Ezgi Yılmaztekin
She woke up. It was late. What would her boss think if she was late to work? Irresponsible, doesn’t care about her job. She rushed to the bathroom to do her makeup. Breakfast was unessential, she didn’t want to have an after-meal belly. But she couldn’t go to work without makeup. What would her colleagues think? Neglected, sloppy. She did her make-up and rapidly prepared sandwiches for her kids and her husband. She left home; as she was walking she realised that she forgot to spread cream cheese on one of the sandwiches. What would her family think? Inadequate, terrible mother. She arrived at the underground hiding her face in case she saw one of her friends; they thought that she drove to work and she couldn’t correct them. What would her friends think if they found out she didn’t have a driving license? Narrow minded, against women’s rights. She finally arrived at work. She had a lot to do. At the end of her shift she attended a meeting about the growth of the company. She had an amazing idea, but what would people think if someone who is not in a superior position made a comment about the company? Overspoken, indiscreet. Her boss stopped her on her way out, asked her what she thought about his course of action to enlarge the company. She thought it was terrible, he would be mad if she evinced, that but what would he think if she eulogized him? Calculated, adulatory. So she went on and said “The idea is open to improvement.” Her boss laughed, “What would you understand? The blame is on me for asking you.” As she walked away, her boss mumbled “Women, always measureless ”. She exited the company to pick up her kids from school. Her husband was with his friends. She stopped by her house to change from her skirt into trousers. Her boss didn’t like it when women wore trousers, he even fired a woman who wore a suit for violating the dress code. But what would the other parents think if she showed up in a skirt? Revealing, inappropriate. She took her kids home. Cooked, cleaned, did the ironing, played with the kids, went to the market. Her mother called and asked what she had cooked for her grandson. “Meatballs and spaghetti,” she replied. Her mother was so furious that she reprimanded her for not thinking about her kid’s health and asked how her husband could stand her. She was exhausted when she heard the doorbell. Her husband was home. He went to the bedroom and saw his blue shirt ironed and folded on the bed. He turned to her wife, who was about to cry. “You had one job,” he yelled. “I asked for my white shirt. I work all day and you don’t even care about me. Do you know how much pressure I am under? Am I supposed to work AND do my ironing? Can’t you at least try to be a proper wife?” She didn’t respond. She ironed his white shirt. “Finally, that is what you are supposed to do,” exclaimed her husband. She went to sleep; she had to wake up early to prepare breakfast the next morning.
Ohh her name, how could I forget. It doesn’t matter anyway; she is just a woman trying to live a normal life.