May Contain Nuts
Entry by: erin strand
16th November 2018
‘May contain nuts’
She hummed along to ‘Silent Night,’ crushing up the nuts and finley and sprkling them over the shepherd's pie like it were seasoning. She took a step back and looked at the pie trying to decide if it was enough poison she sprinkled a little bit more just to be sure.
She looked at her piggy watch, a different pig pointing at the different times. A smile spread between her big round cheeks.Three o’clock was her favourite. The little piggy was holding a beer and looked drunk.
Twenty five minutes and he would be home.
She cut up little Emilia’s carrots and put them on a plate with her lettuce, there was going to be such a to do when Emilia saw it. She was such a tilly tantrum, the last time June had given Amelia a plate of vegetables Amelia had thrown a shoe at her and split her eyebrow open. She definitely had her father's temper. That's why June had made a sponge cake. Emelia had agreed to eat her salad if she could have as much cake and custard as she wanted.
June had seen on one of her talk shows how kiddies picked up things from their parents however much they tried to hide.
That's why June was doing this. She was saving them both. Saving them from a man whose only language was violence and Emilia was picking up the vocabulary. Emilia was such a little brain box. She didn't get her brains from June. June knew she was dumb. Always had been, ‘Dumb as a brick and wide as a house,’ her husband would say. He was right. She hoped it wasn't too late for poor little Emilia.
“Wash,†Emilia shouted from the doorway. June flinched as pile a of clothes came flying in her direction. Emilia slammed the door behind her.
June stared at the clothes strewn all over the floor. What a blinking mess. June used her swollen fat ankles to sweep the clothes towards the washing machine. She used her foot to slide them into the machine.
Twenty minutes and he would be home.
The first time he broke her ribs he broke her heart. His violent streak came out of nowhere and never left. She imagined love to be the colors of pink and red when she was a little girl. Hers had been black and blue. They were married on a beautiful summer's day then Just like summer turned into autumn, and autumn turned into winter her marriage had got colder and darker.
When she met Paul everyone kept telling her what ‘a great man’ he was. June couldn't believe her luck.
Her father and four older brothers were so over protective of her always had been but they loved Paul.
The other kiddies used to be so cruel to June. June never had a mummy of her own. Her father had been a vicar and always told June to pray if she wanted to talk to her mummy. June couldn't wait to be a mother herself.
She could have left him she supposed except she loved him. Getting divorced back then would've made her daddy so ashamed. They were man and wife. Thick and thin, better for worse. Except things only got worse never better. She prayed and prayed. He never changed. She stopped praying a long time ago.
He was such a charmer when in the company of everyone else, cool as a cucumber but behind closed doors he got heated so quick. He was chivalrous, he opened doors for her with one hand when in the company of others but behind closed doors he still hit her with the other.
She knew it was mostly her fault. She was fat. She ate too much. She had the ‘grace of and ape’ he’d say. She was so clumsy and dull. She didn't know how to dress classy like the ladies she saw at the supermarket. The more he hit her, the more she ate.
He always made not nice jokes about her weight. Now Emilia did too. June felt the guilt of passing on her affliction to Emilia. The smarty pants doctor had classed her as obese. June didn't like the way he looked at her. He always asked June too many questions.
June regretted feeding little Meelie all those fatty meals and sweet puddings. June constantly scolded herself for being such a bad mother. Maybe if June had been a better wife Paul wouldn't be so angry all the time. June had never been good at anything.
Fifteen minutes and he’d be home.
She tried to remember what she was supposed to be doing next. Don't get all Milly muggled now June. She had to focus. She had such a wandering mind. Sometimes she’d sit down to watch one of her chat shows and before she knew it the whole day had run by. It made Paul so cross. She hated being so lazy. It was too late to change now. Time machines weren't real if they were she’d go back in time and try to be a better mother and a proper wife.
This was her only option he’d never let them go. There was nowhere to go. He’d kill them first.
The cuckoo clock announced the arrival of five o clock. Ten minutes and he would be home
It was more of a pig cuckoo clock. It was June’s bestest thing. Instead of a cuckoo shooting out, a pig dressed as a ballerina came out and oinked. She’d bought it at a boot sale with the pocket money that Paul gave her. She was terrible with money. He managed it all. She tried to imagine how she'd cope without him.
June loved pigs. Paul said it's because she looked like one. June used to laugh because she loved Pigs paul just thought she was trying to be a clever clogs. She didn't laugh anymore.
She watched the pig shoot in and out five times. Chuckling and snorting with laughter every time. Her body suddenly tensed up when she realised she was laughing and she stopped immediately. Nothing made Paul lose his rag more than her laugh.
“Cutlery,†she said aloud. She often talked to herself she didn't have anyone else to talk to.
June found herself staring at a calendar little Emilia had made. A different photo for each month. Emilia had used picture’s of herself June and Paul. Emilia with her big round freckled cheeks and beautiful red curly pigtails. Emilia had ripped it up three times time in a temper but June always taped it back together. . Emilia had scratched June's face out of most of the pictures. Typical blinking teenager thought June. June liked how happy they all looked in the pictures. Pictures couldn't talk.
Emilia had put a stone since the picture. The doctor had her on a strict diet now. Like mealtimes weren't enough of minefield. She'd bought a food timer so she didn't burn things but she always forgot to set it. She was such a forgetful Freddie. That's what her daddy called her. He always had funny names for things. He called June and her brothers the Famous Five like the books!
She wasn't allowed to sit at the table with Mealie and Paul or watch T.V with them at night. Paul said her face made him feel sick. She had to stand at the counter on the other side of the kitchen and face the wall. Paul said it might help her lose some weight.
Meelie hated the healthy food. June would find cake wrappers in her bedroom when she was being a little snooper. She wasn't allowed in Emilia's bedroom so she pretended she didn't know. She wasn't allowed to watch her chat shows but she did then changed the channel back to Paul's documentaries. She felt a grin spread across her face at the thought of how could be.
Her and Paul had gotten married in June. It was the same month as her name! It was the best day in the world - ever. Happiest day of her life. She didn't know what a terrible wife she'd turn out to be. Her dad gave her away and made Paul promise to look after his special girl and keep her safe. Paul broke his promise.
They girls wouldn't let her in the acting club when she was a nipper if only they could see her now. She acted all the time. In front of other people, at the hospital, doctors. She pretended not to be in pain when all she wanted to do was scream. But her best performance was yet to come.
Five minutes and he would be home.
She’d seen the poison story on one of her American talk shows. The lady's husband had been a Timmy temper just like Paul. She’d poisoned him with things you could find around the house. She told everyone the truth about her husband and she and her daughter were so much happier. She didn't even go to prison or have to lie to God in court. June had thought about the most severe beating Paul had ever given her. She had made him food containing nuts and it had nearly killed him. Paul had a severe allergy to nuts. Deadly. Amelia too. June had to make sure everything she bought and cooked didnt contain nuts. June couldn't get her hands on poison like the lady on the talk show but she could get nuts. but nuts nuts were everywhere. She been secretly hoarding as much as she could for weeks and she had them all in todays dinner
She took a few steps back so she could see into the oven. Nothing could go wrong today. The shepherd's pie looked perfect. She got Mealies bowl of salad and carrots and placed them on the table mat and laid out a plate for paul and some cutlery for them both. The cake sat nicely in the middle of the table.
He’d be home any minute.
She started to feel her heart thud and sweat. Her pulse raced like it did at this time every day. She never knew which Paul would be walking through door. She tried to regulate her breathing not for it to be loud. She was master at holding her breath.
The key turned in the lock. The sound of his muddy boots being thrown off echoed into the kitchen. She remembered she hadn't put one of his beers next to his food. She waddled quickly across the kitchen grabbed one of his bottles and placed it next to his food. That could have been it he’d broken her arm for less.
She scuttled back to the kitchen counter and faced the wall. He pushed the door open and plonked himself on the wooden kitchen chair. She heard the usual grunt he made every time he looked at what she had made. Sometimes he ate it sometimes he threw it the wall, or at June.
“Mealie dinner,†June called. She heard the thump of her getting of the bed and the heavy clip clopping across the landing and down the stairs.
“Don't call me mellia. I'm not a baby. Idiot. Hi daddyâ€
“You're a grown up,†said Paul and made a high five gesture which Emilia reciprocated.
“How was school my little brain box.â€
“Erghh,†grunted Emelia.
June faced the wall and listened until she finally heard paul's fork touch the plate.
“What's this,†screamed Emilia “I'm not not eating it.†She picked up a carrot and threw it at junes back.
Emilia started making piggy noises and Paul chimed in. They both laughed and continued making oinking noises at June. They did it every time they saw June eat they found it hilarious.
June picked up her for
She hummed along to ‘Silent Night,’ crushing up the nuts and finley and sprkling them over the shepherd's pie like it were seasoning. She took a step back and looked at the pie trying to decide if it was enough poison she sprinkled a little bit more just to be sure.
She looked at her piggy watch, a different pig pointing at the different times. A smile spread between her big round cheeks.Three o’clock was her favourite. The little piggy was holding a beer and looked drunk.
Twenty five minutes and he would be home.
She cut up little Emilia’s carrots and put them on a plate with her lettuce, there was going to be such a to do when Emilia saw it. She was such a tilly tantrum, the last time June had given Amelia a plate of vegetables Amelia had thrown a shoe at her and split her eyebrow open. She definitely had her father's temper. That's why June had made a sponge cake. Emelia had agreed to eat her salad if she could have as much cake and custard as she wanted.
June had seen on one of her talk shows how kiddies picked up things from their parents however much they tried to hide.
That's why June was doing this. She was saving them both. Saving them from a man whose only language was violence and Emilia was picking up the vocabulary. Emilia was such a little brain box. She didn't get her brains from June. June knew she was dumb. Always had been, ‘Dumb as a brick and wide as a house,’ her husband would say. He was right. She hoped it wasn't too late for poor little Emilia.
“Wash,†Emilia shouted from the doorway. June flinched as pile a of clothes came flying in her direction. Emilia slammed the door behind her.
June stared at the clothes strewn all over the floor. What a blinking mess. June used her swollen fat ankles to sweep the clothes towards the washing machine. She used her foot to slide them into the machine.
Twenty minutes and he would be home.
The first time he broke her ribs he broke her heart. His violent streak came out of nowhere and never left. She imagined love to be the colors of pink and red when she was a little girl. Hers had been black and blue. They were married on a beautiful summer's day then Just like summer turned into autumn, and autumn turned into winter her marriage had got colder and darker.
When she met Paul everyone kept telling her what ‘a great man’ he was. June couldn't believe her luck.
Her father and four older brothers were so over protective of her always had been but they loved Paul.
The other kiddies used to be so cruel to June. June never had a mummy of her own. Her father had been a vicar and always told June to pray if she wanted to talk to her mummy. June couldn't wait to be a mother herself.
She could have left him she supposed except she loved him. Getting divorced back then would've made her daddy so ashamed. They were man and wife. Thick and thin, better for worse. Except things only got worse never better. She prayed and prayed. He never changed. She stopped praying a long time ago.
He was such a charmer when in the company of everyone else, cool as a cucumber but behind closed doors he got heated so quick. He was chivalrous, he opened doors for her with one hand when in the company of others but behind closed doors he still hit her with the other.
She knew it was mostly her fault. She was fat. She ate too much. She had the ‘grace of and ape’ he’d say. She was so clumsy and dull. She didn't know how to dress classy like the ladies she saw at the supermarket. The more he hit her, the more she ate.
He always made not nice jokes about her weight. Now Emilia did too. June felt the guilt of passing on her affliction to Emilia. The smarty pants doctor had classed her as obese. June didn't like the way he looked at her. He always asked June too many questions.
June regretted feeding little Meelie all those fatty meals and sweet puddings. June constantly scolded herself for being such a bad mother. Maybe if June had been a better wife Paul wouldn't be so angry all the time. June had never been good at anything.
Fifteen minutes and he’d be home.
She tried to remember what she was supposed to be doing next. Don't get all Milly muggled now June. She had to focus. She had such a wandering mind. Sometimes she’d sit down to watch one of her chat shows and before she knew it the whole day had run by. It made Paul so cross. She hated being so lazy. It was too late to change now. Time machines weren't real if they were she’d go back in time and try to be a better mother and a proper wife.
This was her only option he’d never let them go. There was nowhere to go. He’d kill them first.
The cuckoo clock announced the arrival of five o clock. Ten minutes and he would be home
It was more of a pig cuckoo clock. It was June’s bestest thing. Instead of a cuckoo shooting out, a pig dressed as a ballerina came out and oinked. She’d bought it at a boot sale with the pocket money that Paul gave her. She was terrible with money. He managed it all. She tried to imagine how she'd cope without him.
June loved pigs. Paul said it's because she looked like one. June used to laugh because she loved Pigs paul just thought she was trying to be a clever clogs. She didn't laugh anymore.
She watched the pig shoot in and out five times. Chuckling and snorting with laughter every time. Her body suddenly tensed up when she realised she was laughing and she stopped immediately. Nothing made Paul lose his rag more than her laugh.
“Cutlery,†she said aloud. She often talked to herself she didn't have anyone else to talk to.
June found herself staring at a calendar little Emilia had made. A different photo for each month. Emilia had used picture’s of herself June and Paul. Emilia with her big round freckled cheeks and beautiful red curly pigtails. Emilia had ripped it up three times time in a temper but June always taped it back together. . Emilia had scratched June's face out of most of the pictures. Typical blinking teenager thought June. June liked how happy they all looked in the pictures. Pictures couldn't talk.
Emilia had put a stone since the picture. The doctor had her on a strict diet now. Like mealtimes weren't enough of minefield. She'd bought a food timer so she didn't burn things but she always forgot to set it. She was such a forgetful Freddie. That's what her daddy called her. He always had funny names for things. He called June and her brothers the Famous Five like the books!
She wasn't allowed to sit at the table with Mealie and Paul or watch T.V with them at night. Paul said her face made him feel sick. She had to stand at the counter on the other side of the kitchen and face the wall. Paul said it might help her lose some weight.
Meelie hated the healthy food. June would find cake wrappers in her bedroom when she was being a little snooper. She wasn't allowed in Emilia's bedroom so she pretended she didn't know. She wasn't allowed to watch her chat shows but she did then changed the channel back to Paul's documentaries. She felt a grin spread across her face at the thought of how could be.
Her and Paul had gotten married in June. It was the same month as her name! It was the best day in the world - ever. Happiest day of her life. She didn't know what a terrible wife she'd turn out to be. Her dad gave her away and made Paul promise to look after his special girl and keep her safe. Paul broke his promise.
They girls wouldn't let her in the acting club when she was a nipper if only they could see her now. She acted all the time. In front of other people, at the hospital, doctors. She pretended not to be in pain when all she wanted to do was scream. But her best performance was yet to come.
Five minutes and he would be home.
She’d seen the poison story on one of her American talk shows. The lady's husband had been a Timmy temper just like Paul. She’d poisoned him with things you could find around the house. She told everyone the truth about her husband and she and her daughter were so much happier. She didn't even go to prison or have to lie to God in court. June had thought about the most severe beating Paul had ever given her. She had made him food containing nuts and it had nearly killed him. Paul had a severe allergy to nuts. Deadly. Amelia too. June had to make sure everything she bought and cooked didnt contain nuts. June couldn't get her hands on poison like the lady on the talk show but she could get nuts. but nuts nuts were everywhere. She been secretly hoarding as much as she could for weeks and she had them all in todays dinner
She took a few steps back so she could see into the oven. Nothing could go wrong today. The shepherd's pie looked perfect. She got Mealies bowl of salad and carrots and placed them on the table mat and laid out a plate for paul and some cutlery for them both. The cake sat nicely in the middle of the table.
He’d be home any minute.
She started to feel her heart thud and sweat. Her pulse raced like it did at this time every day. She never knew which Paul would be walking through door. She tried to regulate her breathing not for it to be loud. She was master at holding her breath.
The key turned in the lock. The sound of his muddy boots being thrown off echoed into the kitchen. She remembered she hadn't put one of his beers next to his food. She waddled quickly across the kitchen grabbed one of his bottles and placed it next to his food. That could have been it he’d broken her arm for less.
She scuttled back to the kitchen counter and faced the wall. He pushed the door open and plonked himself on the wooden kitchen chair. She heard the usual grunt he made every time he looked at what she had made. Sometimes he ate it sometimes he threw it the wall, or at June.
“Mealie dinner,†June called. She heard the thump of her getting of the bed and the heavy clip clopping across the landing and down the stairs.
“Don't call me mellia. I'm not a baby. Idiot. Hi daddyâ€
“You're a grown up,†said Paul and made a high five gesture which Emilia reciprocated.
“How was school my little brain box.â€
“Erghh,†grunted Emelia.
June faced the wall and listened until she finally heard paul's fork touch the plate.
“What's this,†screamed Emilia “I'm not not eating it.†She picked up a carrot and threw it at junes back.
Emilia started making piggy noises and Paul chimed in. They both laughed and continued making oinking noises at June. They did it every time they saw June eat they found it hilarious.
June picked up her for
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