How Envy Sounds

“Did you hear her again today?”

“Yes.”

“Talking about her husband like he’s a prize.”

“She always does.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“How someone that young can be married and that happy.”

“She’s twenty-five.”

“Exactly.”

“That’s young.”

“Too young to be that sure.”

“She thinks she’s sure.”

“That’s what bothers me.”

“She walks around smiling like nothing bad has ever happened.”

“It’s fake.”

“I don’t know.”

“Nobody is that happy for real.”

“She talks about her life like it’s perfect.”

“And she makes it sound easy.”

“Nothing is easy.”

“Especially marriage.”

“You remember your first year.”

“I remember wanting to run.”

“Same.”

“So when she talks like that, it feels wrong.”

“She doesn’t complain.”

“That’s another thing.”

“Everyone complains.”

“But her.”

“She just says positive things.”

“Positive things get on my nerves.”

“She was talking about a trip they’re planning.”

“Already?”

“Yes.”

“Must be nice to have money like that.”

“She said they saved.”

“Everyone says that.”

“She said they work as a team.”

“Give it time.”

“That’s what I think.”

“Time shows everything.”

“She doesn’t see that yet.”

“She thinks love fixes everything.”

“She said they talk things out.”

“That won’t last.”

“No.”

“Men get tired.”

“They do.”

“And women get tired too.”

“Yes.”

“She hasn’t reached that part.”

“She just got married.”

“That’s the honeymoon phase.”

“She says she feels lucky.”

“Luck runs out.”

“She brought it up again in the break room.”

“Of course she did.”

“She said he made her coffee before work.”

“So?”

“That’s not special.”

“It’s basic.”

“Exactly.”

“But she talks about it like it’s rare.”

“She hasn’t been disappointed yet.”

“Once that happens, she’ll calm down.”

“She’ll stop talking so much.”

“She’ll stop smiling.”

“She won’t glow like that.”

“That glow is annoying.”

“It makes people uncomfortable.”

“Like she’s showing off.”

“She doesn’t say it but it feels like it.”

“Like she’s saying we did something wrong.”

“Yes.”

“Like if she can be happy we should have been too.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Life doesn’t work like that.”

“No.”

“Some of us tried harder.”

“And still ended up here.”

“Exactly.”

“She asked me if I was okay.”

“I hate when she does that.”

“It feels fake.”

“It feels like pity.”

“She says it nicely.”

“Nice doesn’t mean honest.”

“I told her I was tired.”

“Everyone is tired.”

“She said she hopes things get better.”

“See?”

“That tone.”

“Like she knows something we don’t.”

“She doesn’t.”

“She thinks she does.”

“She hasn’t lived enough.”

“Marriage hasn’t tested her.”

“Work hasn’t tested her.”

“Kids will test her.”

“That’s true.”

“Let’s see how happy she is then.”

“She won’t have time to smile.”

“She won’t talk about coffee and trips.”

“She’ll talk about bills.”

“And stress.”

“And fights.”

“And silence.”

“She’ll learn.”

“They always learn.”

“She’ll stop sharing.”

“She’ll stop bringing cookies.”

“She’ll stop saying she’s grateful.”

“That word bothers me.”

“Grateful?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it sounds like she’s winning.”

“She’s not winning.”

“Nobody wins.”

“Everyone just survives.”

“Exactly.”

“She thinks happiness stays.”

“It doesn’t.”

“It comes and goes.”

“Mostly goes.”

“She doesn’t know that yet.”

“She will.”

“When?”

“Sooner than she thinks.”

“And then what?”

“She’ll be quieter.”

“She’ll fit in.”

“She’ll understand us.”

“She won’t talk so much.”

“She won’t smile like that.”

“And then?”

“Then she’ll stop standing out.”

“And we won’t have to hear about it.”

“Finally.”

“Finally.”