Another mother waved to Sue as she arrived at school. It was almost time for the bell and Sue was hurrying her son inside.
"Come to the café for a coffee!"
Sue sighed. All the mothers had been so kind. They were killing her with kindness. The thought of another morning coffee meeting was so awful to her that she knew she had to go. It was a type of penance.
Bad mother Sue had gone, and good mother Sue would do everything these other women did. That was her punishment and her way to redemption. Sue reasoned that if she was more like the other mothers in everything she did maybe, just for a moment, she could forget about her past and the nagging feeling of everything not being ok.
Sue walked slowly down to the coffee shop. Watching the women go past her in their flash cars and beautiful clothes. Tucking perfect hair behind jewelled ears. Hands adorned with soft pink nails and gold that flashed about near their faces as they laughed with straight, white teeth and tanned skin.
The worst one of all was Maria. She took extra care with Sue. Always including and inviting, Sue felt like an animal in a cage.
The coffee shop was full of the parents who didn't work or were self-employed. Maria waved Sue over to the seat she had saved. Rissy was telling a hilarious story about her one of her daughters. Sue tried to focus. Was it Nora the eldest?
The woman on the other side of her was talking about her weight loss. She had some product that made all hunger go away. Maria smiled at her conspiratorially about it. All the mothers knew who to avoid, unless they wanted to spend money. Although Sue didn't particularly like the women, she appreciated their efforts. The truth was that if she had had a group of supportive friends when she was growing up, perhaps things might have turned out differently. Sometimes the thought made her angry at how easily privileged the others were, but she had to keep reminding herself that she was now one of them. She belonged to this group.
"Come over to our place this weekend," Maria said quietly. "We are having another BBQ with friends and the kids will love another play date."
Sue nodded. Another weekend activity to fill her time and distract her from her disquieting thoughts. Perfect.
YOU ARE READING
The Men's Camp
Misterio / SuspensoIn a dystopian world, a teenager named Shula comes of age and enters her time of child bearing to save humanity. In the present day, Maria just wants to have a family of her own. She helps a police investigation which makes her wonder how to save th...
