Chapter 6
By the end of my first week at the new job, the house had started to smell bad.
The living room was thick with the stench of medicine and urine that wouldn't go away. Next to Linda's folding bed, there were two plastic basins. One for urine, the other for soaking diapers.
Yep, diapers.
Margaret bought some adult diapers, but said they were too expensive, so she only let Linda use one a day. The rest of the time, she used cloth ones.
Lucas didn't want to go into the living room anymore.
"Mom, it stinks," he said.
What was I supposed to say to that?
All I could do was open every window in the living room and mop the floor twice a day after work.
Margaret wasn't grateful at all. "Why are you opening the windows? Linda can't stand the cold."
"The smell is terrible. it's not good for the kids," I said.
"Then keep the kid in his room, problem solved. You're so inconsiderate."
I leaned the mop against the wall and didn't say another word.
That night, when David came home, he wrinkled his nose at the smell.
"Can you tell Mom to open the windows during the day?" he asked.
"You tell her," I said, looking at him.
"She won't listen to me anyway."
"And you really think she'll listen to me?"
He went quiet again.
That was our marriage. For ten years, he was always on the fence, never speaking up.
He never stood up for his mom, and he never stood up for me.
He never wanted to upset anyone, so he stayed out of it.
And in the end, I was the one left to shoulder it all, completely alone.
That night, I cranked the shower to full blast, crouched on the bathroom floor, and let it all out for ten minutes.
When I finally finished crying, I washed my face, pulled myself together, and walked out.
Just went back to whatever needed doing.