I feel uncomfortable. There, I said it. I know I have been saying it for a long time, and I'm going to say it again. I feel uncomfortable.
I was sitting in the sofa in my living room, my pops sprawled over the old single seater and my mum in the kitchen. It had always been this way.
The TV was on and the lady from the news channel was reciting the news monotonously, without a pause. It had always been this way.
The sun had been up for a few hours, casting a dull yellow light through the windows. It made our dull walls look even more shabby, if that was possible. The curtains needed to be washed. The sofa has been in our family for generations. A shabby off-white one, with large floral motifs of pink and blue, golden lines outlining them. I sighed without making much noise.
Eyes still on TV, pops waved his hand to get my attention.
"Yeah?" I asked.
He pointed at the teapoy without saying anything, still focused on the news lady. I knew what this meant though. He was asking me for the newspaper resting on the teapoy.
I passed him the paper and watched him read it while he listened to the news. Scratching my neck, I walked towards the kitchen.
"Maria, could you grab that?" Mum said gesturing her head to her left, as soon as I walked in. On the kitchen counter, to her left, there was an open container with some sauce.
"Here you go," I passed her the container and watched her work.
Her curly hair was up in a bun, strands of white hair here and there decorating it. It was messy and yet something I was so used to. Absentmindedly, I raised my hand to my head combing my untamable brown curly hair. I knew my hair was going to grey soon.
I wanted to help her, but I still can't cook. I never learned. I was busy with other things.
"What is your pops doing?" She asked.
"He is reading the newspaper."
"While watching TV?" her voice raised. "Who will pay the electricity bill? Does money grow on trees?" She continued.
I remained quiet as she continued to vigorously work the ladle. I knew what this was leading to, so I slowly removed myself from the kitchen.
As I climbed the stairs, I heard mum say to pops, "Why would you watch TV and read the paper? Nobody can do both together."
BẠN ĐANG ĐỌC
Unpleasant Things
Truyện NgắnA short story. Maria has a lot of unpleasant things to talk about. She has also made her decision. There is no turning back now. She left her phone behind and set off to end it all. What happens now? //cw
