Alright, dear guests, had your fill? Got your drink on? Did I do you any good? Poppy called out, rising to the head of the long kitchen table.
Spot on, sis, Brian said with a grin. Youre always on the ball!
Couldn’t agree more! Milly chimed in. We both learned to cook with Mum, but Ive never managed anything as tasty as your feasts. No wonder I keep inviting you to my parties!
Mum, Ive just come back from the gym and I cant get out of it! Lucy complained. But I couldnt stop myself!
Sweetheart, Ill send a wife over to you so you can teach her a thing or two, Andy said, nodding.
Thats why I married you! Vince blurted, letting out a satisfied belch. Excuse us!
So youve done us a favour, then! Poppys smile stretched wide. She paused, the grin slipping from her face. Now, my everlovable lot she drew a breath, get out of my house!
It was the last dinner shed ever cooked for them, the final time shed bent over a stove for the lot of them. She was done with seeing, hearing, or even remembering them.
She snatched the massive, ornate salad bowl from the table and, with all the force she could muster, hurled it to the floor. The porcelain shattered, the salad slumped in a soggy heap.
Enough, you little brats! The dancings over, she announced with a wicked grin. I wont let anyone ride on my back any longerespecially you lot!
Silence settled over the room like a thick fog. No one expected such a scene from Poppy, the evercheerful, helpful, obedient hostess.
Are you having a fit? Victor asked, only to receive a swift slap from his wife.
Call an ambulance, shes having a nervous breakdown! Milly shouted.
Poppy lifted a crystal carafe, the last of the orange juice glinting inside. Anyone who reaches for the phone gets a taste of this! she said, smiling sweetly. Now, why are you all frozen? Get up and scram! Youre my insatiable gremlins!
Poppy! Brian barked. Im your older brother, calm down!
No! Poppy replied, still smiling. Im done serving you! I wont cater, I wont run after you like a lapdog! Enough!
Whats got you in such a wobble, love? Victor muttered, rubbing his reddened cheek. Everything was fine, wasnt it?
I didnt summon you all for nothing, Poppy said, sinking back into her chair. Your cheek has gone way beyond the lineactually, its been there for ages. Your last little protest just proved how bold youve become. So Im done.
And we did nothing wrong, Andy muttered.
Exactly, son! Victor replied, laughing.
***
People say youve got to live life the right way. No one can argue with that. But what does right even mean? Everyone has their own definition.
Poppy had spent fortyfive years convinced shed done just that. At worst, she could at least tell herself she hadnt wasted her time.
She was the third child, the second daughter, adored her brother, never bothered her sister. She finished school, got a job, never chased celebrity status or a shortcut to fame. She married, had two children, was a loyal, loving wife, never argued for no reason, and a decent mother. She raised her kids, taught them, and sent them off into the world.
She kept in touch with her brother and sister, helping out, celebrating, solving problems, sharing joy. Folks called her kind, caring, smart, and understanding.
So she believed shed led a proper lifeuntil, at fortyfive, she discovered what it felt like to be abandoned in the bleakest moment.
***
Ms. Poppy Whitaker, the doctor said after lunch, all your test results are back, nothing contraindicates surgery. Shall we schedule it?
Of course, Doctor, Poppy replied sadly. The decisions already made.
I understand, the doctor noted, noticing her downcast look, but you never know
Just book it, Poppy waved a hand. The sooner we start, the sooner it ends.
Alright, the doctor wrote in the notes. Youll have dinner tonight, nothing tomorrow, and the operation the day after.
He turned to the next patient. Catherine, your results arent great, well need to investigate further.
Very well, Mr. OLeary, Catherine replied.
When the doctor left, he asked Poppy, Why the gloom? Afraid of the operation?
Partly, Poppy admitted, glancing at her phone. My husband
My husbands been busy with his band, Catherine joked. Im sure hell send you a birthday song soon enough.
From the last voice message, hes already full of beans, Poppy pursed her lips. He knows Im about to have my uterus removed and he still thinks its a joke! Hes out drinking with his mates!
Ah, men, Catherine shrugged. Cats at home, mice on the dance floor.
Its still hurtful, Poppy said. A hysterectomy isnt a joke. A little support would have been nice. I told him Im terrified and need him now, yet hes sent two curt texts and then gone silent.
Catherine, ten years younger and less experienced, didnt have the right words, and the conversation faded.
Poppy skipped dinner, refusing to take anything with her, knowing shed need to fast before surgery. She lay still, staring at the ceiling, remembering the time her colleague Vasya broke his leg in two places. Shed driven him to the hospital every day, brought meals, cleaned his house, stayed up late supporting himonly to get home at midnight herself.
When he was discharged, she took a short leave to help him, like a squirrel on a wheel. She never refused him a drink, a spoonful of soup, a wash, a shave, a scratch behind the ears.
Why does he treat me like this? Poppy asked Catherine when she returned from her own dinner.
Its not just him, Catherine laughed. Everyones a consumer. They learn at school how to sit on a ladys lap and expect the world on a silver platter.
Ive been pushing my job for three years, picking up extra shifts through friends, but he never appreciates it. Hed only work if I threatened divorce and alimony!
My husband works, Poppy replied.
Your husbands a different beast, Catherine waved her hands. All the sameexploitors! If you dont tie them down, theyll sit on your neck and trot off like they own the place!
Poppy began to realise her husband was like cheese in buttersoft, easy, and she was left rolling around on his back.
Maybe Im just overreacting? she asked. Is it the operation making me nervous?
Nothing stops a good word from a loved one, Catherine said. My mate at least brings fruit juices, calls, and sends heart emojis.
Poppy turned away and pulled the blanket over her head.
***
Going a whole day without food, even when you need it, is miserable. Poppy tried to distract herself with chat, but after a morning of tests she was left with short, frantic visits from Catherine.
Phone in hand, she thought, Family will at least answer a call to pass the time.
Her son Andy didnt pick up, just sent a text saying hed call later. Her daughter Lucy missed two calls, then her number became unavailable. Good kids, Poppy muttered, bewildered.
Dont they answer? Catherine asked between her own appointments.
Imagine that! Poppy exclaimed. Is it really that hard to answer mum?
Adults? Catherine scoffed. They live on their own now.
Fine, forget them. Youll only hear from them when you need something. Theyve fled the nest, and only a gust of wind will bring them back.
Her eldest, sixteen, now treats her like a stranger. If theyre living apart, parents become redundantgood for a funeral, not for a dinner.
No, we have a wonderful relationship! Poppy insisted. So why the silence?
Whats stopping them from picking up the phone? Catherine pressed.
Catherine left, and Poppy fell into thought.
Its absurd, she said aloud. Is it really that hard to find a minute for mum? All their recent visits have been about moneyno debt, just how much?
Catherine had been right: the fledgling birds had left the nest and now only returned when they needed something.
She dialled her husband again. No answer. She left a message, which stayed unread.
Ah, VinceVince, she sighed. Dont be a slacker!
By evening he finally texted, Wheres the savings? Pays gone, weve got nothing to live on! Yet his salary had landed three days earlier.
Ah, classic husband, Poppy mused. Feast on a mountain, drink from a river!
She didnt reply. If hed even hinted he was worried about her, she might have said something. Instead, she let him sort his own mess.
Brian finally answered a call, then said he was busy and hung up.
Right, busy, Poppy muttered.
She remembered the six months shed been shuttling between two houses after Brians wife had dumped him, leaving kids behind. Shed cared for the children, the mother, the cook, the cleanereverythinguntil Brian found a new partner.
Shed spent a year and a half smoothing over those conflicts, yet no thankyou ever came. Now he was busy again.
When she called him that evening, only a few rings and then a click.
Thanks for the blacklist, brother! she whispered.
He too knew about her upcoming surgery. When he asked to take the kids for a month, she finally said no, citing the operation.
Milly gave Poppy a fiveminute visit, barely asking about health. When will you be back on your feet? My brotherinlaws sidefamily of ten is arriving, well need a place for them and plenty of food. Were counting on you!
I dont know, Milly, Poppy replied. The surgerys serious. Two to three weeks in hospital, then a recovery period. Doctors say up to fifty days.
No, no, dear! We cant wait! Youll be up in three weeks, spry as a spring chicken! Its my brotherinlaws clan! Theyre the priority!
Im scared, Poppy admitted.
Stop whining! Chirpchirp and off you go! Milly snapped. Ive got to run!
Poppy sighed, What if the operation goes sideways? Complications happen! Whos going to step in? Im fifty and still cant cook a proper roast!
Milly kept calling the younger sister to do the cooking for her guestscolleagues, husbands friends, any celebration. Poppy hadnt set foot near the stove for days, and yet no one invited her to the table.
Whats that? Its a strangers party! Milly protested. My sister prepared everything for them, and youre not even counted.
The operation went smoothly, but they kept her in hospital for another fortnight. She refused to call anyone. She waited, hoping someone would remember, but no one didno husband, no children, no brother, no sister.
She thought a lot, then reached a decision.
Poppy, what nonsense are you spouting? Brian demanded. Did they remove your uterus and a slice of brain?
You remembered! Poppy beamed. I thought nobody would ever recall me again.
She rose to the head of the table once more. Listen up, dear relatives! Ive been in hospital for two weeks, and not a single soul bothered to check on me. No brother, no children, no sister, no husband who squandered our savings, no kids I raised. Not a single call!
A hushed gasp rose over the table.
Ive spent my whole life doing everything for you. The one time I needed a little help, a simple sign of concern, you were all nowhere to be found! If I can survive this on my own, I can handle anything. But I wont be your errandrunner any longer.
She turned to each of them in turn. Vince, no more divorce talks! Get out of my flat!
Kids, live your lives. If you need help, ask dad. Ive lost my mother.
Brian and Milly, Im done seeing you. Hire nannies and chefs elsewhere. Thats it!
Are you out of your mind? someone shouted.
Everyone, get up! Poppy commanded. Form a line and march out of my life! Im finally going to live for myself, not for you!
Boom.
Left alone in the flat, she sat at the nowempty table and said, I may have overreacted, glancing at the broken shards of the salad bowl. But Ill start my new life with a brandnew salad bowl.
