No. of words = 1177

THE JACKET

By

Charles W. Shirriff

Theirs was not a prestigious address, but its downtown location and low rent made it attractive to the couple and their two young children.

They had been typical high school sweethearts in a small rural Manitoba town. They knew they were very much in love, and with the impetuousness of youth, not prepared to go slowly or inclined to be cautious.

Her mother approved of him, saying that he was a fine upstanding young man from a good family.

His father didn’t say much about his girlfriend. But the sparkle in his eyes and his too wide smile when she was around betrayed his approval.

Over fries and Pepsi at the local coffee shop, she told him of her fear that they would be having a baby. It was the first time they had discussed anything more serious than the latest CD release or what movie would be showing in the town’s only theatre that weekend. In the course of their usual endless discussions they also discovered that they both believed in the sanctity of life, animal rights, equality of the sexes and the importance of chocolate in their daily diet. This, however, was more serious because they both loved the idea of having a baby and felt there was much they could teach their child although nothing specific came to mind. They dropped out of school to get married. It wasn’t really much of a choice as far as they were concerned because their views on life were so similar and the future looked rosy through the optimism of youth.

He gave her a nice Zirconium ring and she gave him a shiny leather jacket he had always wanted.

Both their parents said it was a lovely wedding. It was a small ceremony held in the church that neither of them had attended very often, with a women’s group catering a reception in the basement. A weekend at the Holiday Inn was provided by her father who hadn’t been an active member of the family during the past decade and wasn’t able to attend. He sent the newlyweds his best wishes and a cheque.

After a weekend honeymoon at the hotel he got a minimum-wage, shift-work job at a local fast-food emporium as assistant manager, no less. Their usual dinner was macaroni and cheese with a weekly splurge of free pizza or fried chicken, courtesy of his job. The cupboard was sparsely stocked with a sea of yellow no-name groceries. They shared in the household chores, shared in the care and discipline of the children, and made family decisions only after intense discussion to reach a consensus.

She had wanted to get a job so that she could be his equal as a wage-earner, but they chose to have her stay home at least until the baby arrived. And then, she stayed home waiting for the second one to arrive. But they made it clear to each other that her options were open to work when the children got older. She was responsible for balancing the cheque book and deciding which of the bills would be paid at the end of the month and which ones would have to wait another month.

Theirs was a marriage dedicated to an equal division of labour and responsibility. Although there was never much money, the children were all well-clothed and had enough toys, courtesy of helpful friends, family and Value Village stores. Birthdays and Christmas were always celebrated with restraint but with a surprising number of new toys and gamesfor their increasing number of children.

Years later the parish priest would refer to it as an epiphany; the psychologist, a defining moment; the coffee house gossip, a turning point in their lives. To them, at the time, it was barely perceived as an event:

Wednesday

2:17 pm “Do you know what day tomorrow is?” she asked.

“Of course. I’d never forget our fourth anniversary.”

“Are you ever sorry you married me? They’ve been pretty lean years. You could have done better for yourself without a wife and three kids to look after.”

“We don’t have much money, but we have each other. That’s the only thing that’s important.”

Thursday

2:34 pm “Don’t wait up for me. I’ll be doing some overtime tonight,” he said, taking his jacket off its customary hook.

“Maybe I’ll leave the kids at my mother’s for a while so I can have some time to myself.”

11:06 pm The poorly-lit lane was quiet except for the intermittent stream of cars cruising slowly in front of the young men leaning against the buildings or standing in small groups.

11:24 pm A red Camarro stopped in front of a man in a shiny leather jacket.

“Hi. Can I give you a lift?”the driver called through his open window.

The man got into the red Camarro and it cruised off into the night.

12:01 am The man returned to take up a place against the brick building as the Camarro drove away, and the stream of cars continued.

2:37 am When he returned home he peeked in to check the gently snoring children before crawling into his bed, being carefully not to disturb his sleeping wife.

Friday

8:52 am “I didn’t hear you come in. Were you very late?”

“A little after midnight.”

2:37 pm “I’ll be home right after work. Maybe we can have a little anniversary celebration. Just the two of us.”

“I’ll make us a special midnight dinner.”

11:37 pm “Hi honey. Happy Anniversary,” he said.

She eagerly accepted the store-gift-wrapped package and slipped the gold bracelet onto her wrist.

“I have something for you, too.” He opened the lovingly hand-wrapped box revealing a gold–plated digital wrist watch.

“Now I’ll never be late coming home,” he said with a smile.

1:54 am They snuggled in bed, enjoying each other’s company and admiring their new gifts.

Saturday

8:45 am “The bracelet is pretty, and I really love it, but I don’t want you doing that any more.”

“Don’t want me doing what anymore?”

“You know what I mean.”

“How did you know?”

“Every time you wear your leather jacket, I know you’re going out to get some money.”

“We need the extra money to make ends meet.”

“It’s not so bad if it’s for the children. I hate it when you buy me something because you know I don’t have any extra money lying around.”

“You don’t have to buy me anything. I just like to give you nice things.”

”But I do. And I don’t like what I have to do the get it.”

“What do you have to do?”

“Why do you think I needed to have the apartment to myself yesterday?”

As the months passed, she gradually assumed more of his household responsibilities. She stopped taking the children to stay at her mother’s place, and was never alone in the apartment without them.

But he wore the shiny leather jacket more and more often and later and later into the night.