When Lucas’s mother-in-law Catherine reappears after ten years, he and Emily are left bewildered. However, Emily wants to seize the moment and allow him to meet Allison, their daughter. But things quickly go awry when the couple realise the damage they are doing.
I knew that when I married Emily, her family would leave her. I wasn’t what they expected. I didn’t come from a prominent family, nor did I have a large bank balance.
“I don’t care, Lucas,” Emily said. “They always think they know best, but this time they’re wrong.”
After our wedding, Emily’s parents disappeared from her life, only reappearing to wish her a happy birthday via text or send her a Christmas card with a series of photographs of themselves.
Couple holding hands | Photo: Unsplash
I always wondered if that bothered Emily, after all they were her parents.
“No,” he told me one day when I asked him. “They chose to leave me, not the other way around.”
Ten years have passed, and Emily and I have blossomed. Our careers have taken off, so finances are no longer a concern. And we have a daughter, Allison, who is nine.
Since my parents live in another country and Emily’s parents have disappeared, Allison has only had her parents and our closest friends to rely on.
Until very recently.
Catherine, Emily’s mother, unexpectedly appeared at our door. She was carrying a basket of fruit and a bottle of wine.
Fruit basket | Photo: Pexels
“Emily,” she said after I let her in. “I’m back!”
My wife’s confusion was evident on her face. She continued cutting vegetables for dinner and listened to her mother.
“I left your father,” Catherine said. “I realized that he was the one who was taking me away from you. I shouldn’t have listened to him.”
I took over the cooking and left Emily to take care of her mother. I knew that despite everything my wife had told me over the years, she would not turn her mother away. She missed her more than she could say.
Hours later, Emily and her mother were getting along swimmingly. Catherine’s excitement at seeing Allison seemed healthy, but I couldn’t shake a nagging feeling in my gut.
“Mom,” Emily said to Catherine, “Ali has grown very fond of you. Maybe you could spend more time with her. Take her out for ice cream and maybe even babysit her sometimes?”
Person cutting vegetables | Photo: Pexels
Catherine’s response was unexpected.
“Of course, but you know my time is valuable,” he said smugly.
A few days later, Catherine said she was willing to babysit.
“They can go out for a night or something,” he said, settling into our living room.
We left the house, and Emily was happy and satisfied that her mother was with Allison.
It happened several times in the following weeks. But I noticed that my daughter had become more reserved. When we asked her about her stay with Grandma, she always shook her head.
This was a very different Allison; she used to be a lively little girl who got excited easily and spoke with confidence.
Person with a laundry basket | Photo: Pexels
So, Emily was going through Allison’s room, gathering dirty clothes, when she found a crumpled up piece of paper.
We had just gotten home from an outing with our friends, and Catherine had been keeping an eye on Allison.
“Lucas!” Emily screamed.
I immediately ran upstairs and found Emily staring at the drawing while she rummaged through Allison’s things, looking for the little box where our daughter kept her spending money.
“No way,” Emily said, showing me the drawing.
Allison’s drawing depicted Catherine taking our daughter’s savings money. And we found that the box was almost empty now, with a few dollars folded in one corner.
“Do you think she would?” Emily asked, her eyes wide. “What else would Ali spend all her money on?”
Boy sitting on the floor drawing | Photo: Pexels
“There’s only one way to find out,” I said.
I ran down the stairs, Emily right behind me, and found Catherine ready to leave, her bag over her shoulder.
“Open your bag,” I demanded.
“How dare you?” Catherine exclaimed, looking to Emily for help.
“Do it, Catherine,” I said.
Reluctantly, Catherine opened her purse and there was Allison’s money.
“I can explain it,” he said.
“You better,” Emily said, her voice icy.
Open bag | Photo: Pexels
“I needed compensation. I told you that the first night and you wouldn’t listen. So I took money from Allison, thinking you had left it for her for me,” Catherine said.
Emily’s jaw dropped.
“You knowingly took money from a little girl? Your own granddaughter?” Emily snapped.
“Did you know that Allison refuses to talk about you? She never talks about what the two of you do. Did you tell her not to tell us anything?” Emily asked.
Catherine sighed and looked at the ceiling.
“Yes. I told him not to say anything,” he confessed.
“Go away,” I declared. “Get out of this house and never come back.”
Catherine looked desperately at Emily, who refused to make eye contact with her.
“You heard Lucas,” Emily said.
Woman in a chair | Photo: Pexels
After that, we sat down with Allison and reassured her that she could tell us the truth. She explained how Catherine had found her box when she put her to bed on her first night of babysitting.
“He told me not to say anything,” Allison muttered.
Emily and I decided to take our daughter to therapy, just to make sure she was okay, mentally. We didn’t know what harm this confusing experience could have done to her.
A few weeks have passed and Allison is back to her old self. And we have promised her that she will never see Catherine again.
Girl with a rabbit | Photo: Pexels
What would you have done?
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