I could never quite find common ground with my mother-in-law.
At first, we tried living together, but that arrangement barely lasted a month.
My relationship with my father-in-law was fairly easy; we found a way to get along. But things with his wife were much trickier. She disliked me from the very beginning.
Youve picked the wrong saucepan! shed shout at me. Thats not how we cook potatoes here!
And the complaints just kept coming, swirling around me endlessly.
Eventually, we moved into a rented flat, and thats when I discovered I was expecting. For the sake of the soon-to-arrive granddaughter, my father-in-law did his best to curb my mother-in-laws sharp tongue.
Oh, what a fearsome woman, hed say, shaking his head, she always had a fiery temper, but since growing older, she’s become quite mad. I married her because she waited for me to come back from National Service, and then I just got used to it.
Truth be told, my mother-in-law became peculiarly quiet while I was pregnant. But once our daughter was bornfive weeks early, but healthy all the sameall the old troubles returned.
That child cant possibly be yours, she said to my husband with a severe glare.
Cant you see? Can’t you understand what an early birth truly means? That baby belongs to someone else.
Thankfully, my husband stood by me and defended me against such accusations, once even throwing his mother out of our home. She refused to meet her granddaughter, refusing any attempt at a truce. My father-in-law, however, would visit us often with gifts, though he was scolded at home for it.
I have no idea what those daytime television shows had filled the old mans head with, but when our daughter turned three, he took her out for a walksecretly taking her for a DNA test. He decided it was time to teach his wife a lesson.
My son isnt in? my father-in-law said, standing awkwardly at the doorway. Probably just as well. Ive picked up the DNA results. Turns out my wife was right. Who did you have this child with? Shes not ours!
I was utterly flabbergasted. Id known nothing of any test, but was certain my child was my husbands daughter.
My husband and I then had tests done ourselves, and his paternity was confirmed. The twist? My father-in-law turned out to not be a biological grandfather at all.
So she really did just wait for me to come home from National Service! he stormed, furious with the world.
In the end, they divorced in their old age, despite her desperate pleas for forgiveness.
So before pointing fingers at others, perhaps its worth taking a good look in the mirror.
What do you make of it?
