She placed the bowl of fruit at the center of the table. Preparing for her mother's monthly visit was always stressful. Nothing ever looked quite in place. There was always a complaint. Upon arriving, Mary's mother exclaimed, "The furniture is crooked."
Something never felt right about this apartment anyways. Mary moved in last year after the divorce had settled. It's much smaller than her old house. She's constrained to a tiny bedroom, a living room, and the kitchen. Although her space doesn't feel like home, she's content.
Everybody thought she was crazy to leave. Her mother would say, "He has a great job! He's nice to you. Back in my day you were lucky if your husband even had a job. They were all drunks who were never satisfied with the meal you cooked for them. If you disagreed with them, they'd remind you who the man of the house was with the back of their hand." Mary, the offspring of a tumultuous marriage between two complete opposites, never believed in true love anyways.
Photo by Oana Hodirnau on Unsplash