In Chapter 1, the protagonist, Mako, struggles with caring for her daughter and receives an unexpected request to babysit her nephew for an hour. However, the nephew’s mother doesn’t return for four hours, causing Mako frustration. Despite her husband’s lack of empathy, Mako decides not to help her sister-in-law with childcare again. The husband fails to understand Mako’s feelings, leading to tension in their relationship. Mako contemplates the importance of family support and communication. The chapter ends with uncertainty about how Mako’s husband will react to her actions. The story touches on themes of family dynamics, understanding, and emotional support.
Continuing from last time. I (Mako) live with my husband Asahi and our daughter Mio (2 years old). I am currently on childcare leave, but spending each day with my daughter who is going through a tough time is quite challenging. My in-laws and sister-in-law live about a 20-30 minute walk away, at a moderate distance. One day, my sister-in-law asked me to babysit her second son, Kotaro (3 years old), for an hour because she had a consultation regarding her eldest son, Kenta (1st grader). Despite not wanting to borrow trouble, I agreed to take care of Kota because she seemed to be in a difficult situation. However, even after the promised time had passed, my sister-in-law did not return. It was 4 hours later when she finally came back and complained to me, saying, “Having two kids is tough. What’s wrong with being a little late?” I vowed firmly in my heart that I would never again take care of my sister-in-law’s children.
“I understand both of your feelings, so I understand it must be tough.” What did my husband mean by that? “Of course, I understand Mako-chan’s difficulty, but usually you spend time with your older sister and Kenta-chan, right? If you’re going to a consultation, there must be various challenges.” Do you understand that I sometimes want to spend time with you and Kotaro?
“So, you were sleeping in the second half, right? If so, it’s not that difficult.” I couldn’t just ignore what my husband was saying.
“Sister was like that too, so you should be careful, right? You should be careful next time?” “No, there won’t be a next time! Why didn’t you keep your promise for our date?” Do I need to worry about someone who left their child with someone else and went shopping without saying anything?
“Why did you decide to take care of Mako-chan today?” Something in my husband’s words caught my attention.
An hour and four hours make a huge difference in perspective. Also, I couldn’t reach my sister-in-law and didn’t know when she would come to pick up Kotaro. Why can’t you understand my pain and anger?
It seemed my husband couldn’t understand my feelings. He might be thinking, “Why is it such a big deal?” What is important to me may be trivial to my husband.
Asahi has always found it difficult to respect his younger sister. However, that is a problem among siblings and does not concern me. What does it mean for my husband to say, “I understand how big sister feels”? How much support will you offer your sister-in-law? Please support your sister-in-law as part of your family! I don’t care! Despite wanting to express my feelings out loud, I suppressed them and first decided to experience childcare, but the person I entrusted my child to did not return even after the agreed time.
Luckily, I had a dentist appointment scheduled for the weekend. Since she had said she would be back in about an hour, I decided to delay my return a little. How will my husband react?
To be continued in [Episode 4].
Original article: MamaStar Community Script: Watanabe Tae Illustration: Yoshihana Editing: Tsukada Moe