Family: Janet Christie's Mum's the Word
Another microwave dies, this one jiggered by a household determined to close the door with a slamming-shut-the-gates-of-hell velocity.
If I had a tenner for every time someone says “Mum, the microwave’s broken” I’d buy a new one. And then I’d buy Giorgio Locatelli.
“Who?” says Youngest Child.
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Hide Ad“Giorgio Locatelli, a chef, lovely hair, lovely hands – I interviewed him once and...” I say.
“Nobody cares,” she says.
“He was caressing truffles and…”
“The microwave’s broken,” they repeat. Followed by a silence. The “you’ll be going to the shop to buy a new one, heave it back, plug it in and then drive to the dump with the old one to dispose of it” is all silent.
So I wait them out, silently, seeing if someone else cracks first and replaces the microwave. Sure enough, it’s the BoyF who can’t cope. “Of course I learnt to cook in Italy you know,” he says, “that’s where I really mastered spaghetti carbonara,” as he shoves a ready meal in the new sparkly microwave he’s had to hunter/gather from the supermarket. I guess we’ll have to wait to enjoy that home-made spaghetti carbonara. Maybe when this new microwave dies. Or I can afford to buy Giorgio Locatelli.
Next day it starts again.
“The washing machine’s broken.”
“Oh,” I say, moving away.
“But what am I going to do? I need to do some washing,” says one of them.
“Yes, we all do.”
“No, you don’t understand. I need to do some washing,” he repeats.
“Yes, we all do,” I say.
“No, I actually NEED some of these things.”
“OK, you’re being selfish.” He’s starting to rattle my knitting.
“No, I am thinking about everyone else too,” he says. “Of course they need their washing as well. But I actually need my washing done. Now. It’s really important!”
This is my cue to go and sit in the bathroom for a bit. Let’s see who cracks first. Me, I can sit here all day vaping. But what’s that? Someone’s tapping on the door.
“Hello. Did you know the dishwasher’s not working either?”