6 Madam Sheerin

Marguerite is crouched up on the couch listening to Narnia music compilations. Her eyes aren't fixed on something and she looks soulless. A small sound is suddenly heard near her coming from her phone, but she doesn't turn her eyes to look, almost as if she didn't hear it. She has almost accepted the fact that she might end up breaking up with her boyfriend. She is trying to digest the fact that her boyfriend doesn't love her as much as she thought, and is willing to leave her just for the sake of building a family.

Chad went to see his mother for a casual visit. Which is, of course, a lie as this "casual visit" will probably end their relationship for good. If he tells Madam Sheerin that she lost the ability to procreate, Marguerite has no doubt about her that Ms Sheerin will do anything in her power to break them up. Or at least she will not allow them to marry, which will, in turn, make Chad want to break up.

Marguerite continues to look into the void, seemingly like she is about to fall asleep. Her eyelids are half-drooped and her arms are hanging off the armrest crisscrossing. Her legs crunched up near her stomach, she rests her body in such a manner for an unknown amount of time.

After the compilation of multiple hours stops playing, she starts to feel hungry. However, she doesn't want to get up, even to feed herself. She would rather stay here, on her couch. Even when she feels the need to drink, to go to the bathroom, to eat, she doesn't get up. She stays here, in the quiet room, and she holds back tears.

Chad is in front of his parents' house. He looks at the familiar entrance that recently got a new layer of paint and lifts his hand to ring the old-fashioned bell. After a minute or so, the door opens up to the face of a healthy old man with a stubble and grey peppered hair. The wrinkles around his smile make him look friendly and nice. He looks the type that would feed pigeons in the park with his grandchildren. The type that always has a bit of candy left in his bag.

He enters the apartment while giving the usual greetings, talking the polite small-talk and exchanging polite inquiries while taking off his coat and hanging it on the hanger pole where a hat and a black coat already is. The house is warm and comforting, the fireplace is lit and the smell of scalloped potatoes remind him of his childhood in New-York.

His father leads him to the living room and serves him a glass of wine.

"You'll excuse your mother, when she heard you were coming she woke up early to prepare food for you. Her old bones couldn't take standing in the kitchen for so long and she went back to sleep."

"No problem, I have all day and night. How was Italy by the way?"

They continue to chat until their cheeks become rosy and their laughter wakes up the Madam from her light slumber. She stands up and airs the room before making the bed and going to shower. Her thoughts travel eventually to her daughter in law. She smiles at the image of her smiling and her heart fills with satisfaction. She remembers when she was still a maiden, her family was very strict and her husband's family had made a deal with her grandpa that their children would marry. It was an arranged marriage. She was against it at first, but her father told her many harsh words, and eventually, she yielded.

Her mother was a sour lady. She never had it easy and hated her father. She grew up in a house filled with bitterness, where laughter and joy were so rare it was only heard of in her dreams. She didn't want to carry the same acerbity into her home. Therefore she promised herself to make it work. Even if she didn't love her husband, they had a mutual agreement that allowed them to live together in peace without stepping on each other's toes.

When she got a son, her family and in-laws were extremely proud and happy. Especially her family after the disappointment of her siblings. She understood her siblings well, and the reason why they refused to commit. Children that grow up in bad environments tend to be disgusted with the idea of kids when they grow up. They see their parents' suffering and get scared of building families. She told herself that her son would grow up in the best environment so that he can give her many grandchildren for her to play with. All she wants is a happy united family. A big one. One that is completely different from her parents' family, and she sure feels like she succeeded. Today she will ask that dense son of hers when he is planning on proposing after all these years. It might be the hundredth time, but it's worth it as long as he listens once.

She enters the living room where her husband and son are talking merrily. They do not notice her and she sits on a chair near the main hall of their three-story house while bathing in the warm ambience of the home she created. When the two notice her presence, she joins them on their little banters and eventually leads them to the dining room where the table is full of delicious food.