Lying across the bed, I gave my limbs a little stretch and wiggle. I was tense.
Thinking back to my childhood, I knew that my parent’s relationship had always bothered me. My father had been the man of the house. Even though my mother was the one who actually did far more work and held everything together, he treated her as sort of an employee. He always had to have the final word and approval on any major decisions.
Which was ridiculous most of the time. He had no clue what features we needed in a washing machine since he’d never touched one in his life. But the headache he gave my mother as he yattered on about his important decision was ridiculous.
As always, I avoided their bickering by hiding with a book.
The thing that drove me nuts was that she never seemed to speak up for herself. Had she presented a logical argument, and used her adult voice, he may have listened. Instead, she cringed and cowered, always giving in to him.
Since I couldn’t watch television, I mentally ran through the relationships in my life I’d been closest to. In most of them, the man had taken control, and the woman was dependent on him.
There were very few that I would consider a fairly even split of responsibility and energy. The only one that stood out as a shining example was my friend Angie and her husband, Matt.
He had come to Canada for university, and they’d clicked right away. He never tried to care for her in a controlling way, and was one of the sweetest men I’d ever met.
I grinned to myself, recalling the day where Matt had me sneak into Angie’s room during a party to size her rings. I went with him to the jewelry store to help him pick an engagement ring. They were partners in every way, and it was sweet to watch their whole relationship develop.
Part of their engagement arrangement was that she would come home to Australia with him for two years. After they’d each spent some time in both countries, they’d decide together where to live and put down roots.
Somehow they had the most civilized relationship I’d ever seen. They cared for each other, and gave each other space whenever they needed it.
Naturally, I was disappointed when Angie told me that she had chosen koalas and kangaroos over her best friend. But she sounded so happy that I forgave her in about ten seconds. Okay, maybe twenty.
“Call Angie,” I said to my phone. I was actually becoming more accustomed to the voice-activated features.
I realized at the last minute that I should have checked on the time difference, but it was already ringing.
“Kayla! How are you?”
“Please tell me it’s a reasonable hour there?”
Angie’s laugh rang through the connection clear as a bell. “You’re good. It’s almost nine in the morning here. I’m just making breakfast.”
“You haven’t been kicked by a kangaroo yet? I’ve heard they can be violent.”
“Nah, there aren’t many in this area.” I heard her rattle some dishes. “What’s up with you? Weren’t you getting that eye thing done?”
“Yeah. I’m lying in my bed blind as a bat right now.”
I quickly filled her in on the past few days.
“Interesting,” she said. I could picture her nodding and tilting her head from side to side as she always did when she was thinking about whether she should offend me. “And you’re okay with a strange man in your space, taking care of you?”
I laughed. “I was jumpy as hell as first, of course. But Liam’s really a sweet guy. He’s been amazing to me. Honestly, I don’t know how I can thank him enough.”
“And you’re okay with someone taking care of you? Telling you what to do, and controlling your life?”
“Um…” I sat up, as if that would improve my focus. “So far the major decisions have been lunch based. Things that don’t matter, really.”
“But you’ve always had your back up about anyone helping you, ever. How are you doing with that?”
“This is different, obviously.”
“Still.” There were chopping sounds. “Why are you able to handle it with him? Think about this.”
“What are you trying to tell me?” I asked.
“I’m trying to subtly point out that you’re ass over teakettle for t