After Lucy’s husband passed away, she was welcomed to live with her son Connor and his wife Eve.
Being elderly and fragile, Lucy needed company, at least for some time, until she was able to accept her reality and be ready to move on.
When she moved in with her son, he decided to let her stay on the first floor in order not to use the stairs because of her weak knees.
Connor worked at the IT sector and was at work for long hours while his wife was a housewife. That meant that Lucy and Eve spent most of the day together, and what’s most, they got along nicely.
While Eve was doing most of the housework, Lucy always offered help, either with the household chores or in the kitchen.
Eve was willing to accept her mother-in-law’s help, but as time passed by, she somehow let Lucy do most of the work.
A couple of days before Christmas, Eve was at the house, watching TV, when she turned to Lucy and said, “Lucy, after you finish the laundry, please go out and buy groceries for tonight’s dinner and Christmas dinner, too. Nine people are coming over. I’ll give you the money before you leave.”
This request came as a shock to Lucy. The two always did the shopping together, and Lucy was way too fragile to be able to shop for groceries all by herself.
At that moment, Lucy realized that as long she stayed at the house, she would fell like a maid more and more.
She did feel it was the time to leave and return to her home, but she first wanted to teach Eve a lesson.
Lucy’s home wasn’t empty at the time. When she moved in with her son and his wife, she decided to rent her home and give the money from the rent to Connor. So, even if she wanted to, she couldn’t leave Connor’s place at that moment.
For Christmas, Lucy prepared all the food, including the side dishes and the desserts.
When the guests arrived, they all praised Lucy for her cooking skills.
“Aunt Lucy,” said one of the friends of her son, “This food is amazing! Did you cook all of it yourself?”
“I did, Ross,” Lucy answered with a smile.
“Lucy,” Eve said, “I doubted that you would make so many delicious things!”
“Thank you, Eve,” Lucy responded, believing that the words from the guests would make Eve question her choice not to help around the dinner but leave Lucy do everything by herself.
After dinner, Lucy went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, and that’s when Eve approached her.
“Lucy, can we talk?” Eve asked her.
“Sure,” Lucy said. “What’s on your mind, Darling?”
“I didn’t realize how much you do around the house. I’ve wanted to take it easy, so I added it to your load. I’m so sorry,” Eve uttered.
Then Lucy smiled, as she figured it out that Eve had her lesson. “It’s more than fine,” she said, “I just need you to know that as much as I want to help around the house, I’m old, and my knees aren’t the same anymore.”
“We make a great team,” Eve said, “Come on, let’s go put your feet up. I’ll make you a cup of tea.”
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