“Don’t you dare speak about my mother like that!” David slammed his fist on the table, making the teacups rattle. “She spends her whole life trying for us!”
“Trying?” Emily whirled around from the stove, brandishing a ladle. “Your mum took the keys again and just showed up without warning! I was in my dressing gown, hair a mess! And she starts lecturing me about tidiness!”
“What’s got into you? You used to adore Helen Margaret!”
“I was a naive fool back then!” Emily’s voice trembled with anger. “I thought, ‘What a wonderful mother-in-law I’ve got.’ Turns out, she’s just watching my every move!”
Helen Margaret paused on the kitchen threshold, overhearing. In her hands was a bag of scones – baked that morning to cheer them. Her heart clenched painfully. Was she truly in the way? Did Emily really despise her so much?
“Mum?” David turned, spotting her in the doorway. “How long have you been there?”
“I…” Helen Margaret glanced bewildered between her daughter-in-law and her son. “Brought scones. Cheese and onion, your favourites.”
Emily turned back towards the stove, shoulders rigid. A heavy, awkward silence hung in the air.
“Mum, come in,” David reached for a chair. “Have some tea.”
“No, I’d… better just go home,” Helen said softly, placing the bag on the table. “Seems I’ve come at a bad time.”
She turned and hurried towards the door, fighting back tears. Muffled voices – David and Emily – followed her, but she couldn’t bear to make out the words.
At home, Helen sat by the window with a cooling cup of tea. How had it come to this? When David first brought Emily home, she’d instantly liked the girl. So sweet, modest, with kind eyes. Emily had seemed sincere then, calling her ‘Mum’, asking for household advice.
Now? Was she really interfering? Perhaps she did pop round too often? But they lived just across the green! And she longed to see her grandson, her little William.
The phone rang that evening. Emily.
“Helen Margaret, may I come over? Alone?”
“Of course, dear. Come.”
Emily arrived flushed and tearful. She sat opposite Helen, hands clenched in fists.
“I wanted to apologise,” she began haltingly. “For this morning… In front of David… I shouldn’t have.”
“Emily, what’s really wrong?” Helen leaned closer. “What’s upset you so?”
“Everything piled up,” Emily wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Talk of redundancies at work, not sure if I’ll keep my job. William’s been poorly three weeks, doctors aren’t clear. David… he doesn’t see how strung out I am. Work, the house, a child… Then you visit, and I’m unprepared, not put together…”
“Oh, my dear,” Helen moved next to her, putting an arm around Emily’s shoulders. “Why fret about the house? I’m not some distant relative, I’m family.”
“That’s just it,” Emily choked out a sob. “You’re the perfect homemaker. Your place is always tidy, you cook beautifully. Next to you, I feel useless.”
Helen stared at her, astonished.
“Emily, what nonsense! Useless? You’re a wonderful wife and mother. The house? Who cares about the house when a child is ill and work is hanging by a thread?”
“Truly, you don’t mind?” Emily lifted her tear-filled eyes.
“Mind? Of course not, love. I went through it myself bringing David up. I remember when he had the chickenpox, fever raged, I didn’t sleep for a week. My mother-in-law arrived, saw unwashed dishes, and started nagging. It still stings.”
Emily managed a small smile for the first time in weeks.
“I thought you were judging me. Thinking ‘Look how she lives, house neglected, doesn’t feed her husband properly…’”
“Good heavens,” Helen shook her head. “I just wanted to help. Bake scones so you wouldn’t have to cook. Mind William while you ran errands. Turns out, I was just intruding.”
“You weren’t,” Emily said softly. “I was the fool. Wound up tight, and took it out on you.”
“Here,” Helen stood, heading to the kitchen. “Let’s have a proper cuppa with some Victoria sponge. Tell me about work. Might think of something.”
They sat talking until midnight. Emily poured out her work anxieties, her fears about William, her exhaustion from the endless rush. Helen listened, nodding, offering gentle observations.
“You know,” she said thoughtfully. “I have a friend in the County Council. Might be she could suggest something, should the worst happen.”
“Really?” Emily perked up.
“Certainly. I’ll ring Margaret tomorrow, see what positions might be open.”
When Emily left, their hug felt different. Warmer. Familial.
“Helen Margaret, could William and I come round tomorrow? I’ve an interview; awkward bringing him.”
“Why ever ask? Bring him, of course. We’ll have a lovely time.”
David was surprised when his wife returned home cheerful.
“Where were you?” he asked, eyes on the telly.
“At your mother’s,” Emily sat beside him, taking his hand. “David, forgive me for this morning. I was wrong.”
“Forget it,” he shrugged. “These things happen.”
“No. Your mum is pure gold. I was stressed, took it out on her.”
True to her word, Helen called her friend, who agreed to see Emily. A week later, Emily had a job offer from a nearby primary school.
“Can you imagine, the salary’s even better than my old job!” Emily told Helen joyfully. “Close to home, convenient hours.”
“There, you see? All’s well that ends well,” Helen smiled. “And you were worried.”
Something shifted between them from then on. Emily began visiting Helen not just out of need, but to talk. Helen stopped dropping in unexpectedly, ringing first.
“Emily, dear, am I interrupting if I come by this evening? Wanted to read William his new book.”
“Of course. I’ve just baked a sponge, we’ll have tea.”
One day, Emily arrived looking troubled.
“Helen Margaret, could I ask your advice?”
“What’s wrong, dear?”
“Had a row with David. Out with his mates again till all hours, me stuck home with William. Told him family should come first. He snaps back that he works like a dog, deserves a break.”
Helen poured tea, thoughtful.
“You know, Emily, men are like that. You have to explain, not accuse. David’s a good man, but doesn’t always grasp his wife needs support too.”
“How not accuse him when he rolls home at two AM?”
“Try a different way. Say you’ve missed him, want some time together. Not as criticism, but a request.”
“Think it’ll work?”
“Try. If not, I’ll have words,” Helen winked.
Days later, Emily returned beaming.
“It worked! Told him I missed his attention, wanted us to spend more time as a family. He didn’t argue! Agreed to spend weekends with us instead.”
“See?” Helen nodded, satisfied. “It’s all in the approach.”
Gradually, Emily shared everything with Helen Margaret: work woes, worries about William, personal matters. Her mother-in-law always listened, gave sound counsel, and crucially, never judged.
When William started
When William excelled academically under Helen Margaret’s patient guidance, Emily silently vowed to honour their cherished bond for the rest of her days.
