The floodgates opened.
Story after story filled the comments. Different holidays, different women, same Gladys.
The room filled with uncomfortable shifting.
Even the men started reading over each other’s shoulders.
Eli looked genuinely stunned.
“You never told me.”
I looked at him.
“When?”
He blinked.
“I…”
“When would I have told you? Every time I tried to bring up your mother’s behavior, you said she didn’t mean it that way.”
He lowered his eyes, but I wasn’t finished.
“When she criticized my cooking.”
Silence.
“When she rearranged my kitchen.”
Silence.
“When she walked into our bedroom without knocking.”
His head snapped up.
“She what?”
I let out one tired laugh.
“See?”
His face changed.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did. Every time, you said she was just trying to help.”
