For two years, Mary was just the nurse for his mother.
Mary somehow managed to marry a rather earnest English gentleman. All her mates envied her. Her husband was the proud owner of his own small business, a plush, sprawling house in Surrey, a fleet of vehicles including a snazzy Jaguar, and even a little cottage out in the Cotswolds. And all this, at the ripe old age of thirty-two.
Mary, meanwhile, had only just finished university and spent a year teaching English to rowdy teens. That summer, they tied the knot. After the wedding, her husband decided it was beneath his wife to work for peanuts, and insisted she quit her job and stay home to “prepare herself for motherhood.” Mary didnt protest. It seemed terribly romantic at the time.
The first year of marriage was straight out of a fairytale. Mary and her husband swanned around Europe, collecting memories and expensive souvenirs. Yet, Mary had nowhere to wear all her fabulous clothes. Her friends were busy working nine-to-five, and weekends were devoted to their own families. Her husband was constantly off to posh events, but never once brought her along.
Mary got bored. She couldnt seem to have children. Her affection for her husband faded quicker than tea going cold. Each day, after shed polished off the housework, she drifted from room to room, pondering her future. Another year passed. Her husband was rarely home during the day, and would only slink in at night, exhausted and grumpy. He complained that business wasnt exactly booming.
Next, he started by telling Mary to tighten the purse strings. Then it escalatedshe was expected to account for every penny she spent, receipts and all. He calculated everything and insisted they could live just as well on half as much. Mary fretted. She wanted her old job back, but couldnt land anything in her field.
She decided to sign up for a course, but thats when her husbands mother fell ill. Mary found herself caring for her mother-in-law for two whole years. Her husband moved his mum into their home, and Mary did everything: cooked, cleaned, and played nurse. Her husband became even more elusive.
When his mother passed away, the distance between Mary and her husband became a yawning chasm. He barely spoke to her, seemed permanently morose, avoided eye contact, and threw himself into work. Home was just a place to sleep.
Mary couldnt make sense of it all, until she made a rare trip to her late mother-in-laws old flat. She hadnt been there in ages. Behind the closed door, she heard a baby crying. Mary, convinced the place was empty, decided to ring the bell.
A young woman answered. Turns out, her husband had started a whole new family before his mother had even taken ill, and now hed tucked them away in his mothers flat.
Mary was floored. She knew the marriage was unsalvageable. She moved to another cityManchesterto live with her aunt, with practically nothing but a tiny handbag. She wanted to leave every last trace of her failed marriage behind, along with the haunting reminders of how sideways her life had gone…
