They say you never really know someone until you live with them.
I thought I knew my mother -in -law, but everything changed when I decided to follow her. What I revealed was not just a secret; It was a ticking bomb that threatened the peace of our home.
I used to think that my life was predictable, with its soothing routine. I worked as a freelance graphic designer who gave me flexibility to be home most of the time, and I still brought an adequate income.
Xander, my husband, worked for long hours in his law firm, so I often had a house for myself. It was peaceful as long as my father -in -law Cordelie moved three months ago.
After her husband died, she called one night and her voice trembled.
“Olive, dear … I don’t know how to do it alone; she sobbed on the phone.” The house is empty S0, so lonely … I just have to be around my family. “
I looked at Xander and he nodded and looked concerned. We agreed that Cordelia would move in; It seemed like the right thing for a mourning woman who had just lost her partner for 40 years. But something has felt from the beginning.
Cordelie has always been a bit strange, but her behavior was unpredictable. Every Thursday she leaves early in the morning and returns late in the evening, her dress bears a terrible smell: something rotten and damp like the breakup. It persisted, held on AI, and made me ask what she was doing.
“Mom, where were you today?” Xander asked her one Thursday evening as she mixed into the kitchen and her eyes avoided ours. I stood by the stove and pretended to mix a pot of soup and try to suppress my nose from the scent.
“Oh, just out with some old friends,” She said and waved her hand dismissively, her smile firmly and unconvincingly.
“Every Thursday?” I asked and kept my tone occasional. “It must be a social circle.”
She looked at me and her eyes persisted for too long and then shrugged. “We like to meet regularly.” It’s good for the soul, you know, catch up with old friends. ”
But the smell – it was as if the shed was crawling through the sewer. The smell persisted long after it went through a pungent mixture of garbage and something wet and crumbling. I felt gnawing on me, the way you can’t help, but you put a sore tooth.
One Wednesday evening I couldn’t take it anymore. “Xander, I whispered and upside down.” “Are you really buying the story?”
He blinked down. “What story?”
“I replied that your mom is” out with old friends.” Every Thursday? “And the smell … it’s not normal”
Sighed. “Maybe they just mourn in their own way, Olive.” People equalize differently. ”
I felt my jaw tightening. “And what is it?” Diving landfill? ”
He laughed quietly, half asleep, “Let it go, love. Probably it’s nothing. ”
But he didn’t feel like “nothing”. It seemed like a secret to me and I needed to know.
Next Thursday I called the sick and decided to follow it. I waited by the window and looked through the blinds like an amateur detective. Cordelia left the house at its usual time, dressed in her excessive coat and clutching her purse tightly.
When I walked down the street, I kept a safe distance, turned left at the end, and then another left into the aisle that I didn’t even know there was. When I had called her, my heart pounded in my chest.
She stopped on the corner and looked around as if checking someone or something.
“Where are you going, Cordelia?” I whispered, more curious than ever.
I expected something harmless, maybe even ridiculous, like an old lady’s knitting club or maybe Bingo Night in a scary basement. But what I found inside was nothing like that.
Cordelia did not make friends. Instead, she went through the most adorable part of the city and slipped into an old, stretching building that looked as if it could collapse at any time.
The walls covered with graffiti and windows were disrupted, but I took a deep breath and followed it in. The air was a thick smoke, a species that sticks to your skin, and the room was filled with low hum and distant laughter.
At that time I saw it: a hidden, illegal casino tucked at the back, searching for musty smoke and the acid scent of despair. The lightened room was given with flashing lights and the air filled with the sounds of poker chips.
And there, in the middle of it all, it was my father -in -law. Not only *hangs out with her friends, ”but gambling every penny to get her hands, her eyes fastened to the cards in front of her, and her hands trembled with every bet she placed.
I stayed in the shade, barely breathed, and watched her playing hand on hand. She looked different, Haggard, almost as if she had the weight of every decision she had ever made. Her lips were moving, but I didn’t hear what she told about noise.
I lost her money, won Littleee, then lost it all again. She looked almost obsessed with her fingers shaking as she stretched over the fries, her face lined with a mixture of despair and obsession.
I wanted to pull her out of there, grab her arm and pull her home, but I couldn’t move. I felt frozen, glued to the place. I needed to see how far he would go. They did not take place in the evening, and when she finally did it, she looked exhausted.
Her eyes were glazed and her shoulders fell as if she was carrying the weight of her loss on her back.
I waited for it to turn around the corner before I followed, and kept my distance. When we walked back, I felt a wave of anger and regret in my stomach. What did she get into? And why did she tell us?
I couldn’t hold it the next morning. At breakfast, I put too hard a cup of coffee. “Cordelie, where were you yesterday?” I asked my voice sharper than I intended.
She barely looked up from her cereal, “With friends, as I told you.”
“Stop lying, Cordelia,” I chuckled. “I watched you.” I know where you were. ”
Her spoon rang against the bowl and she paled. “You … did you follow me?”
Xander looked among us, confused. “What’s the matter?”
“She wasn’t with friends, Xander I said, my look at her.” “She was in an illegal casino, gambling.” And he’s been doing this for some time “
Cordelia crushed her face and she collapsed. “I …” I’m sorry. She sobbed. “I lost everything … everything.” I had nowhere to go. That’s why I begged you to let me stay. I was ashamed and did not know how to tell you. ”
Xander’s face changed to he deep shade of red. “Do you want to tell me you’ve lied to us all the time?” Use us? ”
“I didn’t think Tol” shouted. “I knew how to stop.” Maybe I thought … Maybe I could win it back ”
I felt guilt, but it was overshadowed by anger in me. “You released us, Cordelia.” Look inward because we took care of, not because you could feed
dependence.”
She looked at me, pedaling her face with tears. “I know, I’m so sorry,” I promise to change. Just … won’t throw me on me. Please.”
That night Xander and I lay in bed, unable to sleep. “We have to do something; I whispered.” We can’t just let her do it on. “
Xander sighed deeply. “What do you suggest, Olive?” Hard love? “
Innoded. “Exactly. If she doesn’t stop alone, we have to stop her.”
The following Thursday I handed her a large amount of cash, more than she saw in one place since she moved with us. Her eyes spread and for a moment I saw the known spark of greed.
“Go ahead; I said and forced a smile.” He takes it and does what you want. “
Just a second hesitated before she caught the money and stuffed it in her purse.
“Thank you, Olive,” She murmured, her voice shaking, but she didn’t meet my eyes. And then she was gone, practically ran out of the door.
Xander stood behind me and crossed his hands. “Are you sure?”
“Believe me/” I replied. “Not getting far away”
At the beginning of that day, I made several calls and at a time when Cordelia reached a casino, the place swarmed with secret cops. The air raid dropped directly as she was going to pass on cash.
I wasn’t there to see it, but I could imagine looking at her face: Shock, maybe a little betrayal when she grabbed her with red hands, along with the owners of an illegal casino.
That evening the phone rang. It was the police. “Lady. Field?” Said the officer. “We have your mother -in -law in custody.”
“We know that I replied.” *And we don’t disturb it. You should know that he is struggling with gambling addiction. We want her to get help. ”
The officer seemed to have been impressed, but eventually agreed to include our statement in the report. The judge did not show any mercy; Cordelia was sentenced to compulsory rehabilitation and a steep fine.
Months later, when she was released from rehabilitation, Cordelia looked different. She looked smaller, fragile. She stood in our door and wrote her hands.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice raw. “I know I hurt both of you, and I’m ready to fix it.” I want to rebuild my life. ”
Xander and I have exchanged a look. He stepped forward, his expression soft but firm.
“We are willing to give you another chance, Mom,” he said, “but under our conditions.” We found a modest apartment in the area. We will cover the rent, but only if you keep your word and take part in the support group meetings. ”
Cordelia nodded eagerly and tears in her eyes. “I’ll be,” I swear. Thank you … Thank you for giving me a chance. ”
When we watched her go to her new home, I couldn’t help myself, but I felt a flashing hope mixed with fear of another betrayal.
We did everything we could and the rest was on it. The ball was in her judgment, and only time would say if she could actually change.
But when Natasha begins to see a change in Marlen’s behavior, an old woman begins to worry. Finally, when the truth is revealed, Natasha doesn’t know what to do.