I met a very nice, even too nice, guy. At first it seemed to me that he tries to pass himself off as good and right rather than he is. That is why I treated him with care and tried not to miss any detail in order to be able to leave in time without losses. But after a while I admitted to myself that I picked on the guy for nothing and was able to remove this total control, the only question that remained was how he could tolerate my picking and “prickliness” for so long, the other would have turned around and waved goodbye. But I am grateful to Philip that his patience proved how much he needed me, and I managed to fall in love with him so that I could not imagine my future without him.
Philip’s father works a lot, and somehow during this year and a half I didn’t get a chance to see him and his mother at home together. My future mother-in-law is a pleasant enough woman, but, taking into consideration the fact that she devoted all her life to teaching, clear, confident and demanding diction was present at home as well.
It was getting close to the wedding, and my parents suggested we all meet together at Philip’s house for dinner and to discuss preparations for the festivities. Philip’s father opened the door, invited us in, helped us undress, and led us into the living room. For us it was a little strange, because in our family it is customary for the hostess herself to meet guests. But it’s a trifle, she could have been busy in the kitchen, and what difference does it make anyway? But after a while I felt that there was something wrong, my parents just looked at me with big eyes.
In short, the woman in this family does not consider her husband a man, and it was very unpleasant to watch. Philip’s father set the table and anything he did not do as his mother intended was greeted with hostility and commented on in the harshest terms. At the beginning of the evening we put down this behavior to anxiety, but later we found out that this kind of behavior is considered the norm in this family. The mother constantly interrupted the father in conversations, reproaching and insulting, but the father listened obediently and did not interrupt. The man looked like a beaten dog.
It was only now that I understood why Philip was so good and listened to me in everything, agreed and never argued. He simply had no other example of male behavior. Except that I am from another family where spouses love each other and treat each other with respect. I’m sure I can show Philip that he’s a man! And I am married, that is, to him, a weak and fragile woman.
