The manchineel tree- Short story - Part 3

 This story is published in our steemfiction series.  The book is still available on kindle. 

Sylvia sighed when she put the phone down. He couldn’t have chosen a worst night, but she had no say in this and if she did, she knew what was going to happen. He would just get angry and that could end badly. 

It took her a few hours to set the table exactly like Frank expected. She had to polish the silverware and make sure the crystal glasses were immaculately clean.  

Afterwards she was totally exhausted and needed some fresh air.  She poured a second cup of tea and went outside. The garden was her only escape from this mad house and it made her feel a little bit saner if she sat there. It was the only place where she felt free. She sat there for a while and then realized she didn’t have much time left to dress up before the party. 

Sylvia chose her black cocktail dress and she looked amazing when she finally emerged from the bathroom. She knew it would impress Frank. 

No one at Frank’s office knew Frank like she did.  They all adored him and would never believe her if she told anyone what was really going on in their home.  He could put up a show like no one else. 

The food arrived an hour later, and Sylvia made sure that the food stayed warm until the guests arrived. She was seated opposite Frank at the table, and he kept his eyes on her like a hawk.   

He was a different person when his co-workers were present and although she didn’t take much part in their conversation, everyone else had a fun time.  She had one small glass of wine just to calm her nerves, but Frank totally went overboard like usual. 

Frank became rather dandy with one of his female colleagues and Sylvia was absolutely sure that there were much more between them than just work. She felt nauseous, but it didn’t even bother her. He totally disgusted her and just before eleven she excused herself to go to bed. 

She told them she had a terrible headache, and no one objected. Frank was so busy with his female colleague, that she doubts if he even noticed that she was gone.  

Frank came to bed more than an hour later, and she could smell the strong perfume on him. She turned around and pretended to be fast asleep. She had taken two pain tablets just before bed, but her whole body was still aching from the previous night’s beating. 

She lay there in the darkness listening to his snoring after he passed out, and envisioned smothering him with a pillow. She didn’t have an inch of respect left for him and she hated him with her whole heart.   

The next morning Frank didn’t even bother to wake her. She was still asleep when he left, and she felt much better after a good night’s sleep. She shrugged at the thought of cleaning the house, but everything had to be perfect when the almighty Frank arrived home.  

She took a quick shower and stared at herself in the mirror again.  She never used to be like this. She once was fierce and proud and she didn’t allow anyone to walk over her.  These days, she had such low self-esteem, that she didn’t care about herself anymore. Some days she wished he would just kill her and get it over with. 

She walked downstairs and felt nauseous when she saw the mess in the living and dining room. No one even bothered to take the dishes to the kitchen and there were dirty glasses all over the place. After a few hours of agony, everything was spotless again. 

She went to the kitchen to make tea and found a note on the fridge from Frank. He demanded a chicken and mushroom pie for dinner and told her all the ingredients were in the fridge. 

She was so tired of all his demands but like a robot, she took out the flour, eggs and other ingredients to make the dough. She wrapped the dough in cling-wrap and put it in the fridge to settle. She took out the chicken fillets to defrost and decided to cut up the mushrooms and onions later. 

She was absolutely exhausted after the cleaning and the food preparation.  She took two pain tablets and made some chamomile tea. She carried it outside to the patio. It was her favorite spot in the world, and she turned her chair towards the garden. She had an amazing view and felt calm and relaxed after she finished her tea. The pain tablets kicked in and the pain was becoming more bearable. 

She felt so much better that she decided to take a stroll through the garden and was even able to pull out a few weeds.  She noticed quite a few wild mushrooms under her Manchineel tree, and fetched her gloves in the kitchen to pick them all. She put them all in her apron’s pocket and planned to throw them away. They were very poisonous especially because they grew under the Manchineel tree.    

She stood back and admired her beautiful tree. Her grandmother used to own the exact same tree in her back garden, and as a small child, she was never permitted to go anywhere near the tree. Her grandmother called it the magic tree, and she told her that her fingers would fall off it she touched the leaves. 

Sylvia never believed her, and once, just swiftly when she was about five years old, she touched the beautiful light green leaves out of curiosity and got the worst rash over her whole body.  Her grandmother was furious with her, and the next day the tree was cut down. 

Sally cried for weeks about the magic tree. 

To be continued