The Gap in Our Words

Teresa got so thin in the hospital, and before I could lose my mind, my mother-in-law started acting like it was the end for her.

"I'm old and useless. I can't even spoil my granddaughter without getting complaints. I'm better off dead if it means I'll get talked about behind my back otherwise," she wailed.

My sister-in-law, Mandy, lectured me, "Mom was just trying to leave the best for the baby. She didn't know it was bad for Teresa! She's lucky to have gotten to drink such a pricey formula. You should be thankful, not complaining!

"And the baby's okay, isn't she? Mom's been working hard to care for you both. So she made a mistake. Is it a big deal?"

Hearing that, my mother-in-law got all worked up and threatened to jump out the window right there in the hospital ward to express how sorry she was.

Edwin was so mad that he slapped me. "Did my mom do something so terrible that you want to push her over the edge? I was wrong about you!"

Before, Edwin was really nice to me, and his mom would act like she was so sorry as well, saying she would die rather than make the same mistake again. I believed them. I thought his mom just did not know any better, not that she was mean.

Later, she promised she would not mess up again and that she would take good care of our baby. However, it was not long before I saw Teresa in the emergency room at the hospital again.

My mother-in-law had given the six-month-old Teresa peanuts, causing her to choke. The doctors could not save her.

I was so mad at myself and at all of them.

Even after we lost our baby, my mother-in-law did not seem sad. She just cried and made a fuss, acting like she was going to hurt herself. All it took was for her to look innocent and she'd get out of trouble.

"It wasn't on purpose," she said. "Teresa wanted to eat, and Edwin and Mandy ate peanuts when they were little. Who knew Teresa would be so unlucky..."

She blamed Teresa for what happened!

Mandy was all snarky. "If you can't take care of your own kid, don't have one. Why blame my mom? You should be thankful she helped at all, you heartless ingrate!"

Edwin took his mom's side as well. "We can have more kids, but a mother is irreplaceable. Just have another child for me, okay?"

I was so furious I could have hurt them, but they said I was the crazy one and put me in a mental institution. In the end, I got so depressed that I could not take it anymore and died in there.

My mother-in-law had been causing trouble for years. If I had not been there to stop her, who knew what she would have done?

Edwin and Mandy did not know what pain was because they had never felt it.

However, this time, I would make sure Teresa was safe, and I would watch that old troublemaker get what was coming to her. I packed our stuff, picked up Teresa, who was still fast asleep, and got ready to take her to my parents' place.

We got a nanny, which was perfect since my mom had hurt her ankle. They could help each other out.

After making sure Teresa was settled, I went back to grab the contract. Just as I thought, someone had switched out the page with the price on it. I quickly fixed it up, checked it over three times to make sure it was right, and then slipped it into my bag.

This time, I would keep my job and hold on tight to the chance to move up, all for Teresa's and my sake.

As I was heading out, my mother-in-law got home from the market and started banging on my bedroom door. "Janice, Edwin, wake up! You're going to be late for work!"

I checked the clock. It was only 7:30 am.

We usually started work at 9:00 am, and I had told her not to yell. We would get up at 8:00 am on our own.

However, she never listened and would cause a racket as early as 5:00 am. She would start knocking on our door every ten minutes starting at 6:00 am.

She woke us all up just to eat her month-old pickled cucumbers and last night's pasta.

If I got mad, she would start crying and say she was just trying to feed us. She would blame us for being unappreciative.

Previously, when I asked Edwin to talk to her, he would just go along with me but nothing would change.

I was a light sleeper, so I was always the one getting up to stop her.

However, right now, I let her knock all she wanted.