Life Lesson Plush
Stephen, how could you? We were both having a laugh about that grubby country lass! I exclaimed, marching out of the kitchen, indignant at my husbands antics.
Sorry, Imogen, I was a bit daft. I still cant believe I ended up in Plushs bed, Stephen muttered, furrowing his brows, cursing under his breath while puffing nervously on his cigarette.
A new family moved into our block: Nick, Lucy, and their fiveyearold daughter Poppy. We and Stephen were both thirty, our son was six, the newcomers were twentyfive. Living on the same floor meant we got to know each other quickly.
Lucy was a proper country girl with a talent for keeping a tidy home, especially the kitchen. She adored cakes, cupcakes and piesshe practically waddled in with a tray like a baker on a mission.
Stephen and I teasingly christened her Plush because of her generous curves. Lucys kitchen was a shrine to jars of preserves, something I could never quite match.
I liked to think of myself as pretty and wellkept, while Lucy was forever in a faded dressing gown with a tiny bun perched on her head. Her husband Nick, as thin as a reed, and their chubby little Poppy were always well fed. That was Lucys claim to fame, but we got on. Nick travelled a lot, working as a longhaul truck driver.
Hed first met Lucy in a backstreet village shop while buying cigarettes. Lucys eyes locked onto the lanky stranger at once, and Nick never stood a chance of slipping away unnoticed.
Nine months later Lucy gave birth to a baby girl for the wandering lorry driver. Nick hauled Lucy and the newborn into the city.
When I introduced this sudden family to my mother, she flatly refused to accept the rural Lucy or the newborn granddaughter. Nick had to rent a flat.
Stephen was always critical of Lucys looks.
How can you not love yourself? A woman ought to my husband would scold.
Stephens mother fell ill, a light case of the flu. At first we took turns looking after his mother, but eventually we decided to find a livein carer. Lucy volunteered.
Ill take a bit of work for you, and I need to buy my husband a rubber boat for fishing. Just dont tell Nick, let it be a surprise, Lucy chirped, thrilled at the chance to earn a little extra.
Lucy, dont drown my motherinlaw with foodshes lost her appetite because of the illness, I warned the Plush.
Then work sent me off on a longterm assignment. After handing out instructions to Stephen, my son, and Lucy, I flew to another city.
A month later I returned. Stephen averted his gaze, Lucy made a beeline for the opposite side of the hallway.
Mum, can you make the same tasty chips as Aunt Lucys? And the meatballs were brilliant, my son announced as I stepped through the doorway.
Did Aunt Lucy feed you? I asked, halfsuspicious.
Yes, she brought Poppy over and took Dad with her, my son reported.
I started piecing things together. Nick was on a route, I was on a job.
That evening, after feeding Stephen a hearty dinner, I pressed him for the truth.
Stephen, I know everything, dont play dumb. My son told me everything, I said, hoping I was just making something up.
It was nothing, Stephen replied, blushing not a bit. Plush just asked me to fix the tap.
Come off it, relax. Youve got a soft spot for her, dont you? I sighed in relief.
Still, Stephen began visiting his mothers flat more often, lingering there longer than usual.
I knocked on Lucys door.
A weary Lucy opened, and in the background Stephen lay prostrate on his bed.
I, trying to be the proper lady, slipped back home, my mind racing. Stephen, whod called Lucy a slob and a mess, was now getting cosy with her!
Honestly, I couldnt muster any jealousy toward the kitchenhand. When Stephen bolted after me, I pointed disdainfully at the bathroom.
Take a shower. Wash up properly! You think this is funny? Ill tell Nick everything. Hell have a word with you, I threatened, chuckling to myself. I imagined Nick, the skinny trucker, flailing his fists at Stephens nose.
Lucy eventually confessed the affair to Nick. I have no idea how the longhaired husband reacted, but within a week the whole lot packed up and moved out. As we said goodbye, Nick, spotting me, declared with a grin,
Nothings surprising. Who could resist my Lucy?
Months later I ran into Plush again.
Hey, love! Still holding a grudge? No point. In our village folks gossip nonstop. Im still here, but your husbands happy. Youre always off on assignments, cant leave a bloke hungry for long, Lucy quipped, teaching me the rural lifes unwritten rule. We stood in the drizzle outside the corner shop, paper bags in hand, and I could smell the faint sweetness of her baking through the plastic. She patted my arm, her smile warm despite everything, and said, Hunger makes liars of us all, love. Even the tidy ones. I nodded, unable to argue, watching her waddle down the path toward the village, the same bun perched on her head, the same faded dressing gown flapping behind her like a flag. And for the first time, I didnt look away.
