Chapter 2A Spotless Life

My mother lectured me for a solid thirty minutes.

She only stopped when Mark got home.

He came in looking tired from a long day, carrying a strawberry cheesecake, my favorite. The moment he stepped inside, he could feel the tense atmosphere.

The broken porcelain was still on the floor. My mother was on the sofa, wiping her eyes, while I lay in bed, my face a cold mask.

Mark’s expression changed instantly. He didn’t even bother to take off his shoes before rushing to my bedside.

“Honey, what’s wrong? Is your leg hurting?”

He anxiously checked my cast, then glanced at our sleeping daughter, breathing a sigh of relief only when he confirmed we were both okay.

Seeing Mark, my mom found a new audience for her grievances.

“Mark, you be the judge of this.”

“Anna is becoming more and more cold-hearted. Her own relatives are in trouble. What’s wrong with lending a hand?”

“Her aunt was practically on her knees, and she threatened to call the police on her!”

After hearing the whole story, the warmth vanished from Mark’s face.

He stood up, positioning himself between me and my mother, his tone firm.

“Mom, the nurse was hired to care for Anna and our baby.”

“Anna has a broken bone. She needs professional care right now. If we let the nurse go and Anna’s injury doesn’t heal properly, who’s going to be responsible?”

“You are Anna’s mother. Is some outsider’s opinion more important than your own daughter’s health?”

My mother was speechless. She clearly hadn’t expected her usually polite son-in-law to confront her so directly.

She froze for a moment, then, flustered and angry, she resorted to playing the victim.

“Oh, wonderful. Now the two of you are ganging up on a poor old woman!”

“Do you think it’s been easy for me, helping out relatives all these years? Everyone calls me a good person. Was I wrong?”

“Who do you think I’m doing it for? It’s to build up good karma for Anna!”

“Good karma?”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I told Mark to go to the study and get the old notebook. It was a record of all the injustices I’d endured since I was a child.

I had him open it and read the entries aloud to my mother.

“Sophomore year of college. You took the eight hundred dollars I earned from my part-time job and work-study scholarship to buy my cousin a new gaming console. You said it was a ‘loan.’ It was never paid back.”

“First year of my career. That gourmet gift basket my company sent, you gave it to Aunt Brenda before I even had a chance to open it. I never saw a single shrimp.”

“The small condo my parents gave me as a wedding gift. You forced me to let Aunt Brenda’s family use it as my cousin’s marital home. You said it was temporary. They’ve been living there for three years, rent-free. I’m still the one paying the utility bills!”

Mark’s face grew darker with every word he read.

“Mom, your precious reputation was built by carving pieces out of me.”

“I am your daughter, not your personal blood bank!”

Exposed, my mother couldn’t stand the humiliation. She shot up from her seat, snatched the notebook from Mark, and threw it on the floor.

“I raised you! What’s wrong with using your things? You’re just like your good-for-nothing father, completely heartless!”

With that, she stormed into the guest room, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.

Mark wrapped his arms around me, his touch gentle as he stroked my back.

“Don’t be angry. It’s bad for you. I’m here now. I won’t let them drain you dry ever again.”

His embrace was warm, but it couldn’t dispel the deep chill that had settled in my heart.

Late that night, my phone buzzed.

It was a voice message from Aunt Brenda.

All traces of the day’s conflict were gone, replaced by a tone of entitled greed.

“Anna, dear, I’ll drop the subject of the nurse. But my daughter-in-law is so weak after the delivery, you know. I heard you have some kind of imported therapy machine? Could we borrow it for a bit?”

“Your leg is what it is, anyway. A couple of days without it won’t make a difference.”

This family was a swarm of leeches. Once they latched on, they never let go.