“What kind of mistake?” I clicked. “This isn’t just credit card debt, is it?”
Karen looked at me.
“Where did the retirement money go?”
Her face crumpled. “I invested it.”
“In what?”
“A friend of Marcy’s knew someone. He said he could double it in eighteen months.”
My MIL Packed up All the Food at My Husband’s Birthday Party Into Containers – So I Made Sure She Never Did It Again
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“How much did you give him?”
One to cover another.
Her voice dropped. “The Roth.”
I stared at her. “All of it?”
Karen nodded.
Ben swore under his breath. “So when it didn’t come back, you started using the cards?”
Karen wiped her cheek. “One to cover another. Just the minimums at first.”
Aunt Denise stared at her. “So the parties…”
“Mom… you used our baby?”
I finished it for her. “You were using the cash gifts to make the payments.”
“I was trying to fix it.”
“By throwing more parties?”
“People give cash at anniversaries. Retirements. Birthdays.” Her voice cracked. “I thought if I could keep everything going long enough, the investment would come through.”
“Nicole, I was desperate.”
“And the shower would’ve bought you another month,” I said.
Karen didn’t answer. She didn’t have to.
Ben was staring at his hands. “You told me those parties were just family. You told me they were nothing.”
Karen looked at him. “Ben, please. You know I would never hurt the baby.”
Ben stared at her. “Mom… you used our baby?”
“That part was real.”
I faced my mother-in-law. “You didn’t throw me a shower. You built yourself another fundraiser and put my name on it. The only mistake you made was thinking I’d stay home and let you finish it.”
Karen flinched. “Nicole, I was desperate.”
“Is that why you suddenly started treating me like a daughter? Six years, Karen. Six years you barely tolerated me. Then suddenly it was soup, phone calls, a baby shower…”
“That part was real,” she cut in. “I was happy about the baby. I thought maybe this could be a fresh start for us.”
“You did that a lot.”
“And then you realized our fresh start could pay your bills.”
Karen looked down. “I told myself I could do both. Fix things with you and fix what I’d done.”
That hurt more than I expected. For once, I’d believed she actually wanted me in her family.
No one agreed to help her pay off the debt. Her husband Richard said the jewelry would go first, then the second car, and the following morning they’d sit down with a real accountant.
“You okay?”
Later, when most of the guests had gone, Ben found me on the porch.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I looked at him.
“For last night. For telling you to let her have her day.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Actually, for every time I’ve asked you to ignore something she did because it was easier than standing up to her.”
I let that sit between us. “You did that a lot.”
I was done trying.
“I know.” He nodded. “I won’t anymore.”
This time, I believed he understood what I was asking.
“You okay?” Mom asked.
I looked through the kitchen window at Ben stacking dishes, then rested both hands on my belly.
“Yeah,” I said. “I think we’re going to be.”
I had my family.
For six years, I’d tried to earn my mother-in-law’s affection, hoping that if I was patient enough, she’d finally accept me.
I was done trying.
Karen could love me, dislike me, or never call me her daughter again.
I had my family, my baby, and finally, my own voice.
