I wanted one meal where I didn’t have to answer anything

Dear Delyara, That was the fantasy tonight. Not a holiday. Not a new life. Just one plate of food and no questions from any direction. Instead dinner arrived the usual way. Someone wanted extra sauce. Someone else asked about tomorrow. My husband wanted to know if I’d seen the email from the bank. The dog barked because a neighbour shut a gate outside. By the end of the meal, I felt like I had been eaten too. I know this is family life. I know nobody meant harm. Still, there are nights when being the person at the center of all the little moving parts feels less like love and more like overexposure. Later, when I stood alone rinsing the plates, I thought how hungry I still felt, and not only for food.