It's a miserable morning on either side of the Atlantic today.
I won't bother discussing the new leader of the free world
The whole thing beggars belief.
But , hey...I don't live in America....
Today's
Going Gently is about jealousy.
Jealousy in a relationship.
Occasionally I meet a friend in the village for lunch.
She makes homemade bread, or soup, or cake and I bring an hour of silliness .
It's a good deal all round.
I have noticed, however, that every time we are sat at the kitchen table, the phone will go and her husband will there catching up with a snippet of news or a job that needs sorting.
Recently I casually asked if he was bothered that I occasionally popped in for a chat and my friend replied " oh no, he always rings me during the day"
Something in what she said and how she said it triggered a tiny alarm bell in my mind.
" Is he jealous? " I asked her
The grenade had its effect and the words tumbled out
Apparently her husband had always been jealous. He often sulked for days if my friend went out on an evening with friends, so much so that she no longer leaves the home without her husband on her arm. Male colleagues were often viewed with suspicion and bad mouthed constantly and often when my friend was out working she felt obliged to call her husband to " check in" so to speak.
This all had been going on for many years.
I leaned my elbows on the kitchen table and uncharacteristically for me , I said very little as my friend's conversation ran down like a clock. I think this was the first time she had shared this information .
" I know....you make the life you live " she said finally
And I nodded taking a final sip of my coffee
