The next day was business as usual, but my mind was anything but calm. When not busy, I found myself lost in thought, unable to monitor what was happening at home, which only added to my anxiety. This distraction even led to some uncharacteristic mistakes at work, leaving me physically and mentally exhausted.
"Honey, have you had dinner?" I found myself waiting for Betty's call in the evening, which usually came right after her dinner. But tonight, there was no call.
After waiting for a long time and unable to quell the turmoil in my mind, I decided to call her myself. Contrary to my expectations, she picked up immediately.
"I've already eaten, honey. How about you?" Betty's voice came through quiet, too quiet. Normally, I'd hear Michael watching TV in the background. Why was it so silent today? A knot of worry tightened in my chest.
"I've eaten too. Why didn't you call me tonight? I was starting to worry something had happened..." I couldn't suppress the unease bubbling inside me, so I casually probed for the answer that was really on my mind.
"Ah, hold on a sec, honey..." Betty sighed deeply, and then I heard the sound of slippers shuffling across the floor. She must have been moving to another room to talk. This only deepened my confusion. Where was she? Why did she need to move to continue our conversation? It wasn't like her.
"Ah... today was midterms at school, and Michael's grades have really dropped. It's been stressing me out. After dinner, I've been talking it through with him, and I just forgot to call you..." Betty's voice was filled with a weary sigh. Hearing her explanation, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Her tone seemed normal, no signs of deceit, and it was only the second day since I'd left. Surely, if something was wrong, it wouldn't have surfaced so quickly.
"Kids go through a lot, and a dip in grades can happen. Don't push him too hard..." Even though I felt relieved, the fact that Betty had forgotten about me because of Michael still stung a little. To others, it might seem trivial—after all, a child's education is important, and a phone call can be missed.
"Yeah, I know. I'm planning to set up a tutoring schedule for Michael to get his grades back up. It's a bit embarrassing for a teacher's kid to be slipping, haha..." Betty seemed to cheer up a bit after our chat.
"Right... just don't stress too much about it..." I started to say.
"Okay, honey, enough about that. I need to go and make sure he's doing his homework. We've been slacking on supervising his homework lately, and starting tonight, I'm going to make sure he buckles down..." Before I could finish my sentence, Betty cut in.
I glanced at my phone's clock. Usually, when I'm away on business, our nightly calls last at least half an hour, but now, just two minutes in, Betty was ready to hang up.
But what could I do? Betty's reason for ending the call was something I couldn't argue with.
"Alright... take it easy, and you guys should get some rest early too..."
"Yeah, you too, bye, honey..." Betty responded, but before I could say goodbye, I heard the dial tone.
I looked at the screen of my now-disconnected phone and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Betty always gets so absorbed in her work, and now this matter involved her son, tossing her husband to the side.
Oh well, no use dwelling on it. Time to get some rest.
Day three was just as hectic as the rest, and come evening, it was the same drill—no call from Betty, so I had to dial her up. She had already had dinner and was, as usual, helping Michael with his homework, tutoring him.
Our conversation lacked the sweet nothings we used to exchange; it was all about Michael's studies and daily life.
The call lasted less than five minutes before Betty brought up hanging up. Maybe she's started to treat helping the kid like it's another job. She really hates being disturbed when she's working.
After we hung up, I felt pretty empty. I mean, I'm not all that keen on always talking about the kid. I need some of that care and affection from Betty over the phone, but this time it was all about Michael, and Betty seemed to thrive on it.
Day four, no call from Betty—I had to make the move. Again, it was all about Michael, and the call lasted about five minutes...
Day five, same story. No call from Betty, so I reached out. Yet again, the conversation revolved around Michael, and we only talked for three minutes...
Day six, still no initiative from Betty. I called, and once more, it was all about Michael. This time we barely spoke for two minutes...
Day seven, my last night in this city, and still no call from Betty. I took the initiative to dial her up.
This time, she didn't talk about Michael. Instead, she deliberately avoided the topic, talking about how work was going and asking about my health. But from her tone, I could tell her mind was elsewhere...