To Room Nineteen

“They were a tax-paying, debt-paying, balanced, sane, reasonable couple.”

Susan and Matthew seem to have everything right. They have the house and the garden and the perfect marriage. It makes you wonder why having it all feels like having nothing.

“She must have a room, or at least a place of her own.”

The way Susan needs her own room is so visceral. It is not about luxury. She just wants to exist without being someone's mother or wife for an hour.

“She was being invaded.”

Even when she gets her own space at home, the kids still find her. Total privacy is impossible when people feel they own your time.

“She was mistress of her own time.”

Susan starts lying about where she goes just to sit in a cheap hotel room. It is the only place where she does not have to be useful.