By the time I finally reached Sarah’s doorstep, tired and carrying bag after bag, I hadn’t expected to hear loud laughter and cheerful voices echoing from inside the house.
I opened the door and saw David, leaning back scrolling on his phone, and Sarah playing happily with little Henry, who was laughing so hard, he rolled across the floor. Nothing in sight looked urgent at all.
When Sarah noticed me entering, she quickly stood up, rubbing her hands awkwardly as she explained,
“Mom! You’re here! Henry kept begging me to play with him the whole day, and I just couldn’t pull myself away, so I couldn’t come pick you up.”
I looked at her, then at Mrs. Adams and David relaxing comfortably in the room, and disappointment quietly settled in my chest.
There were so many adults at home. Even if Henry was clingy, would it really have been so hard for David to pick me up?
The words hovered on my lips, but I forced myself to swallow them.
Just then, the goose I brought suddenly flapped its wings, tipping the bamboo basket over and scattering vegetables all over the floor, feathers drifting through the air.
The laughter in the room stopped immediately.
David sprang to his feet, glanced sharply at the mess in front of me, and his face clouded over.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“We just had this floor waxed—spent thousands on it! And look at this junk you dragged in, messing up everything. Can you even cover the cleaning and maintenance costs?”
He bent down and nudged the vegetables with his foot, frowning deeper as he stepped back in disgust.
“And these wilted vegetables you brought, grown with manure—are they even safe? What if they transmit bacteria to Henry? He only eats imported organic produce; he can’t eat things from who knows where!”
Seeing the stains spreading across the floor, guilt washed over me, yet I still hoped Sarah would defend me somehow.
But she avoided my eyes and moved to stand beside her husband, gently saying, “Mom, don’t be upset. Life in the city is very convenient. We can get anything we need just downstairs. Really, you don’t need to trouble yourself bringing things from the countryside anymore. It’s tiring for you, and honestly, no one at home really eats them, so they just end up being thrown away.”