Shadowing Practice: Learn English with Story ⭐ The Pink Pills | English Audio Podcast | Level 3 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B1
I wasn't supposed to find it.
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I wasn't supposed to find it.
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That's the thing about secrets.
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They don't announce themselves.
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They just sit there, quiet,
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waiting, until one ordinary Tuesday turns your whole world upside down.
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It started like every other morning.
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I was looking for Advil when I found them.
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That's the truth.
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Nothing dramatic, nothing planned.
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I had a headache from three hours of homework,
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and I was digging through my mom's bathroom cabinet because ours was empty.
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Just a normal Tuesday afternoon in our house in Columbus,
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Ohio, sunlight coming through the frosted window,
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the neighbor's dog barking somewhere outside,
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the smell of mom's lavender soap filling the small room.
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The cabinet was a mess,
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the way it always was.
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Band-aids mixed with hair ties,
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old cough syrup from last winter, a broken nail file.
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I pushed things aside, looking for the little orange Advil bottle.
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Then I saw them.
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A small white packet, thin and flat,
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like the kind you slide out of a cardboard box.
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It had a circle of tiny pink pills pressed into plastic bubbles.
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most of them still there, a few missing.
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Each bubble had a small number printed next to it.
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Days of the week were printed along the top.
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Mun, tu, wed.
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I knew what they were immediately.
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We learned about them in health class freshman year.
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Birth control pills, contraceptives.
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I stood there, holding the packet in my hand.
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My name is Jenna.
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I'm 16.
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And the woman who owns this bathroom is my mother,
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Carol Hartwell, 43 years old,
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a pediatric nurse, a woman who goes to church every Sunday,
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who has a framed quote on the kitchen wall that says, family is everything.
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A woman who has been a widow for four years,
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ever since my father died from a sudden heart attack when I was 12.
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My mother, who is, as far as I have ever known, completely alone.
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I put the packet back exactly where I found it.
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I never did find the Advil.
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I walked out of the bathroom,
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went to my room, and closed the door quietly.
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The way you close a door when you're trying not to disturb something fragile.
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I sat on my bed and stared at the wall.
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The problem was not the pills themselves.
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I'm not naive.
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I know what birth control is for.
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I know adults have private lives.
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The problem was the silence.
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My mother and I talk about everything.
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That is what we do.
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That is what we became after dad died.
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just the two of us in this four-bedroom house that always feels slightly too big.
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We dinner together every night.
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We watch Grey's Anatomy on Thursday evenings.
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She reads my essays before I turn them in.
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I tell her when I'm stressed about school.
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She tells me when work is hard.
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Or at least I thought she told me.
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But she had not told me about this.
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Which meant there was someone,
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a man, someone real enough,
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serious enough, that my 43 year old mother,
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who wore her wedding ring until just last year,
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was taking a daily pill because of him.
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And she had said absolutely nothing.
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I heard her car pull into the driveway at 547, same as always.
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I heard the front door open.
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I heard her set her keys on the little hook by the entrance,
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the hook my dad installed the first year they were married.
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Jenna, she called up the stairs.
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Her voice was warm, easy, normal.
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Yeah, Mom, I answered.
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My voice was steady.
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I was proud of that.
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I'm making pasta tonight, okay?
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Okay, I said.
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I heard her move into the kitchen, humming quietly to herself.
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and I sat there in my room wondering who my mother really was.
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I didn't go downstairs for dinner right away.
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I sat on my bed for 20 minutes and I did what I always do when something is bothering me.
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I thought it through, carefully,
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like a problem I could solve if I just organized the pieces correctly.
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Okay, Jenna, think.
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My mother was 43.
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She'd been married to my father,
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Robert Hartwell, for 18 years before he died.
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They met in college, Ohio State, 1998.
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She was 20, he was 22.
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They married young, had me young,
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and by every measure I had ever seen, they were happy.
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Not perfect, but genuinely happy.
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Dad used to bring her gas station flowers,
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the cheap kind, in plastic wrap,
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and she would put them in her nicest vase like they were roses from a florist.
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After he died, she grieved hard, really hard.
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For the first year, she barely laughed.
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She functioned, she went to work,
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she took care of me,
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she paid the bills, but the light in her was dim.
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I was 12 and scared,
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and I used to lie in bed listening to make sure I could hear her moving around the house,
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just to know she was okay.
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By year two, she got better, slowly.
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She started laughing again at dinner.
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She went back to her book club.
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She redecorated the living room,
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something she said she'd always wanted to do. But she never dated.
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Not once.
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Not in four years.
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I had never seen her look at another man.
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Or so I thought.
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Here is what I pieced together,
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sitting on my bed that Tuesday,
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using everything I knew and everything I had ignored.
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Six months ago, my mom started going to the gym on Saturday mornings.
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I thought nothing of it.
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People joined gyms.
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Five months ago, she bought new clothes.
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Not a lot.
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A few blouses, one nice dress.
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I told her she looked pretty,
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and she smiled and changed the subject.
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Four months ago, she started getting her hair done every six weeks instead of every three months.
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Small thing.
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I noticed.
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I forgot about it.
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Three months ago, she began taking longer on her phone in the evenings.
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Not secretive.
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She wasn't hiding in another room,
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but she'd be sitting on the couch after dinner,
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typing, and when I glanced over,
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she'd just say, book club group chat, and smile.
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I believed her.
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Why wouldn't I?
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Two months ago, she started sleeping slightly better.
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I know because she stopped looking exhausted at breakfast.
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There was color in her face again,
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something lighter in the way she moved around the kitchen.
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One month ago, she started humming.
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I had not heard my mother hum since my father was alive.
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And I, her daughter, the person who knew her better than anyone,
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I looked at all of those small,
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quiet changes and I thought, she's doing well.
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I'm so glad she's doing well.
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I didn't ask.
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I didn't investigate.
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I was so relieved to see her happy that I never stopped to ask why.
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The pills explained the why,
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clearly, completely, without any room for doubt.
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She was seeing someone.
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It was serious enough, consistent enough that she had gone to her doctor and gotten a prescription.
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That takes a deliberate decision.
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You don't do that casually.
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You do that when someone is genuinely part of your life.
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There was a man.
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He had been part of her life for months
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and every single Saturday morning when she told me she was going to the gym,
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every evening she spent on her phone,
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every time she came home with a little more light in her eyes,
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he was the reason.
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She had built an entire secret life.
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Not a shameful one, not a wrong one, but a hidden one. From me.
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That was the part I couldn't get past.
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Not the relationship.
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I wanted my mom to be happy.
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I truly did.
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But the silence, the months of careful,
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deliberate silence from the one person I thought would never keep anything from me.
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Why didn't she trust me enough to tell me?
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Jenna!
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Her voice floated up the stairs again.
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Pasta's ready, honey!
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I stood up.
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I smoothed my shirt.
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I put a normal expression on my face,
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the kind of expression that says everything is fine,
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and I realized with a sharp and uncomfortable clarity that I had learned that skill from her.
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I walked downstairs to have dinner with my mother,
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the woman I thought I knew completely.
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Four days of normal dinners,
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normal conversations, normal Thursday night craze anatomy,
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me, sitting beside her on the couch,
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watching her laugh at the same parts she always laughed at,
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wondering how well I actually knew the woman next to me.
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On Saturday morning, she picked up her gym bag.
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I'll be back by noon,
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she said, keys in hand, smile easy and familiar.
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And something in me just broke open.
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Mom, I said, please don't.
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She stopped, turned around slowly.
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Something shifted in her face.
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Not guilt, exactly, but recognition.
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Like she had been waiting for this moment and was almost relieved it had finally arrived.
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She set her bag down.
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We sat at the kitchen table,
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the same table where we'd eaten a thousand meals,
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done homework, paid bills, pride after Dad's funeral.
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and for a long moment, neither of us spoke.
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How long have you known?
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She asked quietly.
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Four days, I said.
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I found them in the cabinet.
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I was looking for Advil.
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She closed her eyes briefly.
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Then she folded her hands on the table and looked at me directly,
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the way she always taught me to look at people when the conversation matters.
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His name is Daniel.
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Daniel Reeves.
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He's 46.
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He's a physical therapist.
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I met him at the gym.
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Actually at the gym, seven months ago.
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Seven months.
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I had lost count.
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He's kind, Jenna.
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He's patient and funny, and he makes me feel like myself again.
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Her voice was steady, but her eyes were bright.
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Not a replacement for your father.
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Nothing like that.
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Just himself.
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Someone good.
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Then why didn't you tell me?
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I asked.
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My voice came out smaller than I wanted.
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She was quiet for a moment.
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When she spoke, her words were slow and careful.
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chosen, the way a good nurse chooses which truth to deliver and how.
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Because I was scared.
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Not of Daniel, of you,
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of what you might think of me,
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your mother, dating again, moving on.
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I didn't know if you were ready,
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and honestly, I didn't know if I was ready to say it out loud yet.
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Saying it out loud makes it real.
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I would have been okay, I said.
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I would have been happy for you.
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I know that now, she said softly.
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I should have known it then.
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We sat with that for a moment,
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the quiet weight of good intentions that went slightly wrong.
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I want to meet him, I said finally.
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She blinked.
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Really?
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You've been happier for seven months, Mom?
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I noticed.
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I just didn't understand why.
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I looked at her.
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If he's the reason you're homing again,
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then yes, I want to meet him.
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She reached across the table and took my hand.
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Two weeks later, Daniel came for Sunday dinner.
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He brought good wine and complimented our kitchen and nervously knocked over a glass of water in the first 10 minutes,
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which made all three of us laugh and immediately dissolved the tension.
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He was warm, genuine.
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He looked at my mother the way my father used to,
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like she was worth paying attention to.
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He wasn't my dad.
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He wasn't trying to be.
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He was just someone who made her hum again.
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And I understood, sitting at that table,
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watching my mother smile freely for the first time in four years,
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that love doesn't want out.
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It doesn't betray the people we've lost.
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It just continues.
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It finds new rooms to live in,
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careful and quiet, until someone finally opens the door.
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My mother had been protecting me from a truth that would have made me happy,
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and I had been so comfortable in our closeness that I forgot she was also a full human being,
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with her own fears, her own healing,
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her own story still being written.
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We both learned something that Saturday morning at the kitchen table.
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She learned to trust me with her whole life,
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not just the parts she thought I could handle.
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And I learned that the people we love most are never entirely finished surprising us.
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That's not a loss.
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That's the gift.
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Thanks for listening to my story.
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If you liked it, hit that subscribe button,
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drop a comment, and tell me where you're listening from.
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About This Lesson
This lesson focuses on enhancing your English speaking skills through the engaging narrative of Jenna's unexpected discovery in "The Pink Pills." By listening to the audio podcast, learners will practice understanding contextual clues, emotions, and vocabulary associated with personal experiences and family dynamics. Students will also gain insights into using first-person perspectives and emotional expressions effectively, which are crucial for improving your IELTS speaking practice.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Contraceptives - Medications used to prevent pregnancy.
- Ordinary - Common or usual; not unusual.
- Pediatric nurse - A nurse specializing in the care of children.
- Framed quote - A motivational saying presented in an artistic format.
- Widow - A woman whose spouse has passed away.
- Upside down - In a state of confusion or disorder.
- Lavender soap - A fragrant soap often used for relaxation.
- Home environment - The atmosphere and physical conditions in one’s home.
Practice Tips
To effectively practice speaking using this lesson, focus on shadowspeak techniques while listening to the audio. The narrator's pace is moderate, making it easier for learners to follow along. Here are some strategies to improve your English pronunciation:
- Listen carefully: Pay close attention to how the speaker articulates each word. Take note of intonation and emotion, as this will help you express similar sentiments in your own speech.
- Repeat phrases: After listening to a segment, pause the audio and try to repeat exactly what you heard. This shadow speak method will boost your fluency and confidence.
- Record yourself: Use your phone to record your speaking practice. Listening to your own pronunciations will help you identify areas for improvement.
- Focus on emotions: Since the story conveys deep emotions, try to mimic not just the words but also the feelings behind them. This will enhance your ability to convey messages during your IELTS speaking practice.
By incorporating these techniques into your study routine, you will make significant strides in your English speaking capabilities and overall fluency.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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