Fried potatoes

A Story by Soraya

This story came to my mind when I was frying potatoes for lunch, when a drop of hot oil had burnt my face, I imagined myself a married woman hating herself for accepting the injustice in her marriage

Fried potatoes

Saliha, the mother is having an important appointment this afternoon, she is a general surgeon, and in the local Algerian hospital where she works, there will be a first kidney transplant tomorrow, she is the assistant surgeon , this is a shifting point in her career, this afternoon, the national press wants to talk to her, she is excited.
She spent the whole morning with her husband Halim, in the OR, they did 2 cholecystectomies, Halim is a general surgeon, like her.
When they finished the surgery , they headed home, both tired and hungry.
There is nothing in the fridge, Saliha doesn't order food, she prefers food made in front of her eyes, so when she asked her 6 years old daughter Aya:
_Aya, please , tell me anything you want to eat for lunch but please sweety tell me something easy to prepare, I have an important appointment in one hour.
So the kid aware of the important job her mom is doing , she said:
_Mom, just fry some potatoes.
_okay.
Saliha put on her kitchen apron, and she started frying the potatoes, in between, she was washing the dishes from yesterday's dinner, and at the same time she was thinking of how she is going to answer the press questions, they've told her that there will be the French spoken Algerian channel , and the Arabic one, with the latter , she is going to face some technical problems, since she has to translate every scientific french word into Arabic, she is speaking to herself to excel at the interview, this is huge for her...this was huge for her until the hot oil burnt her finger.
She can hear the TV from the other room, Halim is watching the news, she said excited to make herself forget her burnt finger:
_Good god! I'm going to talk to the press today, I am the only woman in this surgical team, this is something, you should be proud of your mother, Aya!
Aya, watching her mom multitasking said sadly:
_I'm very proud momy, Algeria is so pround of you.
_I don't know about Algeria, but I'm happy that you are.
Halim is still watching some show on TV, tomorrow is going to be a random day for him, maybe he will perform an appendicectomy, maybe not, he didn't make it to the surgical team that will make a premiere in this region of the country like Saliha did, Saliha who is the one female young surgeon in the department of general surgery since all the other female doctors escape chosing surgery as a specialty, because it's hard to be a woman and a surgeon at the same time, they can't be on call all the time when they will be having kids and making food for the family, they think surgery is a man's job, so they go for medical specialties.
Twenty minutes left to the big press conference, Saliha is still frying the potatoes for Halim and Aya, she looked to the kitchen clock, she was about to say I've almost finished when a drop of water fell on the hot oil, Saliha closed her eyes she didn't see how the drops of the hot oil had jumped on her face and neck, she didn't see it, but she felt it, it burnt her skin but also her soul.
She washed her face and neck with cold water, the burn on her skin did disappear but the one in her soul didn't, she went to her bedroom, put her face between her hands and cried , cried and cried.
Halim is still watching the TV, he didn't hear her crying, he was still waiting for his wife to bring him his lunch.
Aya watched her mother crying, and she promised herself that she will never be like her: the accomplished woman who achieves the same things as her husband in work, but at home she diminishes herself to become a sort of a slave wrapped in a more accepted name a Wife, a Woman, a Mother.
Why sould she burn herself to the ground when she can just put a new outfit and prepare herself for the press conference letting Halim, the supposed companion of her life, do the rest, without feeling grateful, because this is what it means to be a life companion. Why should she feel this lonely in her marriage?
Aya hated her mom for accepting this situation, at that moment she was no longer proud of her.
Soraya.

© 2018 Soraya

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Onlyme

That is so sad, to not see the other side of her great achievments, to have a loving husband and daughter outwith being educated to a high standard and a great job, helping others. Humans try to appease others all the time, and this kind act, she did back fired unknown to her. Due
to the accident in her daughters eyes. How life is so ironic and tragic at times. At to the press, she has suffered also and understands due to the burns!

Posted 6 Years Ago

1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Reviews

Donna

What a touching story. It seems in most marriages that the wife/mother has to do it all, and even hold down a job. I don't think it is right. I believe that both should help out. This is why I am divorced! Great story!