"Life has always tasted our strength when we least expect," in the kitchen Ishtar was, bent, leaning her arms against the kitchen counter, holding a wine glass half filled with red wine in her hand, and stuck in a heap of thoughts.
Time check was midnight when she glanced at the round clock up on the wall.
From the kitchen entrace, her mother-in-law approached, puffing on a cigarette and holding a hopeful smile.
"Mom," so suprised to see her, Ishtar placed the wine glass down and got her hands off the counter, as she stood straight wondering, "I never knew you smoke!"
Mother grinned, "Not always, mostly when am stressed I tend to."
She walked closer to where Ishtar was and picked a wine bottle which was sitting on the counter next to her, from which she was treating her glass, "this is not healthy to the unborn offsprings in your body."
On the side were a number of empty wine glasses from which mom picked and began to treat herself as well. She poured a quater glass at first, moved the content around her nose, smelt the wine aroma for a second, and shot it directly in her mouth on a single sip.
"Bob Lee is one thing we share in common. Who am I to rest comfortably with everything going on? Today am joining you as we wait for him to return home," immediately, after the wine went down her esophagus, mother said.
Suprised, Ishtar looked at her mother-in-law, she smiled sorrily and humbled.
She had always waited late hours alone, that even when her husband failed to return, she found herself waking up to the early morning rising sun rays, which happened to touch her face from the mansion glass window.
"I actually didn't think anyone would join me."
Mother walked closer more to her, puffed a smoke in air and placed her glass on the kitchen counter. As she added herself half a glass from the bottle, "the night can be quiet when it needs to be. You don't have to think alot."
Ishtar sighed, looked at her own wine glass, but never took a sip, "it's not easy when you love someone."
Mother-in-law raised her eyebrows, "that sounds deep. What's on your mind?"
Ishtar paused, gothered her thoughts, "I feel scared, and... I don't know what to do next. Everything feels so uncertain."
Mother-in-law bent in and leaned against the kitchen counter, sensing Ishtar's vulnerability, "I get it, I've been there. It's like standing at a crossroad, and you don't know which way to go."
Ishtar turned to face her mother-in-law, eyes began to tear, suprised by her understanding. Using the palm of her hand, she whipped the droplets of tears on her eyes.
"Do you really think I will get through this?"
Mother-in-law smiled warmly, reminiscing about her youth times, "just take a leap of faith. Some times you have to stand strong."
Ishtar smiled faintly, "you make it sound so easier mother."
Grinning, "It's not but it's worthy, for the peace of mind and personal health," mother-in-law said.
Inspired by her positivity, "maybe I should be taking some yoga classes," Ishtar was of a view.
Mother-in-law raised her wine glass in a toast, "here to the yoga classes and a leap of faith," supporting her.
Ishtar clinked her wine glass against hers, smiling, breaking the tension.
As time went by, the television was showing in the living room. Down on the table, Ishtar's hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee as she waited patiently. She checked her phone anxiously looking at the time.
In the couch on the other side, mother tried to stifle a yawn, looking so tired. She leaned her arm against the couch armrest and went on with watching television.
Suddenly, wildly late at 4am when both Ishtar and her mother-in-law had dossed and slept off unknowingly, Bob Lee comes by the taxicab, which drops him off, outside the mansion, "keep the change," on a heavy tongue he tells the driver when he pays him from the rear seat where he is sitting.
Without thinking straight, he slammed the door when he stepped out, and on unsteady feet he walked upto the front electric door of the mansion. Well conversant with the pass code, he pressed the buttons correctly and bumped inside the house, startling his mom out of sleep.
"Gosh, you drunk?" His mother blurted, thus Ishtar raised out of sleep too, to a shocking suprise. Neither his mother nor his wife had ever seen him so tipsy that he could barely walk.
"Ah, my dear mother," disparaged Bob Lee as he leaned heavily against his mother, his eyes glazed over like butter on bread, "do you ever wonder _ like, really wonder _ about the woman I truly love? I mean, Nadia Browne is warmly... there, right? Giving your son the best type of joy he has never experienced before in any other woman." He chuckled at what he had said, a sound that echoed through the living room.
Ishtar was standing on the side watching and listening to the heartbreaking words her husband was speaking. Slowly she started to frown jealously and hurting.
"Son, it's just the drink talking," replied his mother, trying to cut the broad smile off his face, "you have caused enough worries for the day, you need to move with me upstairs and rest."
"Nah, listen," he insisted, waving a hand, almost loosing his balance. "I'm serious! You ever thought, maybe what makes your son happy? Nadia Browne..." Bob Lee chuckled again, "Like... like whoever created this thing called love is actually watching us, playing naked games in bed, Bob Lee and Nadia, and He's hiding there like, 'Look at those idiots!' I bet they have a betting game on us with his colleagues, you know? Who's going to mess up the relationship first or make a brave move..."
At the moment, the words he was speaking were like salt in Ishtar's wounds, so hurting.
As his mother carefully walked him upstairs, "hey mom," he laughed out loud, throwing his head back in delight, unaware of the silly mess he had just created, "actually... I know, I know you're such a nosy human being, you found out, you know? You knew that your son is having an affair with Nadia Browne... of course I know you don't want my wife to know about it, right? Yeah.... but I don't care if she gets to know... I don't love her."
Ishtar broke down into tears after listening to the personal testimony of a man she loved so dearly.
"I can't believe my ears; no... this is not happening! His sudden change in behavior is because he is committing adultery!" Difficult to contain the hurting, words ran within her mind.
When her mother-in-law turned her face to look behind at her as soon as Bob Lee sillily messed-up more with his tongue, Ishtar had her hand lightly covering both her nose and mouth, crying painfully, standing downstairs.
She suddenly ran out of her mother-in-law's sight.
Mother gestured wildly as frastration grew beyond. Supporting her son not to fall off his feet, She looked at him silently and breathed heavily, "maybe you need to understand that alcohol is not for the weak like you, better stop it!"
"Nah mom... listen," he insisted but this time round, his mother wasn't ready to watch him opening the mouth, "keep quiet, else I'll have to drag you back outside in the cold."
Bob Lee turned his drunkard eyes at his mom and drew a zip sign on his mouth with a hand, to indicate that he was obedient to her order, "Alright... queen of the house, your face is... damn serious," he raised a finger pointing at it.
"I said quiet!" Angrily mother spoke, Bob Lee drew another zip on his mouth and allowed her to walk him to his room in silence.
After laying him on his bed and covering him properly, she stormed out of his bedroom and gently closed the door behind her. She stood frozen, stared at the door, her anger grew widely, turning into regret.
Under the dark sky, two hours to twilight, full night and sunrise, Ishtar was lost in tears with her hands wrapped together, standing on the mansion compound.
From behind approached her mother-in-law with a downcast gaze and stood a few steps distant, "am sorry you had to hear that from my silly son."
Mother's sorry couldn't fix Ishtar's heavily broken heart. She couldn't stop sniffing and whipping her face like a child taken off her doll.
Ishtar's voice shaking, "mother... is it _ true?"
Mother-in-law took a deep breathe, struggling to continue, "I didn't expect things to turn out this way; I wanted to talk to him and find a way of stopping the affair before things get out of hand _ all my fault."
Ishtar closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the weight of her mother-in-law's words. She swallowed hard with her heart in depression.
"So, all along you knew!" Disappointedly, she blurted.
Mother-in-law stepped forward a little more closer to her, "look, if there's one thing I hate to see, is you getting hurt _ keeping it a secret from you was to protect your feelings."
"No... you were protecting your son not me!" Angrily, Ishtar raised her voice at her, "I can't believe I was counting on your snake words; pretending to care yet you weren't!"
Mother shook her head, "that's not true," in a small voice she sighed, discouraged.
It was clear Ishtar was hurt. The atmosphere around the two felt not conducive that Ishtar, suddenly walked out of her mother-in-law's sight, leaving her behind, worried in regrets.