A change in placement, pattern or taste would have been welcome. She was tempted to add some new seasonings in the tray several times.
But one had to follow a set of rules in that house. There were things titled “I just love this”, and others were “Yuck”. No middle ground was ever visualised or attempted. The ‘good taste’ extended to nursery print pyjamas for a 63-year old, and total dependence on butter, jam and ketchup to flavour unimaginatively cooked food.
It was the house of a narcissist, as she was enlightened much later after reading on the subject.
Creative Experiments and More 
Often those types of maladies are explained in retrospect, especially if you’ve never come up against anything like it before. I like your afterword to that effect in the story.
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I read up a lot on the subject. Most of the pop psychologists conclude a narcissist does not change. One just has to get out of their shadows to survive.
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Good way of putting it, Reena, to get out of their shadow to survive.
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“MY way or NO way!” Exactly right!
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Thank you, Linda!
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Thankfully, this not something I’ve not had to witness nor endure at close quarters. Disturbing.
Here’s mine!
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Thank you, Keith!
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Narcissism and a little OCD
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I agree. Thanks, Neil!
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Having to live your life according to someone else’s pattern is a prison.
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Certainly! Thanks, Dora!
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A very toxic kind of narcissism on display.
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Narcissism cannot be anything but toxic.
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Reminds me of so much of my life, first with father and then my former husband. You describe it well.
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If it is any consolation, there are so many of this species in the world.
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