– Your mother doesn’t want you visiting her anymore! She says you make her anxious, – Richard scolded his wife, Susan.
“Oh, I’m feeling so unwell, my dear,” sighed Margaret heavily into the phone, waving her hands in front of her face. “I guess I don’t have much time left…”
“Mum, don’t say such nonsense,” Richard interrupted her.
He absolutely couldn’t stand it when his mother started complaining about her health.
It only meant one thing, that he would have to leave work and rush to see her again.
“I’ll be there soon!” Richard announced and, looking worried, went to his boss to ask for time off.
He suspected that Mr. Johnson might send him away without a second thought, but he decided it was worth a try.
“No, you’ve really crossed a line, Taylor!” Mr. Johnson exclaimed. “Either take her in with you, or quit. Isn’t that a nice play on words?” he added, chuckling loudly. “No, absolutely not!”
Realizing that luck wasn’t on his side this time, Richard dared to call his wife.
“Sue, can you skip work?” he whispered pleadingly into the phone.
“Why?”
“Something’s wrong with Mum again. Someone needs to check on her…”
“She’s fine. How many times has she called us over nothing?” Susan reminded him hastily.
“Of course, it doesn’t bother you; she’s not your mother, is she?” Richard reproached his wife. “After losing Dad, I worry about her a lot…”
“Alright, I’ll come by. I’m just finishing my lessons now,” Susan agreed, though she wasn’t particularly eager to listen to her mother-in-law’s complaints about health issues after dealing with her own students all day.
Margaret had pulled similar tricks before. A few days earlier, they had called medics for her, but they found nothing serious.
Convinced it was the same situation again, Susan headed to her mother-in-law’s flat.
Since she had the keys, Susan didn’t knock but entered quietly.
The sound of the blaring TV stopped abruptly. Susan realized her mother-in-law heard someone coming in.
“Is that you? And where’s my son?” Margaret frowned.
Clearly, she wasn’t pleased that it was her daughter-in-law instead of Richard. This meant she would now have her blood pressure and temperature checked.
Her mother-in-law was hoping Richard would fuss over her and cater to her every need.
Susan inquired about Margaret’s health and started checking her vitals, which turned out fine for her age.
“Everything’s alright with you,” Susan reassured her calmly.
“No, I feel terrible!” her mother-in-law protested indignantly. “If Richard were here, he’d have done something!”
“Called an ambulance?” Susan asked simply.
“Yes!” Margaret grumbled, turning away to face the wall.
The medics arrived, shrugged, and again found nothing wrong with Margaret.
As soon as they left, a worried Richard came through the door, unsure of how to appease his mother.
“Son, I’d love something tasty to eat,” Margaret dreamed aloud.
At these words, Richard dashed to the store to buy her sweets and delicacies.
“Oh, Sue, I didn’t get a chance to tidy up the kitchen; I’ve been feeling so unwell,” Margaret lamented again. “I’d do it myself, but I just don’t have the strength…”
“I’ll clean up,” Susan said calmly and went to tackle the messy kitchen.
Half an hour later, Richard returned with bags of goodies. Margaret brightened instantly, and after eating, even got out of bed.
“Oh, you did wonders tidying up, Susan,” Margaret exclaimed, clapping her hands. “You two are so good to me. I don’t know what I’d do without you…”
These words made Susan realize that this pattern was repeating itself. The same scenario had played out exactly a week ago. Margaret would claim to be unwell, Susan and Richard would arrive, then the doctors, after which Margaret would request something tasty and express concern over the untidied home.
Susan would offer to clean, and as soon as the house was in order, Margaret felt better.
The repetition today made Susan suspect that Margaret was manipulating them with her supposed illnesses.
She decided to share her thoughts with Richard, who dismissed her claims outright.
“That’s impossible! Mum would never pull me from work for no reason,” Richard protested, pacing the room in disbelief.
“But I’m telling you, that’s exactly what’s happening!” Susan insisted. “She’s probably just lonely and wants attention, not to mention the goodies and free cleaning.”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Richard frowned. “You’re accusing her unfairly…”
Seeing the futility of convincing Richard, Susan decided to teach Margaret a lesson.
She knew it wouldn’t be long before Margaret would call Richard again, prompting him to seek her help.
A week later, Margaret caused a fuss once more, claiming she felt extremely ill.
Since Richard couldn’t leave work, it fell to Susan to visit her again. As expected, Margaret was perfectly fine.
“When’s my dear son coming?” Margaret asked dryly.
“He can’t make it today, work,” Susan lied.
“How could that be? I’m sick!” Margaret said dramatically, forcing out a solitary tear.
“All your vitals are fine,” Susan responded reproachfully. “If everything’s okay, I’ll head off too!”
“Leave? What about the doctors? Aren’t you going to call anyone?” Margaret grumbled indignantly.
“Why? You seem alright,” Susan smiled.
The supposedly bedridden Margaret suddenly seemed energetic, glaring at Susan.
“At least tidy up,” Margaret muttered discontentedly. “Did you just come by for nothing?”
“Seems like you’re feeling better? If you have the energy, you can clean up yourself,” Susan replied, blowing Margaret a kiss. “And don’t expect any more treats,” she added, disappearing out the door.
Susan hadn’t even reached home when Richard called, scolding her like a misbehaving child.
“Mum doesn’t want you visiting anymore! She says she’s unwell and you make her anxious.”
“Great! I’m fine with that,” Susan chuckled, tired of cleaning her mother-in-law’s house. “It’s because I refused to tidy her home.”
Susan quickly recounted to Richard how she had handled Margaret and how she suddenly improved after refusing to clean.
This time, Richard didn’t try to convince his wife otherwise. He realized that his mother was indeed using them.
“If you feel ill, call the doctors directly!” Richard told Margaret. “They won’t let me off work, and you don’t want to see Susan anymore. I can only visit on weekends.”
“Well, don’t come at all then,” Margaret replied sulkily, no longer bothering Richard over trivial matters.
