An Inheritance from the Ex-Husband or a Surprise from the Mother-in-Law
As a parting gift from her husbandwhose drinking had turned their marriage sourHelen found herself responsible for caring for his ageing mother. Theyve been divorced for ten years now, not just because of his addiction, but also due to his violent outbursts. Years ago, theyd both cut all ties. Their only son, Mark, is now married and settled in another city. He wants nothing to do with his father, and frankly, his father never showed much interest in him either.
Now, one quiet Sunday morning, Helen receives a call with the unpleasant news: her ex-husband has passed away. With no one else willing to arrange the funeral, Helen and her son took on all the preparations and gave him a respectable burial.
But his frail, irritable mother was left behind. What on earth should they do with her? If only she had been easy-going, but shed never been anything but trouble as long as Helen had known her. Living alone in a small house on the outskirts of town, shed always been more burden than help.
After the funeral, Mark returned home to his own family, and the responsibility of caring for the cantankerous grandmother fell entirely on Helens shoulders.
Theres not much Helen can do, but she visits a few times a week, brings groceriesnever quite the right ones, as her former mother-in-law never fails to complain, though she eats them all the same. She even tries to chop wood for the old woman, a tiring task that leaves her exhausted. Still, Helen cannot bring herself to just abandon someone so helpless.
This continues for three months, until the old lady passes away peacefully. Only then does Helen learn, while sorting through the paperwork, that her former mother-in-law has left her the house and a tidy sum of money saved over the years in her will. So there it isgratitude, at last, where you least expected to find it.
