The shout brought Megan hurrying in from the living room.
“What is going on in here?” she demanded, throwing Emily an accusing look. “Jason, have you completely lost control of your wife?”
Emily turned to her, her voice suddenly quiet and sharp.
“One more word from you,” she said, “and I’ll tell your husband, Daniel, all about those little ‘visits’ you’ve been having with Tyler from the building next door.”
The color drained from Megan’s face. She took a step back.
“You…”
“I know plenty,” Emily cut her off. She snatched up her purse. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m leaving.”
Jason moved into her path.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“To my mother’s,” Emily replied. “At least there, nobody expects me to feed an entire pack of relatives out of thin air.”
“If you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back!” Jason shouted.
Emily stopped. Slowly, she turned around and looked at him.
“You know what, Jason?” she said. “That may be the best offer you’ve made me all year.”
Her mother took her in without asking a single question. Carol simply wrapped her arms around her daughter, held her for a moment, and then guided her into the small kitchen.
“Tell me,” she said, setting a cup on the table and pouring tea.
And Emily told her everything—the empty cabinets, the shameless relatives, Jason’s demands, his yelling, the way he had expected her to perform some miracle while he stood there doing nothing.
“So you left?” Carol asked, nodding with approval. “Good. You should have done it sooner. How much longer were you planning to put up with that useless man?”
“Mom, I loved him…”
“You loved him,” Carol corrected gently. “Past tense. Love doesn’t survive for long when respect is gone.”
Just then Emily’s phone began to ring. Jason’s name flashed across the screen. She declined the call.
“Don’t answer,” her mother advised. “Let him handle his precious family by himself.”
The phone rang again. Then again. After that, messages started arriving one after another. Emily didn’t open a single one.
“You know,” Carol said, refilling their cups, “I never told you this, but I didn’t like Jason from the beginning. He always thought too highly of himself and left no room for anyone else.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Would you have listened?” Carol gave her a knowing look. “People in love rarely hear common sense.”
Emily gave a sad little smile. Her mother was right.
Meanwhile, back at Emily and Jason’s apartment, an entirely different scene was unfolding. Brian paced the room, waving his hands in outrage.
“Did you see that? Did you see how your wife behaved? She didn’t even feed the guests!”
“Brian, calm down already,” Jason muttered, rushing nervously between the kitchen and the living room, opening cabinets and drawers in a desperate search for anything edible.
“I told you she wasn’t right for you,” Megan inserted from the couch. “Remember? I said it from the start. That Emily was never a good match.”
“Enough!” Jason snapped. “If the two of you are so smart, go stay at a hotel.”
“A hotel?” Brian’s eyes widened. “You’re sending your own brother to a hotel? I came here on purpose. I thought we’d spend the evening together like family.”
“Like family,” Jason repeated bitterly as he pulled open the refrigerator door. “There’s nothing here except ketchup and an expired yogurt.”
“That’s all your Emily’s fault,” Megan declared, dropping onto the sofa. “A proper wife always keeps something in reserve.”
“A proper wife has a proper husband,” Jason said before he could stop himself.
The brother and sister stared at each other in stunned silence.
“Are you… defending her?” Brian asked, disbelief thick in his voice. “She walked out on you and ran to her mother, and you’re still taking her side?”
Jason sank heavily onto a chair. Only then did the truth of it begin to settle over him. Emily was gone. She had simply picked up her purse and left. And worst of all, he understood why.
He knew she had been right.
“You know what?” he said at last, lifting his head. “Go home. I need to think.”
“Home?” Brian repeated, stunned.