I'll Survive

I thought Val would return in a couple of days, but she didn't. After three days I called her sister Anne and was told that Val didn't want to speak to me. Carol was only ten then, but she was quite mature, so I told her that she had to take charge of things around the house and that she should make sure that Juliet pitched in.
“You let me know if she causes you any trouble at all, eh?” Carol was a sensible kid. I knew I could trust her. Patrick was seven at the time, and I couldn't expect much from a lad that age, but he did muck in. He cleaned the kitchen. He washed the dishes. He vacuumed the rooms and made the beds. Somehow we managed to get by. We did have to eat a few disaster meals, but that was really no different from when Val was cooking. The kids looked after the house and I went out to work, brought home the money, paid the bills, and tried to show the kids that it was possible to survive and be happy without their bloody mother.