AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Veronica's personal life, like that of their marriage, had begun to stagnate as well. She didn't get a job when they bought the house, mostly because Greg's work was able to keep them in good finances. It was nice at first, being able to take care of the house and live comfortably, knowing that she had a husband who loved her. But as she found out, an unfortunate result of not having to work was not having having a reason to leave the house. And that meant not having a way to socialize.
Veronica spent most of her days either cleaning or running errands, alone. She shopped, tidied, cooked, but for what? A husband who wouldn't notice if the living room furniture had changed colour. She kept things clean because if she didn't then she and Greg would just be living in a cluttered mess. But keeping things clean meant not making any new friends, and slowly losing the ones you already had.
She turned off the sink and began washing the dishes, leaving them to dry in the rack. The house was silent, as it always was. The sound of water splashing, the steamy smell of liquid soap. Veronica stared at the tiled backsplash, washing one dish after another.
There wasn't really anyone in Veronica's life, apart from Greg, to whom she could go if she felt lonely. And even then, Greg wasn't the most emotionally available person. She'd voiced this concern a few years back and he told her, without looking up from the TV, to just go out and meet new people. He didn't look up from the hockey game, not even when she left the room.
Veronica, one day, decided to try searching on the Internet to see if she could find new friends that way. She looked up "how to meet new people" and was blasted with advertisements for dating websites and places for people to get laid risk-free. After sorting through the junk, she finally found a website that specialized in getting like-minded people together. If you liked cooking or reading horror novels, for instance, there were groups for that. Veronica searched through the various options, picking and choosing the ones that she thought she might enjoy.
She tried going to a few meetings of different groups, just to see what they were like. Some of them she enjoyed and some of them weren't so great, and in the end she felt happiest with the outdoor walking group. A couple of times a week this group got together and went on a walk in a different part of town. They went through forests, into conservation areas, journeyed to local landmarks, all just for the sake of walking.
She finished the dishes and unplugged the sink, listening to it drain. Drying her hands, she went upstairs to the bedroom, stripping off her clothes and climbing into the shower. As the hot water sprayed down on her face, she grabbed the loofah and body wash.
Veronica found that she enjoyed the walkin
g group a lot. It was nice to be able to get out of the house and do something that wasn't related to shopping or running errands. And the other members were all very sweet. There were about two dozen of them, some around her age, but most of them were retired.
She was on friendly terms with all of them, but no one really seemed interested in becoming good friends. All of the conversations she had were glib; polite ways to pass the time as they walked around a site. One woman, Nancy, was probably the closest thing to a friend that Veronica could get, but still a distance between them remained.
So, Veronica was still where she was before joining the group: lost, alone, and with no one to talk to. There was no one she could confide in if she had a problem at home; there was no one on whose shoulder she could cry if she was sad. She kept attending the walking group, not because she was particularly drawn to it but because she didn't really have a reason not to.
She turned off the shower and stepped out, wrapping a towel around herself and around her hair. Walking into the bedroom, she opened the closet and picked out an outfit, not paying attention to what she grabbed. She began drying herself off, dressing herself and getting ready for the day.
When she was all ready she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like someone you would pass in the street and not think twice about. She wasn't smiling. Grabbing her purse off the bed, Veronica went to the front hall, put on her shoes, and left the house to go shopping.
Chapter 2
Veronica walked up and down the grocery store aisles, her eyes glazed over as she looked from one food label to another. She grabbed a can of beef soup, checked the ingredients, put it in her cart. It nestled up next to some durian fruits, something Veronica saw when she walked through the produce aisle and had picked up on a whim. She thought it might be fun to get something unusual for a change, but in the back of her mind she already knew that Greg wouldn't be interested in it. She kept it regardless, trying now to find the type of chowder Greg usually likes to have on Sundays.
"Veronica?" a voice piped up behind her.
Veronica turned her head and saw Nancy, the woman from her walking group, pushing her cart towards her. Nancy was wearing a huge smile which Veronica immediately mirrored, her cheeks automatically pulling up into place.
"Nancy, hi!" Veronica said, her voice feeling strained as she raised the pitch.
Nancy reached her and gave her a hug.
"How are you?" Nancy asked, beaming at Veronica. "God, it's funny running into you here!"
"Yeah! And I'm good, thanks," Veronica responded. "Just picking up a few groceries."
Nancy looked down into Veronica's cart, noting the durians.
"Ooh, those look fun!" Nancy said, her eyes widening. "Trying something exotic for tonight?"
"Yeah, I thought I'd spice things up a little bit," Veronica said. She tried to think of something else to say but couldn't. Nancy watched her, her smile slowly fading.
"Well, I should get back to shopping," Nancy finally said. "Today's my son's birthday and I'm making him his favourite dinner."
"Oh, what're you making?"
"Pizza with double bacon and artichoke hearts."
The image of a sizzling hot pizza appeared in Veronica's mind and she felt her mouth water. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gone out with Greg for pizza, let alone make one.
"That sounds tasty," Veronica said. "I'm sure he's very proud, having such a great mom."
"Oh, yes … thank you, Veronica," Nancy said, glancing around. "Well, I really should be off. It was nice running into you. I'll, um, bring some birthday cake to the walk tomorrow."
