Chapter 27: Never Enough
Melanie sighed deeply as she stood in the kitchen, her mother’s constant complaints echoing in her ears. She stirred the pot of stew on the stove, the aroma wafting through the small apartment. Despite her best efforts, her culinary skills paled in comparison to David’s.
David, with his uncanny ability to transform the simplest ingredients into a tantalizing feast. David, who had cooked most of their meals for them for the last several years. David, who had left them so suddenly, leaving a void that Melanie was desperately trying to fill.
She wasn’t a bad cook, but she wasn’t David. With him gone, the responsibility of cooking had fallen on Melanie’s shoulders—and she was struggling.
Melanie turned to glance at her mother, who was sitting at the dining table with her eyes glued to the soap opera playing on the old television set in the corner. Her face was set in a permanent frown, her lips constantly moving as she muttered complaints under her breath.
Her mother had cracked the television screen in one of her fits. It was one of the many casualties of her tantrums, which had become much more frequent in David’s absence. Melanie had done her best to cook, clean, and fill the hole that David left. It was more work than she could have imagined, and her mother’s temper didn’t make things any easier.
But it was her constant criticism of Melanie’s cooking that hurt the most. ‘This stew is too bland,’ she would say, or ‘The rice is overcooked,’ or ‘You’ve used too much salt in the soup.’ Every meal was met with a barrage of complaints, each one chipping away at Melanie’s confidence.
She understood her mother’s frustration, but her constant negativity was exhausting. Shiela was used to David’s delicious meals, and Melanie’s attempts were a poor substitute. Melanie was doing her best, but it never seemed to be enough.
She missed David. Not just because he was a better cook but because he was her rock, her pillar of support. His optimism and resilience had always inspired her, and his departure had left her feeling lost and overwhelmed.
She added a pinch of salt to the stew, then turned off the stove and gave the pot one last stir before serving the meal. As she placed the bowls on the table, she looked at her mother.
“I hope you enjoy it, Mom,” she said, bracing herself for the worst.
Shiela looked at her with a scowl, her eyes hard and unkind.
“I can’t believe we’ve lost our cook,” she complained. “How dare he leave us? He should have been grateful that I took him in after his parents died.”
She slammed her hand on the table, the thud causing the silverware to clink. One of the spoons fell off the table.
“He should have stayed and served me as compensation since I didn’t receive any of the Hall family’s wealth for adopting him,” she spat, her words sharp and heavy with resentment.
By now, Melanie had grown accustomed to her mother’s delusional outbursts. Some were predictable, like clockwork, while others were utterly erratic, catching her off guard. Shiela would slander David each time, spewing about how he had wronged her. She would grumble about how she was entitled to the fortune that David’s parents supposedly had, a belief rooted in nothing but her delusions of grandeur.
Melanie knew better than to argue with her mother during these episodes.
“Let’s eat, mom. I’m sure the stew will be to your liking today,” she said with a forced smile.
Even as the harsh words stung, she held onto the hope that one day, her efforts would be enough to placate her mother’s complaints.
“I bet that scoundrel is still working at that pub,” Shiela exclaimed as she slammed her fist on the table again. “That’s it! Tomorrow, I’m going to tell the owner to fire him if he doesn’t come back home.”
Melanie sighed in exasperation. Going to the pub wouldn’t do her mom any good. After all, she had already tried checking in the other day, and the staff said they hadn’t seen David for a while now. He hadn’t even visited her at the convenience store, other than the time that they had missed each other over a week ago.
“That’s right,” Shiela declared, her voice sharp and unwavering. “He’s bound to fail anywhere he goes. He needs to realize that his rightful place is here, serving me.”
Copyright © 2024 by A. J. Knight
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