My soon-to-be wife and I had only been together a little less than a year. When I first met her mother, I had no inkling how wary and cold she would become towards both me and our little girl, who was born on time after we married. The difficulty was that our baby arrived as the picture of a classic English rose: golden hair, deep blue eyes, while I myself have dark features, as does my younger brother.
While my wife and baby were still in the hospital, my mother-in-law rang to offer her congratulations, eager at last to meet her granddaughter. We arranged a visit, but when she arrived, her face became frosty and distant. Right there in the hospital reception, she asked outright, Well then, are you sure you had the right baby?
The nurses looked on, startled; my mother-in-law glared at me expectantly. Flustered, I assured her there had been no mix-up Id been with the baby the entire time.
She didnt say more then, though suspicion was written all over her face. But once at home, as my wife and I tended to our daughter, she couldnt hold her tongue: Thats not your child, have you lost your mind?
I was taken aback, frozen for a moment, as she continued her barrage: She looks nothing like you, nothing like her mother eitherthink for yourself, why do you think that is? Clearly, she must have a different father!
Without a second thought, I stood up for my wife and firmly showed my mother-in-law to the door. I felt crushed. We had anticipated this day for so long, the pregnancy hadnt been simple, but our daughter was born well and strong. Ill never forget the laughter of the doctor when she was born: What a little songbird youve got, lungs on her are splendid!
I remember smiling as my daughter was swaddled and placed in my wifes arms, and we were wheeled away to their room. In the days before they came home, Id pictured a happy family gathering, a proper English celebration, only for a quarrel to disrupt it all.
After my mother-in-laws departure, I did my best to reassure my wife. We tried to settle down and have a cup of tea together, but the mood was thoroughly ruined. It seemed my mother-in-law had become a different person; even though her own son refused to side with her, she didnt let up. She phoned my wife relentlessly, and her rare visits were laced with nasty remarks aimed at us and the little one. She never picked up her granddaughter, always tried to get my wife alone, and never stopped pressing for a paternity test and a proper look at the child. Her accusations carried on loudly enough for me to hear from the next room.
I kept telling my mother-in-law that she was being absurd and that I had no doubts the child was mine. She just laughed at my confidence: Well then, lets prove it!
Eventually, in the middle of one of her tirades in the kitchen, my wife had enough. She interrupted: If you want to know so badly, lets do the test. Perhaps we can get the result nicely framed for you to hang over your bed!
My mother-in-law glared at her, words failing her, but my wifes sarcasm wasnt lost on anyone.
We went ahead with the test despite it all. I didnt even bother to read the result, knowing what it would say, but my mother-in-law looked over the paper and handed it back without comment. I couldn’t resist, So, what sort of frame would you prefer oak, or mahogany?
My mother-in-law shot back, Shes mocking me! You probably paid off the clinic for this! Look at my younger brothers child, dark-haired and similar eyes, its obvious hes family!
Despite her demands, the test didnt change a thing. The battles continued. Five years seemed to slip by in a haze of family squabbles. Around then, I found out my wife was pregnant again. Three months later, my brothers wife also announced she was expecting. We had always got on well with my brothers family, and they could only shrug when my mother-in-law started up her conspiracies again.
This time, my brother and his wife had a girl. We gathered to meet their new daughter at the hospital, and when I peeked at the little one wrapped in blankets, I nearly laughed aloud. She looked completely like our own daughter as a baby! Everyone was puzzled at my reaction until I joked, So, shall we ask you who fathered this one then?
Everyone quickly caught on, most joining in the laugh apart from my mother-in-law, who turned a shade of red Id not seen before. She had nothing left to say. That moment marked the start of change in our relationship. It began quietly: she simply ceased her snide remarks. Then, one afternoon, I found her playing dolls with my daughter, and realised the frost had started to thaw.
Now, my daughter is her pride and joy, lovingly called our little treasure and my sweet berry. My mother-in-law cant help but spoil her with gifts, as if shes making up for years of tension. I hold no anger towards her, but like they say, sometimes theres still a bit of a sting left behind. Maybe, given time, that too will disappear.
