The Gap in Our Words

In the hospital ward, everyone stared at me as if I was the mean daughter-in-law.

I looked back at them, my face the picture of innocence. I pretended to have no idea what they were talking about.

"I work all day, from dawn till dusk. Your mom is the one at home, and she makes her own meals. I give her 1,200 dollars a month for expenses, and she never has any cash left. There's no way she's eating food that had gone bad, right?"

Mandy clammed up when she heard that. She knew she was the one pocketing most of that money, a whole 1,050 dollars of it.

My mother-in-law? She was good at looking sorry for herself, crying and playing dumb. I used to let it slide, but did she think I was an idiot?

Just then, they wheeled in Edwin, who was groaning with a bad case of stomach flu—all because he had food that had gone bad.

I had asked the doctor to put him in the same ward as my mother-in-law just to see what would happen.

The doctor came in and warned us, "It's hot now, and food goes bad quickly. Don't eat what you shouldn't. Saving a few bucks isn't worth the hospital bills."

When my mother-in-law saw that Edwin was in the hospital too, she got scared and hid behind Mandy.

Edwin lost it when he saw her. "Mom, did you give me rotten meat and pasta that had gone bad again? You knew I had a big meeting today, didn't you? You've messed up everything! You always unplug the fridge to save a few pennies, and then the food goes bad. Look, we've ended up here, having to spend a fortune. I even lost my job. What are you trying to do, ruin me?"

I watched Edwin freak out and had to try my best to keep from laughing.

Once, his mom tried to eat spoiled food, and I tossed it out. Edwin got mad at me for wasting food. He said I was just mad about losing my job and taking it out on his mom. We had a big fight.

Well, since he was the one who loved his mom's food, I decided to let him have it. He was also the one without a job now.

My mother-in-law's tears flowed as she cried, "You've only had a few good days and you've already forgotten where you came from? Your dad passed away when you were young, and I was the one who raised you all by myself. Wasn't it always like this?

"Now, you're all grown up, thinking you can fly on your own, so you've started to look down on me. Maybe I should just go be with your dad..."

Edwin was so mad when his mom said that his eyes were wide with anger. It was tough when he was expected to always be the perfect, respectful son.

I remembered how Edwin used to talk, so I stood up for my mother-in-law, "Edwin, you can't be so unkind. Your mom is only trying to help you. She's your mom; she wouldn't hurt you on purpose, right?

"She worked so hard to raise you. She's always been careful with money, and she didn't mean to make a mistake. Can't you be a little more understanding?"

I used to hear Edwin say those things when I was sick or when Teresa went to the hospital because of expired formula.

Now, I was using his own words to see if he really was the devoted son he claimed to be.

My words made everyone in the hospital ward look at Edwin, and they were all watching to see what he would do next.

He hated being embarrassed, and he was so mad he looked like he was about to burst into flames. However, he could not say anything mean to his mom in front of everyone, so he just went to the bathroom.

Mandy was still acting all sweet and innocent. She knocked on the bathroom door, lecturing Edwin, "You're being too cruel. Mom's been working herself to the bone for your family, and now, she's in the hospital. How could you blame her? That's not how a son should act!"

She was only nice to her mom because she got money from her every month. She would do anything for that money, even if it meant being dishonest.

However, it looked like her luck was about to run out.

Edwin's work was not going great, and the company had wanted to fire him a long time ago. That was just a perfect chance.

He spent his days at home playing video games and doing nothing else, expecting his mom to take care of everything for him.

I pushed him to get a job, just like he used to push me.

"Teresa needs money for her baby formula every month, and I have to give your mom 1,200 dollars a month for her expenses. You've got to find a job, Edwin. You can't expect me to take care of your whole family! "

With my salary at the time, supporting the entire family would not have been a problem, but I did not want to spend another cent on them!