I don’t ever want to do anything nice again. I gave that woman a lift once. And she just had to ramble on about self-care. I suppose someone has to represent the cult and try to recruit new members…
Emma was standing in a car repair shop, annoyed with a voucher in her hand. She had helped her co-worker with a report because she urgently needed to take her car to the repair shop. This meant that Emma also felt compelled to give her a lift to work.
And what did it get me? I’m standing in a workshop and wasting my time. My car has been running fine without an oil change for the past 5 years, which is apparently way too long. She must have felt hilarious adding a voucher for an oil massage to her comment about my car and body.
And yet, she was standing in the workshop because, being called detached from her own body and incapable of performing basic maintenance on herself or her car, had somehow hit a nerve. And she wanted to prove her wrong.
I did something nice for her, and she insulted me in return. And besides, she should be grateful. Both of us would have been in trouble if I hadn’t finished her stupid report. Admittedly, she would have been in deeper trouble, so I just don’t understand her attitude. Going on about how badly I need to take a break before I break down. How I should sometimes just enjoy a nice cup of tea in a pretty cafĂ© and relax. Nonsense. Not everyone is as high-maintenance as she is!
Emma sighed. The mechanic had just told her that it would take a few hours to change the oil instead of the 30 minutes she had anticipated. This was to first get rid of the muck that had built up from the old oil. It seemed like a scam, but she didn’t have much choice but to believe the specialist.
This also meant that using the voucher was probably the best use of her time. The massage studio was only a 5-minute walk from the workshop. She asked by which time she should be back and after being given a rough estimate, she went on her merry way.
Inside, she presented the voucher and asked if someone was available. Then she went inside the small room, stripped down, and involuntarily started to relax the moment she was told to lie down. Something she hardly allowed herself at home. Yet with the dim light, calming scents, and soft fabrics around, she could hardly fight it. It felt as if her body was reclaiming the rest she had denied it for so long. There had been a time she had thought about going, but work always found a way to priority. And the tight feeling in her shoulders had taken over her body so slowly that the pain had become her normality. Now, she could no longer ignore it. Every knot that was getting worked on, forced her to admit how much she had neglected herself. She didn’t even know you could be so tense in your arms or that the sounds that came from her back could also feel good. Every pang of guilt that came with the pain in a particularly tense area, was released and let go as her muscles softened. One hour later, she stumbled out of the place and had a look at her watch.
I suppose I still have some time to sit down for a cup of tea. And maybe a sweet treat.
© Vanessa Smiatek 2024-06-22