eyes lit up.
Oh! How lovely. Ive always wanted to soak up the sun there, see the Italians, their monuments!
Desiring isnt a crime, but note, Mrs. Clarke, the second ticket is mine. Youll have to travel with me; Im not the most pleasant companion. I snore loudly, play music at night, and wander my room unclothed. Are you up for that?
Laughter filled the room. Emily blushed, smiled. Mrs. Clarke flushed, pursed her lips, and left early. I grinned: that day I received two giftsa genuine smile from my wife and the quiet exit of my motherinlaw.
Lesson learned: love thrives when you protect the homes heat, but you must seal the cracks before they let the cold in.
