“Hello! I’m here about the room for rent!”
At the doorway of the flat lived by Jeanette Smith stood a true “plain Jane”: clad in somewhat worn-out jeans and an old t-shirt, her feet were adorned with well-loved trainers, and she clutched a rather unremarkable handbag. Her light, wavy hair was tied up in a simple ponytail, and her face was entirely devoid of makeup. The only notable feature about this “pale figure” was her eyes: large, blue, and clear.
Jeanette Smith scrutinized the girl and nodded. “Come in!”
“Alright, my dear, don’t waste electricity, be sparing with water, and keep the place tidy! No guests, alright? Any questions?”
The girl smiled and nodded, “Yes, understood!”
“Agreeable,” thought Jeanette. “A rare thing these days… Clear she’s from a rural area.”
From their ensuing chat, it emerged that the girl’s name was Elizabeth, and she indeed hailed from a village where her family owned a farm. She had come to the city to study veterinary science.
“Ah, so you’ll be a pig doctor,” summed up Jeanette.
Elizabeth showed no hint of offence, merely smiling. “Not just pigs, but cows, horses, and even cats and dogs! Animals get sick too, you know.”
“Well, there’s no shortage of animals here needing care while people go uncared for,” Jeanette scoffed.
In general, the tenant left a good impression on Jeanette: modest, not brazen, quiet, obedient, tidy, she’d straighten up the flat, cook her own meals, and even offer Jeanette a taste. Elizabeth was particularly skilled at making pancakes: appetizing, thin as paper, bubbly, and golden brown. Jeanette couldn’t resist such a treat! These pancakes were culinary wonders: they melted in your mouth, barely making it to your stomach.
Jeanette Smith and Elizabeth could be called friends; sometimes, they spent evenings chatting over cups of tea.
Everything might have unfolded smoothly, and Elizabeth could have peacefully completed her studies while living in Jeanette Smith’s rented flat. However, after a six-month stint up North, Jeanette’s son, Michael, returned. A sturdy young man, quite handsome (“just like his dad,” his mother sighed).
Jeanette Smith had a fond habit of calling her beloved son “Michael” with a faux French accent. Her son would cringe but endure it, “After all, she’s my mom.”
Jeanette had raised her son on her own and possibly saw him as her property. Perhaps that’s why discovering her son having friendly chats with the tenant in the kitchen, devouring her pancakes with gusto, sent her into a state of shock. Not just the pancakes! This “rascal” was also gobbling her up with his eyes. The revelation shook Jeanette to the core.
“My son has no taste!” the dreadful thought flashed through the mother’s mind.
From that moment, Jeanette began to resent her tenant: nothing was right anymore, her cleaning seemed lacking, her conversation was all wrong, and even the pancakes lost their allure. Most of all, Jeanette was horrified by the adoring gaze her son cast at this “pale simpleton,” “a farm girl…”
“He’s never looked at me, his own mother, the only close family member, like that!” she thought angrily, choking on her tears at night.
“I’ve nurtured a snake in my bosom!” she cried on the phone, sharing her woes with her close friend, a similarly solitary woman of years, Irene White.
“I thought Michael wouldn’t even glance at this pale thing! That’s why I let her in! But she’s batted her eyelashes, let down her hair, and is luring him with pancakes!”
Irene listened, sighed and offered her authoritative opinion:
“Watch out, Jean: she might cast a spell on your son!” These words fanned the flames of Jeanette’s growing hatred and misunderstanding, nearly bringing her to a heart attack.
Not that Jeanette believed in such things as spells and enchantments… she dismissed that as “nonsense and madness.” Still, the very thought of another woman capturing her son’s attention drove her crazy.
She agonized over what to do, how to deter her son away from this “farm girl.” But, of course, she wouldn’t reveal herself as rude or kick the girl out. That would only lower her standing in her son’s eyes, and he might just leave her.
“No, I need to be clever, somehow show this girl in an unsavory light so my son will turn away from her.”
Jeanette pondered for days on end, plotting how to distance her son from the tenant while Elizabeth went about her days, baking her pancakes, brewing soups, pretending not to notice Jeanette’s penetrating glares. She only once asked:
“Mrs. Smith, are you feeling alright? You seem a bit down and pale. You haven’t been eating either…”
“Everything’s fine!” Jeanette mumbled and retreated to her room to mull over further plans to ‘eliminate the menace.’ She entertained thoughts… She even considered poisoning the impudent girl. But Jeanette quickly crossed herself, “Forgive me, Lord! What a sinful thought that was.”
While Jeanette was scheming, Michael came home one day with a ring and flowers, proposing to Elizabeth! This final straw made Jeanette lose all composure.
“He wasn’t even embarrassed in front of his mother, the scoundrel!” she lamented into her pillow all night, sobbing in indignation. “He doesn’t care about me! He loves only this girl!”
Jeanette angrily wiped away her tears, turned to the window, and then her gaze landed on her bedside table where her emerald earrings lay. Antique, valuable earrings, a family heirloom passed down from her mother and grandmother… She remembered Elizabeth’s admiration of their beauty.
“I’ll show you!” Jeanette hissed, grabbing the earrings, wrapping them in a handkerchief, and tucking them into her handbag. In truth, she had little understanding of what she was doing or her next steps.
The next morning, Jeanette awoke in a noticeably better mood, intent on expelling the farm girl. Once and for all.
She joined them for breakfast, plastering on a sugary smile. Spreading butter on her toast, she turned to her son, “Michael, you didn’t take my emerald earrings, did you? I can’t seem to find them anywhere…”
“Mum, why would I want them? I’m no maiden,” Michael replied, bewildered.
Jeanette then shifted her gaze to Elizabeth with a smirk. “You haven’t seen my earrings, I suppose?”
Elizabeth flushed deeply. The very thought of being accused of theft made her uneasy, causing her to avert her eyes and tear up.
“I didn’t take anything,” said Elizabeth softly, choking on her tears.
“See what I mean?! She sent my earrings to her destitute relatives in the countryside…”
“But my family isn’t destitute,” the girl retorted. “And we’ve never taken anything that wasn’t ours! Why would you say that?”
“Why would _you_ do that? Return my earrings immediately and get out of here.”
“I have nothing of yours… You can even call the police if you want!”
“What’s the point in calling them? They’re probably already over at your relatives’ place.”
Jeanette had completely lost control and, like tumbling into an abyss, couldn’t stop the flow of nasty words at the girl.
“Mum, what are you saying? Liz couldn’t have done such a thing! You probably just forgot where you put them.”
The three of them searched the flat from top to bottom until Michael accidentally knocked into his mother’s bag, sending the handkerchief with the earrings tumbling out.
Michael was left standing there, frozen with the discovery in his hands.
“Mum, how could you?” he finally said, his eyes full of disappointment.
“I just made a mistake, son! I forgot!” Jeanette tried to deceive him.
“I saw it all, Mum! You’ve been awful! Liz and I are leaving; we’re finding our own place,” declared Michael.
“Wait, you’ll regret it with that girl!” Jeanette shouted through her tears.
Michael quietly left the room, took Elizabeth by the hand, and led her out of Jeanette Smith’s house. They rented a flat together, got married, and were very happy. Then, one day, Michael received a call from Irene White.
“Mike, your mother’s in the hospital! She had a heart attack. She’s crying and wants to see you…”
On hearing about her mother-in-law’s condition, Elizabeth immediately got ready, preparing her some steamed cutlets and a chicken broth with little pies, picking up some fruit on the way…
Michael didn’t visit his mother, citing work.
When Elizabeth appeared at the hospital ward, Jeanette burst into tears. She had hoped her son would come, but it was this loathed girl who had ruined her life, taken the most precious thing from her.
“Why have you made yourself ill, Mum? Look, here’s some broth and pies… Do you want me to feed you before it gets cold?”
“And Michael, why hasn’t he come?” Jeanette asked quietly, feeling defeated.
“He’s very busy at work…”
Jeanette nodded, understanding, and cried…
“Forgive me, Lizzy, I’m so sorry for how I treated you… Come back home, I miss you both so much…”
“What are you saying, Mum? You’ve done nothing wrong; you just made a mistake, forgot, got upset! Everything will be fine.”
When Liz left, Jeanette’s ward neighbor remarked, “You’ve got a wonderful daughter! So pretty, so kind, and attentive!”
Jeanette smiled, “Yes, she is lovely.”
When Jeanette recovered, Michael and Elizabeth together collected her from the hospital. They lived together in Jeanette Smith’s flat until Liz finished her studies. Then together, they moved to the farm, to Liz’s parents. The house was big, plenty of space… and a few extra working hands were always welcome.
Jeanette Smith grew to love farm life, preferring it over the city by far. Especially since the young couple had a son, little Alex, whom everyone adored. While Liz’s parents managed the farm, Liz treated animals, and Michael ran the farm shop, Jeanette devoted all her time to little Alex.
Now you might often hear from her:
“It seems an angel sent me that tenant back then!”
Funny how things happen sometimes.
