4
431words
Before dawn,he kicked my door open.“Honey,Mom’s in trouble!”
He yanked me from bed,my pregnant belly nearly hitting the floor.
Steadying myself,I swallowed my anger.“Let’s go check right away.”
At Laura’s,their third-floor apartment was lit up,neighbors gathered in the stairwell.
Laura screamed at Dorothy.“I was just negligent for a moment,and you tried to throw Tommy off the balcony!You nearly killed your own grandson!”
Dorothy twisted her fingers.“You wouldn’t cook the yummy spicy noodles or listen to me…”
James asked for details.
Dorothy had demanded egg tarts and spicy noodles from a specific downtown shop.Laura ignored her,cooking Tommy’s favorite meal instead.
In my past life,I’d been the one fetching tarts twenty miles away at night,pregnant.Dorothy took one bite,spat it out,and whined,“It's too bad to eat. I won't eat it.!”
The noodles was too spicy,and she wailed,triggering James’s tirade.“You can’t even cook noodles!Useless waste.Just die!”
Now,Greg and Laura faced her demands and weren’t indulging her.
Dorothy,resentful of Tommy’s favored status,decided there could only be one baby.
Laura clutched her chest,holding a sobbing Tommy.“You’re defending your giant-infant mom?She almost killed our son!”
Greg tried to mediate.“Mom’s just innocent,not a bad person.”
“Shut up!Tommy nearly died!If I’d been a second later…”
In my past life,I’d arrived just as my daughter drank the paraquat.
But it was irreversible.
When I demanded justice,Laura had looked away.“It’s just a daughter.You can get pregnant again..A boy’s better for the first.Besides,her death frees you to care for Mom.”
Now,tear-streaked Laura glared at me.“I don’t care—take Mom away.I’m done.”
She shoved Dorothy toward us.
I blocked the door’s frame.“Caring for Mom’s our duty.You’re so rude!She’s our baby!”
Dorothy whined,“Yes!Baby didn’t do anything wrong.”
James turned to Greg.“Fine,we’ll take her.Stop fighting me for it!”
Greg’s face darkened.
Laura whispered to him,“Our son’s life or the house—which one is the most important?”
Greg relented.“Take Mom back.Emily hasn’t given birth yet,right?”
So I deserved to suffer?
I smiled.“Tommy’s fine, right?You’re so rude for our mom.”
“Besides,she doesn’t like Tommy because you didn’t care for her properly.As her son and daughter-in-law,you should contribute.It’s only fair!”
Greg glared but said nothing.
Laura slipped me a card.“I’m scared she’ll hurt Tommy.You’re jobless—take her for now.”
I had no fondness for Laura,but Tommy was innocent.
“ok.”I said,looping my arm through James’s.“Mom’s coming home.We’ll care for her together.”
James beamed.“You’ve gotten so sensible since getting pregnant.”
He said that,but how we’d“care”was another matter.
Dorothy started acting up the moment we got home.“Baby wants yummy milky noodles and egg tarts!Buy them for me!”
She pointed at me.“You need to go buy them for me!”
