It was a glamorous party, all the ladies wearing fine dresses , jewelry and brand-named shoes…. It was the tea party of the elite, hosted by Fran, the wife of a wealthy businessman. They have been married for three years, and every one envies them for their happy life and the amazing parties they host.
'Aunt Fran, I love you ' , Salma , Fran's best friend's daughter
told her .
Fran looked at her best friend Dina in an annoyed way and said:
'Dina , I said you could bring your daughter with you, but I did
not say she could mingle and ruin the party'
'But she did not do anything , she just said that she loved you,
besides, you know that I only got her here because no one was available to take
care of her while I am gone…. In addition to that….'
Fran put her hand over her shoulder and stopped her.
'I am sorry my friend, you just know how much I hate kids , I
did not mean to hurt you, actually I am really grateful that you were able to
come. '
She left, nodded to a group of women gathered around a table,
gossiping and laughing, and went to the bathroom.
She lighted a cigarette, and looked at herself in the mirror,
she was gorgeous , with short blond hair, skinny body and soft skin. She was
the dream of every man, educated, well raised, comes from a well known family
and has a wonderful personality. She was the dream of her husband and he was
hers . They married one year after knowing each other. Everyone thought of them
as the perfect couple.
But she was not happy, the beautiful face she saw in the mirror
was not a happy one.
The cigarette in her hand made her remember the incident that happened in the same bathroom
she was standing in three years ago. Her husband was brushing his teeth, when
she got into the bathroom.
"Are you excited about this trip ", she asked.
"Just as any other trip, the thing I am excited about is
coming back home, to you."
She smiled, and looked at him for a while. He sensed that she
wanted to say something.
"Honey, are you ok? I feel that you want to say
something"
"Actually, yes. " she paused for a while , then
continued ," I have a question"
"What question ?"
"Why cannot we have kids?"
His face got serious while he looked at her.
"I guess we have discussed this before."
"But…"
He interrupted her " Our agreement was clear, before I
married you I told you that I am not interested in having kids at all, that was
my ONLY condition in this marriage, and you agreed, why do you keep bringing
this topic up ?"
"I thought you were in a state where you were not ready to
have a stable life, but now, after being married for a while, I guess you might
have changed your opinion and….."
He interrupted her again " I am a business man, one of the
most successful businessmen in the country, I never make a decision without
being one hundred percent sure of it, and being married to you is the stable
life you are talking about."
"But.."
"I am not done yet. Our agreement was clear, I love very
much and you know that, but whenever you feel that this marriage is not good
for you, we can end it "
She was shocked "is it that easy to say these words?"
"You are the love of my life, but I am a practical person,
I do not want kids, if you cannot adapt to the situation , that you agreed on before
we got married, it is my duty to let myself out of your life."
He finished brushing his teeth and left, and that was the first
time she smoked a cigarette.
*****
After smoking three other cigarettes, she heard someone knocking
on the door …
"Fran , are you there ?", Dina was asking .
She did not answer, she was unable to, she sat on the bathroom's
floor, brought her knees close to her and continued smoking.
"Fran , are you ok ? I am worried " , Dina kept
knocking , but Fran did not answer. This incident reminded her of another story
that happened with her.
Her husband was shaving when she got into the bathroom, she
washed her face, brushed her teeth, moved around him and starred at him while shaving.
"Do I look that handsome while shaving ?", he said to
her , smiling .
"You look handsome all the time my dear. "
She paused for a while and then said.
"There is something that I have to tell you, but I don’t know how you will react"
"What is it dear?", he stopped shaving and looked at
her .
"I'm …. I am pregnant " . He said nothing , just
looked at her .
" I swear I did not
plan for it, I was shocked when I heard the news, I know about our agreement ,
but I swear that I did not …. It just happened ."
Calmly he said " I believe you my dear " , seconds
passed that she felt as years , then he said , firmly , " you will go and
have an abortion the first thing in the morning. "
"What ?" , she said , crying.
"I was clear, I am clear and I will always be clear, I DO
NOT NEED KIDS"
"But…"
"There are no discussions, tomorrow morning I will make an
appointment with a doctor and you will have the abortion ."
He left the bathroom, with shaving cream still on his face.
She was shocked , terrified , and hopeless. She sat on the
bathroom's floor, not knowing what to do, feeling frozen !!!
She spent hours on the
bathroom's floor, holding her knees close to her, the maid and all the servants
came into her room after they knocked for a long while and no one answered.
After half an hour, she got out of the bathroom and told them
"We are
going to have a party this weekend"
And that was her first party, three days after the abortion, she put her mind into every single detail, she buried herself in the flower shops, the catering , the invitations , the themes…. Just to forget what had happened to her. And that was when she 'stopped loving kids'.
******
She heard the voices of many people behind the bathroom's door
talking and asking her if she was ok.
Half an hour later, she opened the door.
"Oh my God , Fran , what happened ? we were worried sick
"
"Don't worry " she said , then she continued " I
have to apologize , but this party is over "
The ladies were very surprised , and they got more confused when
she completed talking , looking at her friend's daughter :
"And by the way Salma, I love you very much, and I hope to
have a beautiful girl just like you my sweetie !!!!"
*****************************
