No, this is not about hating men. But I know that all too often, relationships can become toxic if there is a wide inequality between people, if a domination model is used to create a society.  Too often, the most vulnerable in a couple is the most victimized. But sometimes,  I also know that when toxicity becomes unbearable, something breaks, and  becomes “Nothing left to lose”.

Dinner Service

Debra closed the door quietly behind her and stepped into her living room. It had been a long day, first putting in hours at the shop and then working at the Senior Center, and a hard day. She had been insulted several times by customers, her oldest son had texted her to complain that she had packed a lunch he didn’t like (never mind that he was old enough to pack his own lunch- she knew some of his friends would have egged him on to complain and laughed about it afterwards).

Her husband had called her to tell her- once again– that he had left her because she wasn’t taking care of herself, that she needed to get to the gym because she was, in his words, “starting to look dumpy” (never mind that he was becoming obese and even the doctor warned him his belly was getting to be a strain on his heart) and even though she spent 30 minutes a day working out because her pastor had told her that women were obligated to work hard at keeping their looks so their husbands could be proud of being seen with them. Never mind that her husband had walked out a year ago… her friends told her she needed to work harder at being a good wife, a more feminine woman and then maybe he’d come back. But she knew the truth- she had met the young woman at his apartment when she took his laundry there last week. Divorce wasn’t an option, she’d been told by her pastor… she just needed to work harder at being a better wife. Or accept that she was a wife whose husband decided to leave her for a younger woman… but that didn’t justify her not thinking about how to win him back, or keep herself ready for if he decided to come back….

To read the rest of the story, see the link to The Twilight Mirror and the New Dawn by Jordan Amar.

© 2018