“We really need your help! You simply have to help us!” my motherinlaw shouted.
“What on earth is happening?” I thought, reluctantly pulling myself out from under the warm blanket.
It was Saturday. James had driven to his mother’s flat in Croydon to lend a handshe couldn’t even manage to defrost her fridge on her own. He returned far too quickly, and that set my nerves on edge.
“Where are you? Come in, you guests!” I heard my motherinlaw’s voice through the halfsleep.
“What is she doing here?” I wondered, dragging myself out of the covers with great reluctance.
It turned out my motherinlaw wasn’t the only visitor. Behind her emerged James’s nephews, the sons of his sister. James stood silent, his eyes heavy with guilt.
“Move along!” my motherinlaw commanded the boys. “And you, go help with the move! They’re getting paid by the hourunpack everything and bring it in!”
The boys started darting around the flat. James slipped out, and my motherinlaw pulled me into a hug.
“Come, we need to talk,” she whispered.
I was still dazed by the sudden awakening. I couldn’t make sense of why my husband’s nephews were in our flat, why my motherinlaw had appeared, and who was supposed to be moving in. I didn’t like what was happening at all. She switched on the kettle and asked:
“Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee,” I answered, surprised at my own response.
Her behaviour was oddly conspiratorial. She rarely spoke to me, and when she did, it was usually to insult or belittle me.
“Whatever do you want?” I asked her sharply.
Before she could answer, the sharp sound of shattering glass echoed through the hallway. My motherinlaw and I rushed into the living room, where the boys stood beside a broken vase.
“Stop that right now! Turn the TV on, sit on the sofa, and watch the cartoons!” she shouted. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Grandma, we understand!” the boys chorused before sprinting into another room.
After the chaos settled, we walked into the kitchen, only for the front door to swing open.
“Where are we supposed to put the bed?” someone asked.
“Right there,” James replied.
I stepped outside to see what was going on. There was no full bed in sightjust the dismantled pieces of a childrens bunk bed that had belonged to James’s sister’s kids, the same lads who had just smashed my favourite vase.
“What’s happening?” I demanded.
“Don’t worry! Ethels been in hospital for a month or two, and my mum cant cope with the grandchildren, so they’ll stay with us for now,” my motherinlaw said.
“Which hospital is Ethel in? Is her condition only treatable at a specialist centre in London?” I asked.
She looked taken aback. I pulled out my phone and opened Ethels Facebook page, scrolling through pictures of her on a plane and later lounging on a beach.
“In the hospital? Id be in a hospital like that too, not just once a year!” I snapped.
“You see, Ethel left her children, found a man, packed her bags, and went abroad,” my motherinlaw retorted.
“Why are you lying to me?” I snapped, hurt.
“We hope Ethel will come to her senses and return,” she said.
“Will you agree to take the children, then?” James interjected.
“And who thinks that? These kids are impossible! They’ll tear the whole flat apart! Who will compensate me?” my motherinlaw shouted.
“Were family and we need help! You only think about money!” she blamed.
“Since when am I part of your family?” I shouted back. “You called me nothing. What changed? If youd asked me, I might have helped, but youve been lying all along. I wont help you or your daughter who has humiliated me for years! Take your grandchildren, your bunk bed, and get out of here right now!”
“How can you do that?” James asked, stunned.
“I can! This is my parents flat! I decide who lives here and what happens. Do you remember how my mother and sister used to throw dirt at me? How Ethel taught her children to mock me? Their kids will never live in my flat! They have a grandmother and a father! You have fifteen minutes to gather the children and their belongings and leave!”
James left with his mother and the nephews. He never returned. The only thing he sent was a text saying I was a huge disappointment. Im glad he went and never came back. I have no desire to keep any ties with him or his family.
Sometimes the only way to protect your own worth is to walk away from those who would use you, even if it means losing the people you once loved.
