So why me

05h45pm

In the kitchen, Mrs. Clifford watches with great attention the young woman who has been standing at the door for more than 2 minutes and still does not dare to enter the room. 5.4ft, brown hair cut squared, beautiful blue eyes, naturally smiling little lips, generous breasts, she gives off a certain grace but does not seem pretentious or haughty.

Mrs. Clifford is suspicious of all these pretty women who like to seduce men. The first, was just a kid only a little older than Adam is now yet her youth did not prevent her from stealing her husband, leaving her alone with her little boy. The second, the bitch, Mrs. Clifford doesn't even want to think about it, so enraged is she at the simple mention of her name. In front of Meg, who, apart from her age, has a face and attributes that are not so different from these little thieves, Ms. Clifford must remain suspicious no matter what.

"Can you peel carrots?"

Meg finally feels her chance to prove herself and runs almost to the table where Mrs. Clifford was waiting for her. She is determined, her fists are clenched but her eyes sparkling with joy and on her lips is a smile that even Mrs. Clifford finds adorable. When silently, after a simple thank you, Meg grabs the knife that Mrs. Clifford hands her, Meg knows it:

The carrots will be her weapons and with them, she will break the shield that this woman has built around her.

Mrs. Clifford's eyes are closely following Meg's work and frankly, she is very surprised by what she sees. The young woman's movement is not so fast, but it is very fluid. The left hand gently holds the carrot without crushing it, while the blade of the knife in her right hand barely touches the vegetable. It's not going well, there must be something to criticize, thinks Ms. Clifford, who brutally puts her own knife on the table.

After the thumping sound of the knife slamming on the table, Meg, who thinks she made a mistake, freezes and waits for the sanction. With her lips tight, the mother of the family grabs a peel. She lifts it up before her eyes and meticulously inspects it. Her gaze goes from the peeling to the visibly very worried young woman, who in front of her, gathered her arms under the table and trembles slightly.

"What is this sloppy job, Miss Barns? Do you think that middle-class people like me can allow such a mess? That's the real problem with the richs like you. You peel the vegetables and waste half of them, it perfectly reflects your way of seeing things. Well done, great mentality, know that I don't congratulate you."

Meg, trembling, points her finger at the carrot pile from which the peelings shows to her by Mrs. Clifford comes out. "I don't mean to contradict you, ma'am, but this one comes from your pile of peelings and not mine."

As if she were suddenly caught with violent colic, Ms. Clifford's face becomes very unsightly. Her peel still hanging in the air between her fingers, her lips about to make another unpleasant remark when she feels a little sweat running down her back. Mrs. Clifford is not one of those who admit the defeat at the first little mistake made, so she gets up from her chair she silently walks to the refrigerator.

Behind her, Meg feels a predator ready to do anything to eat her, but she will do her best to please this complex woman. She has not fully understood the purpose of the carrot test and suspects that what follows will be just as stupid, but as stupid as the challenge is, she will rise to it with courage.

When she returns to her chair, Ms. Clifford regains her good humour and the energy she had when she was 20 years old. Without putting the shapes in it, she negligently throws a few sprigs of parsley that land scattered on the table in front of Meg. Smiling viciously, her eyes wrinkled, while Meg picks up the last sprigs of parsley that fell to the ground, Mrs. Clifford slams her hand on the table.

"For our carrot beef, we'll need parsley. I'll let you chop them up, while I watch you."

Who is this young woman whom her son tenderly kisses on the cheek? Who is this so-called agent of her son, to allow herself to tell her that she has the wrong pile of peelings. [You're going to see a little girl, I'm going to teach you what a real woman is.] As Meg suspected, the predator who just pulled out her fangs smiled cruelly, while he's now standing behind her back.

"You call that slicing parsley? Do you think we are cattle?"

"So this is how you take care of my little Adam on a daily basis?"

"You put it all over the place. My cooking is not a pigsty, so be careful. Because what you like so much dirty up other people's homes, you'll mop it up once you're done."

06h15pm

In the kitchen, Meg, who is now peeling garlic, after taking care of onions, shallots, leeks and peppers, thinks she's going crazy. What is the relationship between peppers and carrot beef, she cries silently. When Meg finally thinks she sees salvation at the end of this long infernal road, hearing steps from the first floor, her beautiful desperate gaze instantly turns to the door.

Finding his old stuff has taken Adam back to a past that for one reason or another, he doesn't think to be his own. Earlier, after going down to the garage, he went back up to his room to collect all his childhood treasures in 3 piles of equivalent sizes, which he then threw without remorse into a 40-litre garbage bag.

Still a little confused by this act, which is not without consequences, Adam is reassured by the sight of his smiling mother whose hand is warmly placed on Meg's shoulder. Not wanting to break this pleasant atmosphere and knowing that he and Meg need some basic products, Adam decides to go shopping.

"I'm glad to see how close you seem to have come. I won't bother you any longer, I'll take the car to go to the supermarket, bye."

Meg, afraid of the woman holding her hand tightly over her shoulder, could not open her mouth to ask Adam for help, who has just slammed the front door. As for Mrs. Clifford, she celebrates her victory by throwing a new sacrifice at her slave, whom she sees shaking in front of the offering.