“You have one month to leave my house!” my mother-in-law announced firmly.
Life with Adrián, my husband, had been a dream: two years of relationship and then the decision to get married. I had always gotten along well with my mother-in-law, Carmen Martínez. I thought she was a kind and wise woman, whose advice I valued and whose opinion I respected. I thought I’d been incredibly lucky: a mother-in-law who didn’t interfere in our lives, who didn’t reproach us for anything, and whose affection filled my heart.
Carmen paid for the entire wedding. My parents, unfortunately, couldn’t afford large expenses due to financial constraints and limited themselves to a modest contribution. The party was wonderful, and I was sure a happy married life awaited us. But just after the wedding, when we were still on cloud nine, my mother-in-law called us in for a serious conversation. Her words hit like a bucket of cold water.
“Children, I have done my duty,” she said with a cold and determined look. “I have raised Adrian, I have given him an education, I have helped him get married. You are a family now, and I don’t want you to be offended, but you have one month to leave my house. It’s time for you to face life on your own. Yes, it will be hard at first, but you will learn to be frugal, to get yourself out of trouble. And I… I deserve, finally, to live for myself.”
He paused and continued, each word sticking like a pin:
—And don’t count me out when it comes to grandchildren. I’ve given everything for my son, and I don’t have the strength left to raise children. You’re always welcome in my home, but I’ll be a grandmother, not a nanny. Please don’t misjudge me. You’ll understand when you reach my age.
I froze, as if I’d been slapped. Inside me, a hurricane of emotions: anger, confusion, disappointment. How could I do this? Carmen would enjoy her spacious three-bedroom apartment in the center of Madrid, while Adrián and I would have to make do with renting, counting every cent. And the most outrageous thing was that Adrián owned part of that apartment! Why did he have to leave? And the grandchildren… Isn’t that what all grandmothers want: to take care of their grandchildren, to spoil them? Apparently, ours was the exception.
I expected Adrian to protest, to defend our position, but… he just nodded. Without question, he started looking for rental apartments and extra jobs to pay for the new roof. I was seething with rage. My parents couldn’t help us, but how was it possible that Carmen, who had always seemed so loving, now turned out to be such a heartless selfish person?
Every day I repeated his words in my head, and they hurt more and more. How could he erase us from his life like that? Had all his smiles and displays of affection before the wedding really been fake? I felt betrayed. The idea of starting over in someone else’s house filled me with anguish. Adrián, on the other hand, was determined. He said it was our chance to show we could handle anything, that we were a real family. But how could I think about the future if everything I thought was secure was crumbling before my eyes?
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