May 2011
Lizzie woke to a shy pale sun peeping through the gap in her drawn curtains. Today is the first day of my life without the chains and restraints that he had forced upon her. She sighed and a feeling of joy spread through her body. I can be me again but a new me, not the me who thought she had found her soul mate, only to discover she had found an insecure egotistical jailer. It was funny, she thought, how her friends had realised way before she had. She had been hurt that they had not accepted him, in fact it had made her depend on him more and more and of course this was the trap she had fallen into.
She thought back to when they had first met. He was good looking with brown eyes – 'never trust a man with brown eyes' her mother had said when she was introduced to him the first time! Where that came from Lizzie had no idea and took no notice. He had joined the party of friends she was with and he had charmed her with his wit and seeming camaraderie with the males in the group but in hindsight realised they were being polite, losing interest quickly and returning to general conversation. When they were together in company he assumed a proprietary demeanour, squeezing her waist a little too tightly, grabbing her hand when she wanted to move to talk to a friend. Then, when he had moved in with her, wanting to stay in rather than partying or even having her friends round for dinner. He would come home from work and question her about what she had done and where she was when he had phoned and was told she wasn't in the office. At first she was flattered, but this continual dependence on her started to wear thin, after all she was an independent woman, wasn't she?
Then a friend mentioned she had seen him having lunch in a rather expensive restaurant with a rather loud female who was all over him and, on leaving, kissing him, which in no way could be construed as a peck on the cheek. On questioning him about this he became defensive, saying she was an old flame who he had just bumped into, and what business was it of hers anyway? Lizzie was suffused with anger but he clammed up refusing to get into an argument and left the room slamming the door behind him. Of course they made up but she had been hurt and phoned a couple of friends to invite them to dinner that Friday. She left work early on the Friday to shop for the meal she was going to cook and, laden with carrier bags and a bunch of flowers, got back to the flat in time to see a female emerge from her front door. She hung back, scrabbling for her keys, dropping a bag in her haste and shock, then, breathing deeply, managed to open the door, banging it against the wall in her rush to get in. 'What are you doing coming home early' he said, startled, as she threw the bags and flowers down on the kitchen table.
'This is my home!' she retorted, 'And who was that woman, and what are you doing coming home early. Who was she and why was she here? . . . Oh don't tell me, she was an old flame you just happened to bump into!'
'Actually she is not an old flame, she is my wife, and we are in the throes of getting back together.'
'And you let her come here, into my flat? How dare you - and what do you mean, your wife?'
'Look, I know I should have told you, but I thought the marriage was over and she threw me out, so when I met you it was on the rebound and I needed somewhere to live.'
'You spineless creature, get out. Get out now before I do something I won't regret. Go back to your Lady Ga Ga wife with her platform shoes and silly short skirt and I'1l forget I ever knew you. You arrogant deceitful bully, making my life a misery with your possessive behaviour. Go on, go now.' So he went without argument, and 'good riddance' Lizzie said as he took his belongings in a black refuse bag she so generously provided for him.
So that morning as she showered she remembered a song from South Pacific, 'I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair' . . . and my life, she giggled as she sang.
With her new found freedom and her release from the pressures of what had turned out to be a nullifying relationship, Lizzie felt an energy she hadn't encountered in a long time, so she set to scouring the kitchen and bathroom. Then she polished and cleaned every surface and ornament to within an inch of its life thinking, this feels so good!
Fancy spring cleaning in August!