He nodded, a gentle smile on his face. “Yeah. For Mom.”
Let me tell you a bit about Dorothy, Jason’s mom.
Dorothy appreciates the finer things in life. She loves diamonds, taking luxury trips, and she drives a brand-new car every couple of years. Yet, she constantly complains about her house being “tiny.”
It’s a perfectly lovely three-bedroom home, but to Dorothy, it was apparently a cramped, unseemly hovel.
“Like living in a sardine can!” She told me once. Part of the problem might’ve been that the house was a bit cluttered, what with all the luxury items Dorothy enjoyed surrounding herself with. Every closet in that house was full of her clothes, boxes of high-end cookware, and whatever else caught her fancy.
I never understood Dorothy’s spending habits, but I never interfered either.
It wasn’t my business… at least, not until now. Asking me to take my entire inheritance and give it to her? That was just too much. I stared at Jason, my mind racing.
Was he serious? Did he actually think this was a good idea?
“You’re asking me to sell my grandmother’s house to buy a house for your mother?” I gestured vaguely around our small, rented apartment. “We live in a rented apartment, Jason.
Did you forget that little detail? We could live in Grandma’s house.”
He rolled his eyes. “DON’T BE SELFISH, Emily!
Mom needs it more. We talked about it, and we both agree.”
We both agree? Oh… so that was their plan.
Dorothy must’ve hatched this scheme, and Jason, sweet, big-hearted, oblivious Jason, had simply gone along with it.
I had nothing in the world except my grandmother’s house, a small piece of land, and wood holding all my precious memories, and they were both ready to take it from me. Just like that. Well then, I thought, let’s just see how they like MY plan.
I forced myself to smile. “Fine. I agree.
It sounds like a lovely idea to help your mom — but I have ONE condition.”
He exhaled a long sigh of relief. “A condition? Okay, sure, Em.
What is it?”
“Oh, nothing major.” I made a dismissive gesture. “I need a day or two to figure out the details, then I’ll tell you and Dorothy both all about it. We’ll have dinner.”
Jason smiled.
“Sure. That sounds great.”
See, I knew Jason wasn’t trying to be cruel. To him, this whole thing was simply a chance to help out his family.
And in Jason’s world, you always helped family. He saw himself as the noble, dutiful son, completely blind to the fact that his mother was manipulating him and, by extension, me.
He would never see the truth if I just explained it. No, I had to teach him a lesson.
Not a harsh, mean-spirited one, but one that was crystal clear and undeniable. I spent the next two days planning. I didn’t want a fiery confrontation; just a quiet, firm boundary that Dorothy couldn’t ignore.
So, I arranged a small, intimate dinner at our apartment to “discuss the details” with Jason and Dorothy.
Dorothy arrived already talking about lake-house renovations, rattling off ideas for granite countertops and a new dock. We ate for a little while, the conversation light and mostly dominated by Dorothy’s fantasies. Then, halfway through the meal, I placed my fork down and folded my hands neatly on the table.
“It’s time I told you my condition for selling Grandma’s house,” I said.
Jason straightened in his seat. Dorothy smiled, her eyes expectant and glittering with triumph. “If I sell my grandma’s house for your lake home,” I shifted my gaze between Jason and Dorothy, “then your mom must sell everything she owns too.”
Jason blinked.
“Everything?”
I nodded and began to count gently on my fingers. “Her house, that new SUV, and her summer cottage. All of it goes into the same budget.
If we’re doing this for ‘family,’ then sacrifices are equal.”
For a moment, Jason just sat there, completely silent, but I saw the realization flicker in his expression.
He’d just realized the magnitude of what he’d been asking me to give up. He opened his mouth to respond, but Dorothy got there first. She slammed her fork down on her plate, the clatter sharp and sudden.
“This is RIDICULOUS! After everything I’ve done? I raised that boy alone after his father passed!
And you can’t sell one old house to THANK ME? Some wife you turned out to be!”
Jason winced. “Mom—”
But Dorothy ignored him.
“You should be grateful I even want a home where the whole family can gather! Helping me is part of being a GOOD wife!”
I didn’t rise to her bait. “I’m happy to help family, Dorothy.
Truly. I want to see you happy in a new home, but asking me to hand over the most valuable thing I own isn’t helping. Especially when it’s the house where my grandmother raised me. That’s not a small ask, Dorothy.
That’s everything.”
Dorothy threw her napkin down. “I won’t be talked to like this!”
She scraped her chair back and stormed out of our apartment, muttering about ungrateful daughters-in-law as she slammed the door behind her. The apartment fell quiet.
Jason didn’t look at me right away; he sat there, rubbing his face with both hands, his shoulders slumped in utter defeat and shame. “Emily…” he finally said. “I’m sorry.
I really am. I didn’t understand what I was asking you to give up.
I really didn’t.”
I believed him. I reached across the table and took his hand.
“I know, and I love that you want to take care of your mom.” I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “But we don’t do it by erasing my family. That’s not how a partnership works.”
He nodded.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have been so blind.”
The boundary was set, firm and clear. My little house with the pear tree and the summer kitchen filled with happy memories was safe, and so was our marriage. If this happened to you, what would you do?
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