“I warned youwherever you took the money, thats where youll have your dinner! And breakfast too, for that matter,” declared his wife, settling into her armchair with her knitting.
“Lucy! Are you home?” called William as he stepped into the flat.
“Im in the kitchen,” replied Lucy.
Shed come home early today and started preparing supper. William took off his coat, washed his hands, and walked into the kitchen.
“So, why arent you boasting?” he asked.
“Boasting? And what exactly should I be boasting about?” his wife replied, puzzled.
“Well, I ran into Rita from your department on my way home. She told me they transferred your quarterly bonus today. A nice one, too.”
“They did, yes. But why should that make you happy?”
“Why? Didnt I tell you yesterday? Mum called, asking us to help Zoe with her mortgage. You said we didnt have the money. Well, now we do. Lets send Zoe ten grand,” William suggested.
“Whats the occasion?” Lucy asked coolly.
“Dont pretendyou know Zoes struggling to pay her mortgage alone. Ill call Mum right now and tell her well transfer the money,” he said, grabbing his phone.
“Stop right there! Did I say I was willing to pay your sisters mortgage?” Lucy snapped.
“Why not help if we can afford it?”
“First of all, its not *our* moneyits *mine*. A bonus I earned working my fingers to the bone for three months! Do you think I slaved away just to please your sister? Was that my only goal?”
“Lucy, she has kids!”
“William, so do Iour daughter, Emily, remember? Unless youve forgotten, shes in her second year at university, living in a dorm in another city. I send her money every month. Have you given her a single pound in the last two years?”
“You already send her enough.”
“Maybe shed like a thousand from her father for new tights? And your sisterdid she even think before taking on a mortgage she couldnt afford?”
“The bank approved her,” William argued.
“Exactly. Theyre clever people who know how to count. If Zoes short, its because shes spending it wrongsalons and cafés instead of paying her loan. I wont fund her whims!”
That evening, Lucy called Williams mother to say shed just transferred eight thousandfor a broken denture.
“So, no money for Zoe, but plenty for Mum?” William huffed.
“Your mums pension isnt much, and she needs dental work. Besides, shes *my* mother. Zoes a stranger to me.”
“Shes *my* sister!”
“Exactlyyours, not mine. So why demand anything from me?”
“Fine. Ill send Zoe the money myself when I get paid.”
“Go ahead. Just transfer ten thousand to the household account first, like always.”
“Lucy, isnt ten grand a bit much? Cant we manage with less?”
“We can. Then supper will be pasta with ketchup instead of homemade cutlets. Or we could skip the bills and washing powder,” she smiled.
“Isnt there a way to budget better?”
“Try it. If you manage, Ill take notes.”
The conversation ended there. But William, foolishly, sent nearly his full salary to Zoe, thinking Lucy wouldnt follow through.
He was wrong. The next evening, he came home to an empty kitchen.
“Lucy, whats for supper?”
“Check the fridge.”
Inside, he found only a lone bottle of ketchup and two wrinkled apples.
“Theres nothing here.”
“Really? What did you expect? You know the fridge doesnt magically fill itself.”
“Im starving!”
“I warned you. Where you sent the moneythats where you eat.”
William had to go to his mothers.
The next day, his mother, Margaret, arrived to lecture Lucy.
After a long tirade, Lucy cut in:
“Dont bother, Margaret. I already know Im a terrible wife. Maybe William should move in with you?”
“Dont be absurd! You married himlive with him!”
“Ah, so its all my fault? My flats nice, my salarys good, my bonus was greatbut I wont share with you or Zoe.”
“So youll leave my son penniless?”
“Then you feed him. Just so you knowhe wont eat sausages or chicken. Only steak, fried potatoes, and salad. Oh, and youll do his laundry.”
“Have you lost your mind? You managed before!”
“We diduntil you stuck your nose in. First Zoes divorce, now us?”
“*I* caused her divorce?”
“Who else? You nagged her about Greg’He doesnt respect you, earns too little, flats too small!’ Drove him off, and now Zoes stuck with two kids and a mortgage. Happy?”
“Youre bored, so you meddle. But Im not GregI wont put up with it. Take William backwho better than his own mother?”
“Lucy, I never wanted to leave!” William pleaded.
“You helped Zoe? Then live with her or your mum till payday. Ill think about it.”
William realised Lucy wasnt joking. He spent the month at his mothers.
On payday, he returned.
“Lucy, I transferred my salary and sent Emily three thousand.”
The kitchen smelled of sweet-and-sour pork.
“Wash up and eat,” she smiled. “Or would you rather go back to Mums?”
William paled, shaking his head.
Some lessons dont need wordsjust consequences. And if he forgot, shed remind him. Hed picked the wrong woman to cross.
