Sally was an artist and her passion was food. At work she was acknowledged as an artistic genius when it came to designing food and her presentation skills were second to none. All of this was lost on her husband of many years. If the meal didn’t resemble what his mother cooked it ended up on the floor or thrown to the dog next door. It was one of the games she played when she felt the rage building from deep within. The omelette had amazingly stayed in its shape and Sally picked it up almost lovingly as if it was a fallen child before she sighed and threw it into the rubbish. While cleaning up all the rest of the splattered mess Sally’s mind went to the kind of food Graeme liked. Ohh yes, so many meals had been endured at her In Laws home. Having to sit there in the kitchen while Norma, the bitter and twisted mother in law, strained the lumps out of some insipid gravy or sauce and overcooked whatever meat she had decided to sacrifice. Having to endure those meals of seemingly endless potatoes and hideous pale green vegetables. It made every fibre of Sally’s being shudder.

Life and times of Sally

Sally was sitting at the dinner table as her fingers moving slowly over the starched damask napkin in front of her. A gentle smile on Sally’s face masked the intense white hate that was once again welling up inside of her. So practiced at the art of concealment, no one she knew could see her true feelings as she sweetly asked her husband what he would have preferred to eat. Graeme picked up the plate while looking at her in disgust and deliberately let the plate go and shatter with its contents on the freshly cleaned floor. Looking at her with a familiar cold stare he almost spat out that she should leave that French shit for those that care. Sally, her face totally non committal, looked down at the French styled cheese omelette with wilted spinach and wasabi mushrooms. It was a work of art, she was thinking as she was picking up the pieces of china and food. ‘Keep breathing’ she kept saying to herself, ‘Keep smiling, it’s ok’.