Flash tale #1 - Story Time

It’s one year since Jack and I got married. I guess we’re not newlyweds anymore!

It’s been a big year; twelve months of learning how to be a good wife, twelve months of feeling better in my own skin.

I learned early on that Jack is his father’s son. But men are handsome, with strong bodies and piercing eyes. And both men have the same views on marriage, on what a woman needs to be truly happy. Jack is ten years older than me, but I love the way Jack looks, I love his confidence and depth.  But for a while I was confused by what goes on inside his head. His ideas seemed so old-fashioned, like they belonged in the dark ages.

How silly I was!

Twelve months on, I’ve learned so much.

Women with short hair don’t look feminine.

I grew mine out, ending up with a length I hadn’t had since grade school. Jack and his father were so right about that. Now, I can do so many things with my hair, with ribbons and bows. I can make myself so pretty, like a lovely decoration.

I’ve learned so much from my husband, but also so much from visiting with his father, who insisted I call ‘Grandpa’ (I get that; I mean, he’s so much older than I am. Like he says, if anyone sees us together, they’d think he was out with his pretty little granddaughter).

When I visit Grandpa, I do something helpful like wash the dishes or iron his shirts, and then he does something nice for me.

Mostly, it’s him telling me a story. He has a funny way of storytelling; he doesn’t do character voices or anything like that – quite the opposite, his voice is so deep and droning, and he always starts by showing me something from the olden days.

His favorite object is a pocket-watch. Such a beautiful, polished antique, and even better, it still works. Grandpa holds the watch to my ear, and I can hear the tick, tick, tick. He swings it in front of my face and jokes that I can see time fly. The same silly joke each time, but I always laugh. It’s so easy to relax with Grandpa, he tells the best stories. We joke that these are bedtime stories, because a lot of the time, I end up asleep on the couch!

Story-time. Now, whenever he says it, I know just what to do. I get comfy on the couch and close my eyes.

Women should always look pretty and wholesome, they should never whine or make a fuss.

How true that is! I have such a wonderful collection of outfits now –at first, I found the clothes old fashioned, conservative, nothing a twenty-five-year-old woman with a high-powered career would wear. The dresses flattened my figure made me look younger.

This caused some problems at work, firstly with clients questioning my age and experience, and also because I no longer wanted to argue my case. More and more, I just didn’t want to seem…oh, that word that wakes me up in the night sometimes…naughty. My boss kept telling me that she wanted the “old Anna” back, the one with the strong views, the one who never backed down. But really, how can you voice a strong opinion, when you’re wearing an A-line dress decorated with kittens, or that velvet smocked dress with the fat bow on the back – I look as though I’m a wrapped gift, waiting for someone to open me!

(Jack loves me in that dress. That’s when he started calling me his perfect little angel, and when I started calling him Daddy. In the bedroom first of all, a kind of game, and then all the time. And the name really does suit him. He’s so handsome and smart. He’s definitely ‘Daddy’ and I’m definitely…well, I’m his perfect little angel!)

My boss didn’t understand that I was happier this way. That not everything had to be a battle, that humility and gentleness were good qualities. That being soft and quiet were the prize. She gave me a final warning; change my attitude (and my wardrobe) or start looking for a different job.

Like Jack and his father said, if those people can’t respect me, I’m better off somewhere else. So I quit that job and now I work part-time at a non-profit, helping to sort the donated children’s toys and clothes. Well, I’m a volunteer, so maybe it’s not ‘work’ exactly. But part-time is better, because I’m so busy with housework and making sure everything is just right for when Jack gets home in the evening.

Women shouldn’t have to worry. They shouldn’t think so hard.

But I do worry. It’s like I’ve swapped my professional concerns for something different; making sure I’m pretty enough, that the house is clean enough, Jack’s supper is tasty enough.

Jack always says, he just wants me to be happy. And I am happy, happy with Jack! But there are so many thoughts jumbling in my head. So many memories of all the time I wasted before meeting Jack. Before I learned how to be good and sweet.

Jack says that I worry too much. And then he says I should visit Grandpa.

I do as I’m told. I dust the bookshelves and pictures in Grandpa’s living room until he tells me to stop, to come sit beside him. Because he has a story for me.

Story-time.

Such a pretty watch. So pretty, so very shiny, and like Grandpa says, I do love shiny things. All little girls love shiny, pretty things. All of this is true, but I must have known this before, I must have heard this story another time, because I’m bored. So bored, I keep yawning, if he doesn’t stop droning on, I’m going to fall asleep, I’m going to end up like the girl in the story, a sweet and silly little girl without an important thought in her head.

Such a shiny watch. He goes on and on and on…

So shiny.

Sleepy.

Sleep.

I wake up!

I’m not on the couch, I’m on Grandpa’s lap. And it’s wonderful, because just like the sleepy story, I feel like a little angel with a lovely, empty head.

I love Grandpa and I love Daddy! They’re both so smart and strong. All I have to do is be pretty and mind my manners!

Grandpa has a special present for me. I open the box to find a very special dress, the most special one of all!  Grandpa asks me if I want to wear it, and it’s funny, he doesn’t sound sure. But of course I want to wear it, it’s perfect for a good little girl like me!

I give Grandpa a hug and a kiss thank you. I tell him that I’m going to go home and be ready to be Daddy’s good girl, and I know Grandpa understands what I mean.

I’ve cleaned the house and I’ve made the dinner. But most important of all, I’ve put on my special dress - puff sleeves and peter pan collar with a row of flowers. It’s so simple, so sweet and pink, with a lovely sash. I put on the white knee socks and the shiny bar shoes. I arranged my long hair in pigtails, tied with shiny ribbons that match my dress perfectly.

I’ll wait for Daddy. I’ll wait for him to get home, so he can be in charge and take such good care of me, so he can do all the thinking and difficult things. And I will be a perfect little angel.

THE END

She's determined to be a strong, independent woman but whenever her father-in-law pulls out his shiny watch she seems to end up on his lap in a pink dress and pigtails and promising Grandpa she will be good for Daddy. - Sarah