Married for seven years, she has been getting up at six o'clock every day to make breakfast in order to take care of Lila, and has never slept for so long. Even when her wound became infected after giving birth to Lila, she forced herself to get up and breastfeed the baby. Now she is sleeping so soundly, which is unusual and makes people uneasy.
"Awake?" Liam's voice came from the other end of the phone, with Vanessa's laughter and Lila's chatter in the background. "You said you were tired last night, so I didn't wake you and let you sleep a little longer." His tone was perfunctory concern, as if he were talking to an unimportant servant.
"I'll go to the kitchen tonight to prepare a few dishes. Lila and I will come back to eat, and Vanessa will also be there."
Clara rubbed her throbbing temples, her voice hoarse: "I don't remember having a piano lesson today, why did she come?"
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, followed by Vanessa's sweet voice: "Mr. Liam, Lila said she wants to play hide-and-seek with us. If Clara isn't happy about it, I won't go..." The grievance in her voice was like a fine needle, precisely stirring up Liam's emotions.
Liam's patience ran out instantly, and her tone became impatient: "Just prepare when I tell you to, why all this nonsense? Lila wants Vanessa to come, can't you, as her mother, just go along with her? We'll talk about the rest when we get home."
Before Clara could utter another word, the phone was abruptly hung up. The busy tone rang, as if mocking her unrequited love. Clara slowly got up and walked to the mirror—the woman in the mirror had a puffy face, dark circles under her eyes, and loose loungewear clung to her body like a thick layer of cotton. She raised her hand and pinched her arm; it was all soft fat, and the firm muscle lines she used to have when she was a dancer were nowhere to be found.
"Let's just consider this one last meal for them before I leave." Clara sighed at her reflection in the mirror, her fingertips tracing the water stains on the surface, as if caressing the shattered past.