What will happen to him now? Will he live with us? his wife asked, eyes fixed on their son.
Margaret Hughes arrived home and was taken aback to see David standing in the doorway. He had been living apart with his wife Beverly for two years, their visits limited to a few weekends each month. Tonight was a regular work week.
Something wrong? Margaret asked, skipping the usual greetings.
Dont you miss me? David tried to joke, but the stern look from his mother stopped him. Im leaving Beverly.
What do you mean, leaving? she pressed, her tone as rigid as ever. Margaret had never been one for humour; her job at a juvenile detention centre had made her even more blunt.
…we argued, David muttered, his body language saying he didnt want to discuss it further.
And now? she asked, meeting his eyes. Are you going to run to me after every fight with your wife?
Were getting divorced! David blurted out.
Margaret kept her gaze fixed on him, demanding an explanation. After a sigh, David continued:
She wants me to take on the housework now, and Im already exhausted from work.
And you think you have to help your wife? his mother snapped.
She said the same to me. I told her a woman should keep the home fire burning, so she should do the chores.
Where on earth did you get that nonsense? Margaret demanded, her patience wearing thin.
She had just come home from a long shift, wanted a hot shower, a quiet dinner with her husband, and instead was met with Davids outdated, patriarchal ideas. Shed spent her whole life sharing duties with her husbandworking, housework, raising childrennever seeing a split of labour. And now, suddenly, a MAN in the family was demanding a different arrangement.
Im asking you! Margaret shouted, so loudly that anyone might think shed lost her temper. Where did you pick up that talk? He divides the work! Are you too tired to hunt like a mammoth? Both of you work, both of you earn. That means you should share the chores, too. Did you suggest she quit her job to stay at home? No? Then stop bragging. Have you ever seen your father and me quarrel over household tasks? We always knew how to pull the cart together.
Just then, Ian Hughes, Margarets husband, walked in from work and asked, Whats going on?
Even the questions are the same, David thought, then answered aloud, Beverly and I are divorcing.
Typical, Ian replied shortly, lugging a grocery bag into the kitchen.
David is a fool, Margaret muttered to Ian, explaining the cause of the dispute.
What, hell be living with us now? Ian asked his wife, then turned to their son. Did you know the original word spouse comes from codriver? It meant someone who shares the same harness with their lifepartner. Thats why you both must pull the cartyour family responsibilitiestogether. If one slacks, the other has to pull for two, and eventually either the driver collapses or the cart breaks.
David fell silent, but his resentment toward Beverly lingered. He had hoped his parents would side with him, yet they seemed to turn against him. They continued arranging the groceries, placing each item in its place, making it clear David was an unwanted guest they werent going to look after.
He watched their domestic harmony, puzzled how such firm people could behave like shy bunnies with each other.
Enough standing there. Go make peace with your wife, Ian said sharply. Throw away all that nonsense about who owes whom what. You should protect and help each otherthats what matters. Now, off you go, we have our own chores.
David left, dejected by the reception hed expected. The bitterness toward Beverly faded, and he realised the fight had been pointless. He understood that he, too, wanted a happy family like his parents. He learned that partnership means sharing the load, not assigning blame, and that a strong marriage is built on equal effort and mutual respect.
