Pat

Disagreements

“Your mom called to ask how you were doing,” Pat told me one night as we were having dinner. That was a few days after I had been discharged from the hospital.

“She called me to ask the same thing but why would she call you?”

“She asked me who takes care of you while I'm at work and I told her you are mostly alone,” Pat took good care of me but she still had to go to work, that meant I spent the better part of the day alone in the house. “She said that it wasn’t right and you should be with someone throughout the day and I agree with her,”

“Are you tired of taking care of me? Is that what this is about?”

“What? No, I’m not tired-

“Because if you are I will gladly move in with a friend until I’m well enough,”

“What friend?”

“Does it matter?”

“Fuck yes it matters because you don’t have a single friend that won’t be inconvenienced by your presence,”

“Thank you for telling me what I already know. However, I do have friends that won’t be. Leon, for example just started her annual leave and I’m sure wouldn’t mind hosting me for a week or two and Jay works near her home I’m sure she’ll find time to come check up on me during the day,”

“These aren’t friends. These are people you shouldn’t even be talking to in the first place,”

“Why?”

“Because you are married that’s why,”

“I am not married, I’m engaged there’s a huge difference and right now it’s very clear,”

“You know we can’t get legally married. Do you want me to pay your dowry so you know that you are my wife, is that it?”

“Don’t change the topic, are you tired of taking care of me?”

“I am not but there's a high risk leaving you here all alone,”

“In a week or two I’ll have completely recovered and my wound healed,”

“We are talking about now,”

“You just want me gone, don’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You want to have your cake and eat it too. You want your freedom but from somewhere you can control me, isn’t that right?”

“Are you even listening to yourself? I don’t know what you are talking about,”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I have seen how you’ve been commenting on some of your friends pictures, the ones they post while out partying,”

“Just because I say something online doesn’t mean it’s what I want,”

“Does that apply to me too?”

“That’s not what I mean. I don’t mean-

“Don’t bother. I’ll do you a favour. I’ll move out and move back when the baby turns three if you even want one anymore,” I got up and she did too. “Don’t bother. I don’t want to exhaust you more than I already have,”

I took my plate to the kitchen then went to the bedroom. I took my small suitcase and started packing a few of my clothes before she came into the room.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“What do you see me doing?” she came and took the suitcase from me. “You wanted me to leave and I’m doing just that,”