“Since you have more money than Lucy, your gifts should reflect that,” grumbled the mother-in-law.
“I have no idea what to get for Mum,” said George thoughtfully, as he flopped onto the sofa next to his wife.
Mary just shrugged in response. Choosing a gift for her mother-in-law had always been a difficult task for her.
From the very beginning, Mary’s relationship with Margaret had been strained.
George recognized his mother’s stance right away, and after discussing with his wife, they decided to keep a polite distance.
Nobody owes anyone anything. Occasional phone calls and shared holidays if both sides were willing—that was the extent of their communication.
This year, Margaret decided to celebrate a special birthday and invited much of the family, including the young couple.
“Mum did say she’d appreciate any gift,” George recalled suddenly.
“She always says that and then turns her nose up at it,” Mary replied, frowning at the memories. “Your sister could gift her just about anything, but not us!”
Mary vividly remembered how Margaret would criticize every single gift they gave.
“Remember Mother’s Day? We got her a luxurious, expensive cosmetics set, and what was her reaction? Tears and complaints that we think she’s old and unattractive,” Mary sighed thoughtfully. “When has she ever appreciated any of our gifts? Only the ones like gold or electronics, things she could value monetarily.”
“Should I just call her and ask about the gift?” George asked hesitantly.
“Do whatever you think is best,” Mary said, shaking her head.
George, wanting to take the easier route, finally dialed his mother, hoping to find out what gift she might actually want.
“Son, I don’t need anything. Just having you visit is gift enough,” said Margaret shyly.
“Mum, are you sure? You won’t be upset later?” George asked quickly.
“Of course not! I’d be happy with a trinket,” laughed Margaret, and George decided to heed her words.
“Mum said we could give her whatever we like,” George told his wife.
Mary looked at him skeptically. She didn’t really trust Margaret’s words.
However, since George insisted on choosing the gift for his mother, Mary relented.
“Let’s get her a robot vacuum cleaner, so she doesn’t have to run around with a vacuum hose,” Mary suggested after considering their budget.
The couple agreed on this. They bought Margaret a gift for five hundred pounds and, feeling at ease, headed to the celebration.
The birthday girl greeted her son and daughter-in-law with delight, which quickly faded upon seeing the vacuum cleaner box.
“Why would you?” she grumbled with a heavy sigh. “Son, take it to the other room.”
Mary was taken aback for a few moments, noticing that Margaret didn’t appreciate their gift.
Right after, George’s sister and her husband entered. She flung her arms around her mother and cheerfully exclaimed, “Mum, this is for you!”
“Thank you, dear! You just knew!” Margaret exclaimed, hugging her daughter.
Mary grew curious about what extravagant gift the sister had brought to make their mother so happy.
To her surprise, she saw Lucy had given her mother a regular cosmetics set from a shop, worth just a few pounds.
Mary glanced at George, who also saw what Lucy had gifted Margaret.
From George’s expression, Mary could tell he was quite unhappy with how his mother reacted to their gift.
Hours passed as he held back, but when Margaret began praising Lucy’s gift again, he lost his temper.
“Mum, can we talk?” George called his mother aside.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, coming over to her son. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes, Mum! I asked you about a gift, remember what you told me?” George said, his voice filled with reproach.
“Yes, I remember.”
“Then why did you react so unhappily to our gift? Yet you can’t stop praising a cheap shop set,” George spoke with frustration. “Don’t tell me I imagined it.”
“I won’t. You have more money than Lucy, so your gifts should be better,” Margaret grumbled.
“And what do you think we give? Cheap ones? Do we need to attach a receipt to every gift to make you happy?” George asked, frowning.
“Oh, come on,” the woman clearly wanted to drop the topic. “What can I do if I liked Lucy’s gift more?”
“Because you don’t know the price of ours?” George asked sarcastically. “If you want to know, it cost five hundred pounds!”
“That much?” Margaret exclaimed in feigned surprise, but then realized how to escape this awkward situation.
“You know why I praise gifts from your sister’s family more? Because they give according to their means, but you just do it half-heartedly,” Margaret unexpectedly blurted out.
“Mum, are you serious?” George exclaimed, holding his head.
“Do I look like I’m joking? With your salaries, you could’ve gifted me a holiday in a spa,” she said, lifting her head haughtily.
George was so stunned by his mother’s words, he just stared at her for a few seconds without blinking.
“Do you really think money falls from the sky for Mary and me every day?” George’s voice finally broke through.
The commotion brought Mary and Lucy to the doorway, both shocked by the argument.
Lucy, quicker on the uptake than Mary, realized what the argument was about and sided with her mother right away.
“Mum didn’t want your robot vacuum. She wanted a humidifier. Her old one broke three days ago. If you cared at all, you would’ve known that,” Lucy chided.
“I asked her about the gift!” George gritted his teeth. “Are you making fun of me? From now on, no more gifts! We bend over backward to please you, and still, you criticize us! A robot vacuum isn’t good enough, you demand a humidifier! Sorry we couldn’t meet your expectations! We’re leaving!” he barked and turned to Mary.
Margaret burst into tears, and as Lucy comforted her, George and Mary left, their faces set in stone.
George kept his promise to his mother. To avoid buying anything and feeling foolish, he decided never to attend family celebrations again, thus sparing his nerves.
