You havent lost a penny, have you? Poppy asked, eyes narrowed. Where did you put the bracelet? Did it go missing? Or did you pawn it? And why would you do that? What on earth is happening?
Mum took it she lowered her gaze.
The room fell quiet. Victor plumped down on the sofa, eyebrows raised. The whole thing struck him as absurd.
She took it? he repeated, baffled. What does that even mean?
She first asked me to try it on, then said it suited her, and well, I felt awkward about refusing. Shes, after all, my motherinlaw
Victor stared at his wife as if seeing her for the first time. He knew Poppy was gentlenatured, but he hadnt imagined it could be so extreme.
So she just walked off with your bracelet? Poppy, seriously? Start from the beginning, please, he demanded.
It sounded almost sarcastic. Victor had always wanted his wife never to need anything. Now, finally, he could afford to let her have a say, but Poppy still wasnt getting the memo.
Back in the day things were simpler. Theyd met in first year at university through a shared group of friends. Hed been a wideeyed dreamer then. Victor grew up in a modest family, and hed promised himself that his wife and kids would always have the best of everything. He didnt know exactly how to make that happen, but his enthusiasm was boundless.
Poppy, on the other hand, had no grand ambitions, just a kind heart. Victor realised hed fallen for her the day she showed up at his flat, coughing, with a thermos of hot soup.
Harry told me you were ill, so I thought Id drop by, she whispered, slipping off her shoes.
You shouldnt have. Youll catch it too, Victor replied, but he didnt send her away.
If I do, well both be under the weather together, she said with a grin. Im not made of sugar, I wont melt.
In Poppy Victor saw the sort of woman who could keep the home fires burning without keeping a ledger. She gave of herself simply because she liked him and liked looking after him.
Within a year they were sharing a rented flat in Manchester. It started with a cramped kitchen, a humming fridge, a dripping tap and the occasional cockroach cameo. They pulled allnighters before exams, took on side gigs together. Victor hauled boxes in a supermarket, while Poppy tended the bar as a waitress.
They survived everything. They discovered that instant ramen was, surprisingly, expensive. Poppy froze when Victor ended up in hospital with gallstones and they had no cash for medicine. They regularly borrowed from parents or mates.
Luckily Victors friends were legion. One would need a labourer on a building site, another wanted a fence painted for a tenner. Victor took any odd job, while Poppy tried not to get overburdened.
I want to help! she declared when he was about to head out for another stint.
Right, and what will you do? Carry coal? Youll break a nail. Our medical bills will cost more than that, Victor muttered.
He appreciated her enthusiasm, though, and never left her short, even when the bills piled up.
Step by step he chased his goal. First they earned their degrees. Victor bounced between agencies until a friend nudged him into a large logistics firm. He started as a junior analyst, with a schedule that would make a monk sweat: late nights, weekend calls.
Poppy held down the fort at home while also working parttime. She kept the flat tidy, cooked his favourite stews, looked after their bulldog Buster even when the old dog could barely shuffle.
Itll pass, love, shed say when things got rough.
It didnt. When Victor became head of the logistics department his list of duties grew, but he felt the love waiting at home like a warm hearth.
Soon they moved into their own semidetached house, bought a used Ford Fiesta, and even a small garden plot. No longer hunting for secondhand sofas on Gumtree, they splurged on brandnew pieces from IKEA. Their wardrobes refreshed not because they were worn, but because they liked the look. Holidays shifted from a cramped cottage in the Lake District to a sunkissed resort in Spain.
Victors gifts upgraded too: instead of chocolates and cakes, he bought Poppy a cashmere coat, a leather handbag, a gold pendantno special occasion needed, just a Friday evening or a good mood. Poppy still blushed at the price tags, which made Victor all the more pleased to pry her out of her thriftsaving mode.
At first everything was splendid. She hugged him tightly, thanked him, flaunted her new perfume, strutted in designer jeans, cooked in a multicooker that could steam, sauté and even make yoghurt.
Then things went sideways. Poppy dusted off the old multicooker, carried a cracked handbag, misplaced her perfume somewhere. Victor first thought she simply disliked the scent, then blamed old habits, but something didnt add up. Why would she keep wearing shoes that gave her blisters when a brandnew pair sat in the cupboard?
Victor decided to test the waters, and a convenient opportunity appeared. When his colleague Simon invited them to his birthday, Victor bought Poppy a set: a gold bracelet and sapphire earrings. He wanted everyone to see the woman he adored.
Put on the dress we bought last Friday, and the jewellery I gave you a week ago, Victor said. They go together perfectly.
Poppy sputtered, claiming the bracelet had broken, that shed given it to a jeweller but couldnt recall which, then confessed that her mother had taken the gold and not just the gold.
So everything I buy ends up with your mum? Victor pressed his lips together. Poppy, are you serious? Cant you push back?
She looked away.
I dont know how. I tried, but she gets upset. She says she raised me, that I owe her everything, that no one will ever give her gifts now, yet you keep buying me things. She says it wont cost you a penny.
Victor covered his face with his hands, feeling as if hed been robbed. It wasnt the jewellery; it was the emotional theft.
Right, I get it, he sighed. From now on Ill only give you things that wont end up on your mums mantel in a week.
Poppy fell silent. She had nothing to retort. Shed been too easily swayed by the manipulations. Victor wanted to shake her awake, but knew it would be useless. He resigned himself to loving her as she was.
He realised that if he wanted a warm home, he had to deal not with Poppy, but with the leak itself even if that leak was called Mabel.
Mabel was loud, brazen and clingy. Victor had met her almost immediately after he started dating Poppy.
Im not trying to meddle, but shed begin, then launch into a monologue of unsolicited advice.
Mabel worked as an accountant; her husband was somewhere and tried to stay out of the way. Their combined income was modest but steady.
From day one Mabel tried to insert herself into their life, showing up at eight in the morning unannounced. Once, when her visit coincided with a romantic dinner, Victor simply refused her entry. Poppy turned pale, whispered Its my mother, but Victor stood firm.
Yes, mum, he nodded. But we werent expecting you. Please call ahead next time.
Now Mabel infiltrated their relationship not through doors but via guilt trips she cultivated in her daughter.
Oh, what lovely perfume you have! No one ever gives me that. Can I borrow it for a week? Lucys birthday is coming up and I want to smell like a million pounds. You wouldnt mind, would you? After all, you love your mother, dont you? Ive given you everything.
How to fight that? How to make the theft impossible? Poppys birthday was coming up, and Victor had a new plan.
When everyone gathered around the table, he stood, handed Poppy a small envelope, and said,
Sweetheart, this is for you. I know youve always wanted to visit Italy. Have a proper holiday on me.
Mabels eyes lit up.
Oh! How delightful. Ive always wanted to sunbathe there, see the Italians, their monuments!
Wanting isnt a crime, but mind the details, Mabel, the second ticket is on me. Youll have to travel with me, and Im not the most pleasant companion I snore loudly, blast music at night, wander the room in my underwear. Are you ready?
Laughter rippled around the table. Poppy lowered her gaze, smiled shyly. Mabel flushed, pursed her lips, and left the room early. Victor grinned: hed gotten two gifts that night his wifes genuine smile and his motherinlaws quiet exit.
