Chapter 1The Disputed Refrigerator

To store some herbal teas, I set up a mini-fridge right in my cubicle.

A colleague, fresh off maternity leave, asked if she could chill her freshly pumped breast milk in it.

"Easy peasy," I said, agreeing without a second thought. She was thrilled.

The next morning, she shot me a message in the company Slack, urgently summoning me to the hospital.

Her toddler had a case of diarrhea, and she blamed my 'defective' fridge for spoiling the milk. She demanded I cover the medical expenses and losses.

Annoyed, I replaced the mini-fridge with a larger one—accessible to everyone but her.

* * *

After the boss okayed it, I installed the new mini-fridge which became home to the expensive herbal teas my mom swore by.

I closed the fridge with a sigh of relief, only to be cornered by an eager face.

"Mia..." My colleague, Lisa Argal, gave me puppy eyes. "Any chance I can store some breast milk in there?"

Post-maternity leave, Lisa was still sneaking off to the restroom to pump, a tough gig for sure.

"It's just a little bit, won't crowd your fridge," she added, holding up a small milk bag after noticing my hesitation.

Lisa often vented about how her milk production dropped since returning to work, no matter how many lactation shakes she downed.

Her milk bag today, however, was surprisingly full, albeit a tad pale.

"Why not?" I thought. There was still space in the fridge.

With a grin, I opened the fridge. "Go for it."

Lisa's smile widened as she nestled the bag among the shelves, then linked arms with me back to our desks.

"Hey Mia, what's in the herbal teas you're taking?"

"Oh, just some stuff for dampness," I replied, dodging the truth.

Discussing my fertility issues with coworkers wasn't on my agenda, nor was explaining the costly meds I'd tried.

Those teas? They cost a pretty penny.

Barely awake the next day, my phone blew up with alerts.

Lisa had blasted a message across our work chat, urging me to high-tail it to the Pediatric Hospital.

Only then I noticed she hadn't shown up for work.

"@Mia, get over to the Pediatric Hospital ASAP. My son's sick."

Her son's ailing and she's calling me out?

My desk neighbor, Christine, zoomed over in her chair, all ears.

"Mia, what'd you do to get on Lisa's bad side?"

Totally clueless, I shrugged. "Beats me."

Scanning the office, I spotted the mini-fridge.

"Ah, she stored her breast milk there yesterday."

Christine clapped her thigh. "Bingo! She's pinning it on you."

"How's that my problem?"

Christine whispered conspiratorially, "Her son's been a magnet for bugs lately, and the bills are stacking up. Her mother-in-law's a real Scrooge, wouldn't even spring for health insurance."

"You're always nose-deep in work; you miss all the juicy gossip. You really shouldn't have let her use your fridge."

My mind was racing.

"@Mia, my son got diarrhea from the milk stored in your fridge. Get here NOW!!!"

Another buzz from my phone.

"You'd better show up," Christine pressed. "She's laying a paper trail in the group chat. Dodge this, and she'll make it a big deal with HR, and that's gonna sting."

Following Christine's nudge, I cabbed it to the hospital.

I found Lisa and made a beeline for the emergency room.

"Why the delay?" Lisa glared at me, clutching her whimpering infant.

"Why drag me here over your kid's bug?" I retorted, my patience wearing thin.

A loud and garish woman—clearly Lisa's mother-in-law—latched onto my arm, shouting, "You bet you're involved! My grandson's ill because of what was in your fridge. You ready to foot the bill if he worsens?"

Accusations flew, and I was livid.

I tried to pull away, but she clung tighter. "Jealous of Lisa's baby boy, huh? I know you're older and single. Wanting a kid that bad doesn't give you the right to mess with hers!"

Her tirade was so loud, that spittle sprayed my face.

Her voice was so loud that it echoed through the ER like a megaphone.

Enraged, I shot back, "I did Lisa a solid by storing her milk, and this is the thanks I get?"

Lisa made a half-hearted attempt to calm her down, but the old bat just shrugged her off and kept on yelling. "Didn't you say you had herbs in there too? Who knows what kind of shady stuff you got mixed in there, tainting my grandson's milk?"

"You're coughing up for his hospital stay, got it?"