The boy simply hadn’t outgrown his games.
“Alright, love, Ive got to dashthe lads are waiting for me! No time to lose! See you later!”
With those words, more than just their evening plans collapsed. Something inside Eleanor sank. Yesterday, shed slaved over the stove, and today shed rushed home after a gruelling day, only to be met with this? A hurried meal and a guilty peck on the cheek?
“What do you mean, dash? Edward, today is *my* day!” she reminded her husband.
Edward was already lacing his shoes but straightened, staring at her as if genuinely perplexed.
“But weve already had our time,” he said, nodding at their plates. “We ate, had some wine. I even got you that fancy hair curler. Its only Tuesday. Well celebrate properly on Saturday when the guests come.”
“But I wanted it to be just us! Tonight, now!” Eleanor protested, the shadow of loneliness creeping over her.
Edward sighed and spread his hands.
“Come on, love, whats the fuss? Im not off to the pubits just the lads. Weve got a game lined up.”
His words stung like mockery. *They* were waiting. Hadnt *she* been waiting? Shed hoped for just one evening a year when it could be the two of them, without his mates. But apparently, even that was too much to ask.
“Fine, go then,” Eleanor snapped, turning away. “But rememberthis mattered to me. A lot. Were like flatmates, not husband and wife.”
He shrugged as carelessly as if they were debating what film to watch. Yet Eleanor wasnt just talking about her birthday. It was a cry from the heart. Lately, shed never felt more aloneeven with him right there.
…It had started long ago. If she were honest, shed reaped what shed sown. Shed chosen Edward because he was fun and easygoing. But what worked during courtship didnt always hold up in marriage.
When they first met, hed whisked her off to gatherings and clubsnot the kind with flashing lights and cocktails, but the ones with board games. No drunken brawls or sleazy advances, just polite company, some of them even bookish.
Eleanor had grown up in a home where her father drank heavily and her mother complained from dawn till dusk. With Edward, shed glimpsed a different worldcalm, safe. Shed missed out on childhood, so shed made up for it beside him.
When he proposed, shed been over the moon. He seemed the sort you could build a life withcheerful, quick-witted, well-read. Financially, he was comfortable too; an inheritance from his mother meant he could work part-time, just a few hours a day, remotely, no commute.
The first weeks of marriage felt like a fairy tale. Edward gave her a proper honeymoon trips across the countryside, the seaside, long talks under the stars. Shed felt like a princess.
But the moment they returned home, the carriage turned back into a pumpkin. That very evening, Edward vanished, leaving her to unpack and cook alone.
“The lads will think Ive gone missing,” hed said. “Just popping round to show them the photos.”
Back then, shed barely minded. *Almost*. She told herself it was sweet, his loyalty to his friends. A man who was the life of the partywasnt that a good thing?
Yet it kept happening. Again and again, she was left alone with the illusion of a marriage.
Memories of the past months surfaced.
Eleanor returned home each day drained. Nine-hour shifts, traffic, the endless race to keep up. She had no energy for socialising. Shed open the door to find Edward in his gaming chair, headphones on, laughing loudly. A dirty plate and empty fizzy drink cans littered the desk beside him.
“Edward, could you take the bins out?” shed ask softly, clearing the dishes.
“Right-o, sunshine! Just finishing up with the lads, then Ill sort it,” hed promise.
“Finishing up” stretched into hours. Eventually, shed haul the rubbish down herselfbecause *she* needed to cook, *she* couldnt stand the smell.
It was the same with everything.
Hed stay up till dawn while she rose for work. Sometimes shed wake to his voice, passionately arguing with friends over the headset.
They lived side by side, yet apart. Like siblings, each in their own world, barely touching.
Of course, shed tried to explain. But he didnt understand.
“What more do you want? Weve got everything. Im home most of the day. I cant be glued to you,” hed say, baffled.
All she wanted was simple human attention. Shared evenings.
Eventually, she confided in her friends. Sarah, ever the optimist, tried to reassure her.
“Count yourself lucky he brings in money and doesnt stray. My Toms off on construction jobs, and Im raising two kids alone. Youve got it all.”
Lydia, though, was blunt.
“Ive been through this. Youre lonely *with* him. Just a cook and cleaner. That boy hasnt grown upwhat does he know about family? Have a baby, and youll never see him. His mates are more fun than a screaming newborn.”
Those words stuck. For a while, Eleanor wavered. Maybe Sarah was right. Edward was decentno drinking, steady work, good provider. Should she endure it?
But now, sitting alone on her birthday, surrounded by uneaten salads and wine, she knewshe didnt want to be Sarah. She wouldnt settle for scraps. She refused to stay in a marriage where she dreaded the sight of her own husband.
The roasted meat cooled on the table. The salads sat untouched. Shed cooked it all herself, dashed between shops, left work earlyjust to carve out one small celebration.
And Edward, as ever, had shrugged on his jacket and left. Left her with the wine, the tears, the certainty that this would be her life. Waiting forever for him to tire of his games. Always second. Birthdays, children, old ageall passing him by.
She couldnt bear the loneliness. Not today. She called a cab and went to her mothers. Margaret had lived alone for five years. She embraced her daughter, took one look at her red-rimmed eyes, and listened.
“Well, never mind,” she said finally. “Well celebrate just us. Fancy a takeaway?”
That evening, Eleanor remembered what family felt like. Imperfect, but real. They talkedhaltingly, sometimes in silencebut her mother listened. Edward had long since stopped.
So when he rang late that night, she ignored it. She only answered in the morning.
“Where were you all night?”
“At Mums,” she said calmly. “Celebrating with someone who cares.”
“Ellie, dont be daft. Come home. I havent done anything wrong.”
“Thats just it. Youve done *nothing*. Youre absent.”
“Oh, come off it! We had our time yesterday. Wasnt that enough?”
“Five minutes before you ran off to your mates.”
“Bloody hell, Ellie, its not like Im cheating! Dont make a mountain out of a molehill.”
“You know what? Cheating would almost be easier. At least then Id know what Im fighting. But this? You already have a familyyour lads. Im just… passing through.”
Silence. He had no answer. Or didnt want to give one.
“Edward,” she said, “I didnt want it to come to this, but… Choose. Them or me.”
“Straight to ultimatums, eh?” he grumbled. “Ellie, you know I love you. But I wont abandon my friends…”
She sighed, shaking her head. Suddenly, everything was clear.
“Then live with them.”
She hung up and went to breakfast. Her mother had made her favourite pancakes. At first, she sobbed into themthen felt as if a weight had lifted. Yes, it hurt. But she could move forward.
She returned only for her things. Edward barely glanced up from his screen. Just muted his headset.
He stayed in his worldwhere games and mates came first. And Eleanor stepped into hers. A world where she could build something real, without forever feeling like an afterthought. Edward had chosen eternal boyhood. Their paths no longer crossed.
