Hold on, love! Youre in a different household now, and you must respect their way of doing things. You didnt just drop in for a visit, you married into this family. What way of doing things, Mother? Everyone here is a nightmare, especially my motherinlaw. She hates me, plain as day! Have you ever heard of a motherinlaw being kind?
Out on the town! Shes out all the time! Sylvia Preston stood in the middle of the kitchen, her face flushed with fury, eyes blazing. If a man goes out, the woman is to blame. Do you expect me to explain everything to you again?
The motherinlaw was a hurricane, shouting at her daughterinlaw Evelyn as if shed lost her mind. All because Evelyn had suspected her own husband, Martin, of being unfaithful.
Evelyn, a young, delicate woman with wide, naïve eyes, pressed herself against the wall, trying to calm the enraged woman.
Sylvia, this is absurd. He has a family, children Evelyn began, but Sylvia snapped her hand away like swatting a bothersome fly. Is that family you speak of? Or the child who wont let us near? she sneered. Your upbringing, by the way!
What upbringing, Sylvia? Tommys only turned one. Hes still a baby. Evelyn whispered.
A baby? the woman twisted her face. The Evans boy is even younger. Hes still learning to walk, not yet repeating anything, just like you. she gestured toward the nursery.
Hes your grandson, Evelyn replied, her voice trembling. And children sense bad people. Perhaps thats why he stays away from you.
Bad people? Youre a painted goat! the motherinlaw shrieked. And whose charity do you live on? Whose groceries do you eat? Whose money do you spend? Ungrateful!
Evelyn stopped arguing with her volatile motherinlaw. She had begged Martin a thousand times to move out of his parents house, but Martin, a pampered son, saw no need. He liked living under his parents roof, feeling as safe as a lamb in its mother’s fold. He went to work calmly while the elderly handled washing, cleaning, cookingmore a fairy tale than a life.
Meanwhile, Sylvia pressed Evelyn with endless questions, trying to dominate every conversation. At first Evelyn tried to be helpfultidying, supporting, even listening to Sylvias endless complaints about neighbours and the world. But she soon realised it was all for naught.
No matter how dutiful Evelyn tried to be, she loathed Sylvia and made no effort to hide it.
I brought this sorry girl into the house because there werent any proper girls left, Sylvia told her neighbour while Evelyn stood at the back of the house, gathering the toys Martin had scattered, hearing everything.
She even drove to the next village just to escape! Our own mums are far betterhardworking, clever. gushed Mrs. Maud, the village gossip.
And dont you start! Mauds friend, old Mrs. Harris, added, already having heard every rumor in the parish.
I understand you cant do much, Sylvia. Your hands just arent meant for this sort of work. Nothing you do will set things right. Maud lamented.
You have no idea! Nothing can be trusted to her. Shell lose it or break it. And that child of hers not right at all. Maud continued.
The Evans boy is a different story, calm and clever. This one keeps rehearsing, whining. Must be the genes. Maud concluded.
When life became unbearable, Evelyn called her mother in the neighboring village, venting tears and complaints. Her mother replied:
Hold on, dear! Youre now in another family; you must respect their ways. You married, you didnt just pay a visit.
What ways, Mother? Theyre all lunatics here! Especially the motherinlaw! She hates me, its obvious!
Have you ever heard of a kind motherinlaw? We all went through this, and youll have to too. The key is not to show youre suffering. Endure.
Knowing she couldnt win over her timid, indecisive mother, Evelyn threatened to call her father.
Dont you dare threaten dad! You know his conditional sentence. One step too far and theyll slam him behind bars! her mother shrank back.
Evelyn understood. Her father, Harry, loved his only daughter fiercely. Hed received a suspended sentence for a brawl hed started after someone insulted Evelyn in the village shop. He wouldnt stay silent if he learned how his beloved daughter was being tormented in another family. He was a hottempered man.
I wont tell dad, Evelyn said. But if they keep this up, if Sylvia behaves like this I dont know what Ill do.
Everything will sort itself, sweetheart, her mother soothed. In a few weeks you wont even remember this conversation.
Evelyn hoped to forget, but the relationship with Sylvia only worsened. Sylvia seemed convinced Evelyn was the source of all her woes. Even her husband, George Preston, a weary old man, could no longer bear it.
Why are you always shouting at her? George tried to intervene one morning as the argument peaked. Shell leave us! And rightly so!
Ill send her away! Sylvia snapped, directing all her venom at George. Ill take her to court, demand every pound weve spent over the years back! Ill even snatch the child so she wont be raised in this wretched family!
Evelyn knew Sylvias words were nonsense, yet fear still gripped her. She still loved Martin.
Rumours that Martin was secretly seeing his exgirlfriend Oksana turned out to be nothing more than village gossip, spread by old women like Sylvia.
How long would Sylvias torment last if not for her sharp tongue? One brighteyed morning, after a victory over Evelyn, she bragged about her exploits to her best friend, Maud, embellishing each detail, then passed the tale to another neighbour and even to her husband. The story of the unruly daughterinlaw and her harsh motherinlaw eventually reached Evelyns father.
Harry, a hulking man over two metres tall with broad shoulders, thought quickly. He grabbed his axestill stained from chopping firewoodslipped on his worn leather jacket, mounted his old Norton Commando, and without a word to his wife, rode to the neighboring village to rescue his daughter.
Meanwhile, in Sylvias house a real scandal erupted. The young mother left baby Tommy for a moment on a brandnew, bright orange sofa to fetch a fresh diaper. When she returned, a small brown stain marked the fabric. To Sylvia, that stain swelled like a black hole ready to swallow the whole room.
She stormed in like a thunderclap, eyes wild, and roared at Evelyn.
Youve ruined my sofa! My favourite! Do you know how much it cost? Ill tear your arms off and stitch them back where they belong so you wont ever bite!
Ill fix it, Ill clean it, Evelyn tried to calm her, hands trembling as she grabbed a cloth.
What will you clean? Its brand new! How would you even know? You never buy anything yourself!
And you think youre better because youve always lived off your husbands wages? Evelyn snapped, finally daring to speak. Look at her! Enough of this insolence!
Sylvias face flushed deep red.
Now wipe that stain, then march out with your son! Youll stay here and rot until you learn some manners!
Evelyn, tears streaming, tried to scrub the stubborn brown mark, the fabric refusing to give, as if mocking her helplessness. Little Tommy wailed, his cries amplifying the tension in the cramped living room.
Sylvia continued hurling vulgarities, completely oblivious to the figure that appeared in the doorway. It was Harry, Evelyns father, standing like a statue, axe handle gripped firmly.
For a heartbeat Sylvia sensed his presence, turned, and her eyes landed on the axe.
She knew all too well how hottempered Harry was, and she remembered his suspended term. Fear raced down her spine.
Realising the gravity of the situation, Sylvia tried to keep her composure, voice trembling.
Oh, hello, Harry! Im just raising your Evelyn
Ive heard how youre raising her, Harry growled, stepping into the room barefoot.
He lifted the axe over his head, forcing Sylvia to flinch and step back. Instead of a swing, he rested the axe on his shoulder and reached for his daughter.
Come on, Evelyn, youve got no business staying here, he said, guiding her toward the door.
Wait! Sylvia, regaining a sliver of control, shouted. What will I tell my son?
Let your son come to me himself, if he wants. Ill speak with him like a man, Harry replied with a cold, icy stare that said more than any words.
Harry carried Evelyn and baby Tommy out. Martin, who had long avoided returning for fear of confronting his fatherinlaw, finally gathered his courage.
Harry sat Martin down, his voice calm but firm, axe resting on the table as a silent weight. He promised that Martin would live separately with Evelyn, that his mother would no longer meddle, and that he would protect his wife and child at all costs.
When Harry shook Martins hand, the younger man felt the seriousness of the offer; jokes with this ironwilled man were no longer possible.
From that day on, Sylvia avoided Evelyn and the grandson. She no longer spoke to them, not even a nod when crossing the lane.
Martin and Evelyn moved into their own cottage. Harmony returned. Whether it was the old mans advice or true love that guided them, they finally found peace.
