It wasn’t always like this; when they met, he was the perfect gentleman, putting her above all, disregarding messages from anyone and all in order to ensure that she was happy and in return for his attention whilst they were out, she was tremendously accommodating towards his work affairs. He ran his own business after all, not only was it his source of income, but it was his pride and joy, without him it would simply fail to function like a well oiled machine.
He had subordinates, but he was so hands on, skilled and unique at what he did, that even if he taught others, there was always going to be reservations as to how well they were doing the job that he could do without blinking.
He never really opened up about his past and Christine thought it best not to probe, but she couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened that he didn’t trust her enough with any of the emotional burden a discussion of his past brought along with it. It was only relevant because she had strong reason to believe that it had contributed to the man he now was, not by any means meant to be derogatory. He was a good man, if a little dismissive in the past few years. This tiresome disappearing act only began about five years ago; before that, he was attentive, if a little distant.
What was she supposed to make of this without being invasive? Was there the possibility he was cheating? That was often the cause for a man to stray.
She desperately fought off all urges to challenge him, especially with accusations of infidelity, or pry into his private affairs, she was a woman of God after all and he was a man of God, he wouldn’t be swayed by the temptation of adultery after taking their vows, would he? At least she prayed that was the case.
Christine sighed and set about folding some of her mother's clothes and placing them into the drawers. Her mother was a frail woman with terrible hearing and a weak disposition, something that had only begun to develop over the course of the past ten years. At the tender age of eighty, she was well on the road to physical deterioration, but only physical, that brain of hers was as active and on the ball as any younger person, if not sharper.
Her mother had once been a talented surgeon, held and abided by strict conservative values and by no surprise, was once extremely logical, forthright, unhindered by emotional restraints and ambitious. These traits might have served to help her become and continue to be an astounding surgeon, but also an unbearable and distant mother.
Christine's childhood had been a challenge and that was putting it lightly. With a mother like hers, all the luxuries that other children took for granted were but a bitter dream to her. Her mother was unabashedly mean and had so adamantly wanted for her to follow in her footsteps, that she bought nothing for Christine that could be deemed unnecessary or a distraction.
Where other girls grew up with dolls, she grew up being taught to master operation games and chess, both for honing patience and logic. Whilst they were reading Alice in Wonderland, she was reading surgical practise and theory. Whilst they were kissing boys and trying on different clothes, she was taking cram courses and entering general knowledge competitions. She hated it all, but never knew how to relay that to her mother and when she finally did, when she finally took hold of her life and made a choice for herself, it was truly the most invigorating feeling ever and a feeling she would forever cling on to, even if it meant her mother - which she won’t - literally refused to speak to her again.
Perhaps there were parallels she could draw from that to the relationship with her own daughter, but the difference here was that Christine only wanted to love her daughter, only wanted the best for her daughter. Her mother on the other hand was a stubborn, unbearable mare, which is why she was always alone and Christine was her only caretaker, nobody else would be able to put up with her, she had all but alienated the rest of their family and Christine’s father, her mother's husband, or the ‘sperm donor’ as her mother often referred to him.
There were parallels there too between he and her own husband, in and out of her life, returning only when he wanted or needed something. Her mother had already disregarded him like an old cloth, thrown out to the wind and if it were up to her, she'd have nothing more to do with him.
Why was everyone around Christine so flaky, so distant? Were her own daughter’s defiance and destructive choices a punishment on her? Persecuted for something she had done or not done?
Christine would have preferred her father to be more of a present figure in her life, though in hindsight, much of that could perhaps be attributed to her mother and her determination to ensure his negative influences did not pervade her life and impede upon her own influences. Maybe it was better to just be content that he was there at all, especially considering that he hadn't been present for the former part of her life.
See, her father was a bar owner in Tenerife. Her mother and his brief encounter and fling was the result of a trip she had taken there with a friend’s persistent nagging prevailing over her own stubbornness.
Tipsy and feeling frisky, she successfully seduced the barman and owner, her father, they had a one night stand that her mother would soon come to regret, not because the end result was Christine, but because it meant the sperm donor would become a regurgitated feature
