People believe you don\u2019t know someone unless they live with you. Verna, my mother-in-law, believed she had me when she accused me of lying to Owen. She didn\u2019t realize her \u201cevidence\u201d was bait, and she showed everyone what I wanted.<\/p>\n
After Verna came in, I tried to be optimistic. \u201cIt\u2019s just for a bit,\u201d Owen added. \u201cShe\u2019ll help, maybe ease us.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled but doubted. Verna was blunt. She loved control and knowledge. The first few days were fine\u2014she unpacked, made tea, and told me the same tales. She was kind. Too nice.<\/p>\n
Then I noticed. The closet felt strange. Sweaters layered differently. My perfectly folded jeans were off. My perfume bottle moved a few inches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s weird,\u201d I observed one morning, glancing at it.<\/p>\n
Owen looked up from his phone. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur room was invaded.\u201d<\/p>\n
He frowned. \u201cYou mean what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy stuff moved. Not much, just different.\u201d<\/p>\n
He chuckled. \u201cProbably you. Or the cat?<\/p>\n
We have no cat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I crossed arms. Owen, I\u2019m serious. My earrings were changed yesterday. Now, my perfume.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raised eyebrow. Do you suppose my mom\u2019s spying?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo idea. I feel like someone is touching my stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019d never do that,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s my mom, not a spy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dropped it. Arguing was pointless. My intuition told me Verna was spying.<\/p>\n
Tracking began. My bedside drawer was misaligned, so my hand lotion slid right and left. Another day, my closet smelled like Verna\u2019s rose hand cream. I spotted her silver hair on a cardigan I hadn\u2019t worn in weeks. I wanted to shout.<\/p>\n
What might I do? Without evidence, I couldn\u2019t accuse her. A bedroom camera? Owen would despise it, and I didn\u2019t want to be him. So I watched. Waited.<\/p>\n
Every time I left the room, I worried whether she was looking. I attempted shutting the door, but she \u201cneeded a towel\u201d and knocked for five minutes. It seemed like someone else was in my space.<\/p>\n
I told Owen again at night. \u201cShe\u2019s going through my stuff. I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exhausted, he sighed. Why would Lila? What\u2019s she seeking?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo idea. Maybe she\u2019s bored. Maybe she dislikes me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething\u2019s off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than respond, he turned over. I peered at the ceiling, hands clinched beneath the blanket. If I couldn\u2019t capture her, I\u2019d lure her.<\/p>\n
I found an old blue diary with a broken lock the following morning. Years have passed since I used it. I scribbled slowly and carefully on the bed: \u201cLately, I feel so alone. Like Mark no longer sees me. Loves his mom more than me. Not sure how long I can bear this. I\u2019m considering leaving. But I haven\u2019t told anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the ink dried, I wrapped the diary in a scarf and hid it in the closet beneath winter jackets and a shoebox. No one would locate it without digging. \u201cLet\u2019s see if you bite,\u201d I murmured.<\/p>\n
It worked quicker than expected. Verna struck at dinner three days later. After Owen grilled steaks, his cousin Reid brought champagne, and I cooked green bean casserole. Kitchen smelt like rosemary and garlic. Everyone laughed, passed food, clinked drinks.<\/p>\n
Verna sat quietly at the table\u2019s end, checking me out. She suddenly banged her fork. \u201cWe need to stop pretending,\u201d she replied sharply.<\/p>\n
Room got quiet. Even the dog ceased under-table gnawing.<\/p>\n
Owen blinks. \u201cMom? What\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n
She sat higher, lips taut. \u201cMaybe we should talk about your wife hiding something before we play happy family.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kept my cool\u2014I knew it was coming. Water was sipped slowly. \u201cOwen,\u201d Verna suggested, \u201ccheck her closet. Where she hides secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n
I put my glass down. Verna, what secrets?<\/p>\n
Her tone became harder. Do not act stupid. In your journal, you declare you\u2019ll leave him. Divorce him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Table gasps rippled. Owen became pallid. Lila, is that true?<\/p>\n
I looked calmly at Verna. So how did you know about that diary?<\/p>\n
Her mouth opened and closed. \u201cWell\u2014I was just\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I requested. Looking for towels? Fun closet digging?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt fell out,\u201d she mumbled. \u201cI wasn\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Wasn\u2019t snooping? Leaning forward. \u2018Cause you just confessed reading something else\u2019<\/p>\n
She sputtered. \u201cI thought Owen deserved to know\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat diary was fake,\u201d I interrupted.<\/p>\n
She froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wrote it as a trap,\u201d I said. Hide it someplace no one should have seen. You confirmed what I already knew in front of everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owen was dumbfounded. You planted it?<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to,\u201d I replied. \u201cShe went through my stuff. I wanted proof.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reid coughed uncomfortably. His wife Sienna gasped, \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Verna flushed. That\u2019s unfair. You duped me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I grinned. \u201cNext time, don\u2019t dig unless excited to find a trap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rest of supper was calm. Forks scraped plates. Glasses clinked gently. None talked, not even Reid, who normally joked to calm tension. Sienna stared at Verna and me but said nothing.<\/p>\n
Verna stared at her napkin like it held all the answers, scarcely eating. Owen plucked at his meal out of habit, not hunger. A peaceful weight replaced my hunger. The trap worked.<\/p>\n
Owen stayed in the kitchen after curt goodbyes and hasty dishwashing. As I rinsed a dish, he leaned against the counter, looking at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t believe you,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n
\u2018She actually went through your stuff?<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sighing, he scratched his forehead. \u201cI know nothing to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to,\u201d I responded, stacking the final plate. \u201cI just needed you to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He murmured, \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d looking at me. I shoulda listened. Her doing that surprised me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe crossed a line,\u201d I stated steadily. I was exhausted, not furious.<\/p>\n
He nodded. \u201cYeah. She did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed our bedroom door upstairs. Finally, it felt mine after weeks. No lost perfume. No muddled sweaters. Drawers feel ok. I had my own area and peaceful air. Honest.<\/p>\n
Later, I saw Verna in the hall. Left the guest bathroom with eyes down and shoulders bowed. After seeing me, she glanced away. Both of us were silent. She understood, and that was enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
People believe you don\u2019t know someone unless they live with you. Verna, my mother-in-law, believed she had me when she accused me of lying to Owen. She didn\u2019t realize her \u201cevidence\u201d was bait, and she showed everyone what I wanted. After Verna came in, I tried to be optimistic. \u201cIt\u2019s just for a bit,\u201d Owen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31444,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31443\/revisions\/31444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}