Beneath Mothers Wing
Emily, really? He loved you, James, had plans, youd even started to live together. And youjust because of one joketear it all apart and give him no chance at all, scolded Mrs. Aldridge, her voice a thin ribbon of accusation.
I already gave him a chance, Emily whispered. You heard what he said to me, didnt you? He spoke right in front of you
A hollow beep followed, then another, then a third.
Subscriber unavailable or out of service area, the indifferent female voice on the line announced. Emily pressed the hangup button, steadied a tremor, and dialed a different number.
Calling an elderly neighbour in a sleepy suburb was hardly the best move, but when a man who never vanished on unscheduled nights was missing at three a.m., it felt like a warning bell. If something had gone wrong, only family could step inyet Emily, for now, wasnt even considered family.
She and James had only moved in together a month ago, never registered the relationship, and she wondered how she could contact any service about a missing boyfriend. What would they say? Of course, she wasnt his wife, so officially they could do nothing.
If his mother started digging the earth with her nose, that would be a different story.
Hello? the line answered immediately.
Before Emily could ask anything, Jamess voice drifted from the other end. He was talking to his mother, who, distracted for a heartbeat, answered him, then refocused on the young womans call.
Whos this?
Mrs. Aldridge? Its Emily, Jamess girl. Is he there?
Can you put him on the line? Its three in the morning and hes not home. I thought something had happened”
James, its you a clatter of noise erupted, and seconds later a calm voice filled the receiver. Im listening. Whos this?
Its me. James, whats going on? You could have at least told me youd stay over at your mums or not switched off your phone. I cant find a place for myself here; I was already fearing something serious.
Nothings happened to me. I just Im fed up with you. Im leaving. Im moving to another city, stop calling me. Ive taken my things, figure out the flat yourself.
The handset clicked down. Emily sat on the bed, mouth gaping, phone pressed to her ear, trying to absorb the sudden rupture.
Shed been dumped, it seemed. It felt no stranger, no discomfort. After all, theyd only shared a month; shed subconsciously expected a line like, We just arent right for each other, sorry, and she herself could have said it. After all, what if you lived a month with someone and discovered he kept his socks under the pillow, or fell in love with a garden snake, or did other odd things?
Even when shed left a previous boyfriend because their temperaments clashedhe wanted less, she wanted moretheyd simply talked it out, drew a line, and moved on. But being abandoned over the phone, on a strangers handset, with no warning, was new.
For three weeks she tried to digest it with her best friend, Kate, who earnestly tried to spin hypotheses.
Maybe he was scared youd snap him or fight?
Who? Me? Emily blurted, surprised.
With her nickname Halfpint and a weight of fortyfive kilos, fighting seemed futile, especially against men twice her size and a foot taller.
Even if that were true he could have arranged a public meeting, or at least taken his own phone. Or called, texted, sent a messengereach of us has three of those apps.
No, breaking up by text isnt manly, Kate mused, crinkling her nose.
So we did itmanly? No explanations, no proper talk, just?
There were no words, only fragmented expressions, and not enough of them. She didnt even know what shed done to offend him.
Whatever you think you did, Mother Nature herself cant help you, Kate sneered, then offered a blunt remedy.
Throw him out of your head. Be glad you spent so littlehow long were you together?
A month living together, a month dating before that.
Honestly, thats nothing. The rubbish was so polite it packed itself out of your flat.
He wasnt mine, he was a tenant.
But you liked her anyway. She bragged when you first moved in.
If youd not had those incomplete relationships, youd still be hanging out in that council block with friends. For the same money, even if you paid yourself, you could have found a nicer flat.
True, without a solid reasonmoving in with a boyfriend, he cant live in the centreId never have moved. I couldnt have left that flat psychologically either.
See? Something good emerged from that mess. Well find you a new bloke, dont worry. Our generation knows how.
Kate kept her word. A week later Emily went on a date with the brother of an acquaintance, a decent enough match for nowperhaps not for a house and kids, but for continued conversation.
Returning with a bouquet, she shrieked when James burst out of the hallway by the mailboxes.
Boo! Scared you?
Wow, what are you doing here?
I didnt get it By the way, whats this broom?
The flowers. A new guy gave them. You dumped me, then claimed you had a dissociative episode and forgot what you told my mother on the phone?
Emily, are you serious? I was joking! I just needed a couple of weeks with my family.
And you couldnt just leave a note, send a message?
Didnt you realise if you tell someone youre leaving, theyll stop hoping?
If Id just vanished, youd have kept calling for two weeks. I wanted peace and quiet.
My mum always said I ran away at thirteen and crashed at my grandmothers. Same story.
Emily wasnt Jamess mother, and she thought a twentysomething behaving like a thirteenyearold was utterly unacceptable. So she sent James off to a remote Welsh hamlet, and that evening his poor boy mother stormed over to sort things out.
Emily, how could you? James loved you, made plans, youd even started to live together. And youjust because of a jokeshatter everything, give him no chance.
Mrs. Aldridge, I already gave him a chance. You heard what he said to me, right? He spoke right in front of you
He said it, he joked badly. He has quirks, but they dont make him a secondclass person, do they?
Im not sorting people, Im living my life. I dont need someone who creates wild chaos.
I dont want to keep figuring out whats serious and whats a joke each time. I get that you see him as the best boy, but most women I know, and I myself, wont put up with that.
A loving woman accepts a partner as he is, flaws and all.
Good luck to James in his search.
Emily, he loves you. Think of his feelings.
Emily began to see why James seemed so fragile. Constant motherly rhetoric had taught him he was the centre of the universe, everyone else a compliant backdrop.
Life, however, worked differently, a lesson James would learn through hard experience, perhaps drawing conclusionsor living forever under his mothers wing.
In any case, Emily wasnt about to take his problems as her own, a fact she told his prospective motherinlaw with the foulest of words, sending him to chase his beloved son in that Welsh hamlet.
Whether the mother ever caught up with him is unknown, but the fact they never returned to Emily suggests she set the right course.
Five years later, married to Stuart, she heard from mutual acquaintances that James still lived with his mum, hadnt found a suitable partner, and blamed everyone but himself.
So he never learned. Perhaps thats for the bestsome families are better left unstarted and unmultiplied.
