My mother comes from quite a large family. She had six siblings, though now only three remain. She and one of my aunts both live in the same village. They work throughout the summer and get by during the winter on what theyve managed to save. Like us, they have a small vegetable patch which they tend year after year.
My mothers other sister lives in the city. She has a roomy flat and a house by the lake. Her husband is a managing director at a building firm. Of course, it wasnt always like this. They once lived in the countryside too, and my mum and aunt always lent a hand whenever it was needed. But after things began looking up for them, they rather seemed to forget about us.
One day, quite by accident, my mum found out that her sister had married off her daughter. At first, she was taken aback, but then she pretended she already knew because she was embarrassed in front of others. Its not easy to hold your head up when your own sister doesnt invite you to her daughters wedding.
She came home and told my other aunt all about it. My aunt was just as shocked. She, too, felt terribly hurt by it all. In the end, they decided to ring her up and offer their congratulations, hoping perhaps she would feel some pang of guilt. But all she said was a curt thanks before hanging up.
Something must have stirred inside her though, because soon after she decided to pay a visit, bringing along her daughter and son-in-law. They showed up with a joint of meat and an expensive bottle of wine. Unfortunately, my mum still felt very slighted and told them to leave. She said that since they were too ashamed to invite us to the wedding because were mere villagers and they now think themselves above us, they shouldnt come to our house at all.
Her brother-in-law actually admitted that, yes, they were embarrassed by us, and that if wed gone to the restaurant, the whole place would have reeked of pork. That really hurt my mum, so she told them never to set foot in our home again, and that she wanted nothing more to do with them. Naturally, my other aunt stood by my mum and said she didnt want to have anything to do with them ever again either.
