Chapter 4

"Eight hundred!"

Anthony shouted, and it made me jump.

"What are you yelling about? Doesn't it cost money to buy groceries and cook? You want six meat dishes, four vegetable dishes, and a soup, plus crab and jumbo shrimp. The ingredients alone come to at least five hundred."

"I'll even give you a discount on the labor for cooking, only three hundred. That's already a family rate, okay!"

"Mildred, are you obsessed with money? Money, money, money, that's all you ever think about!"

"You're right, I was being too petty. And honestly I don't want to cook anyway. Making that many dishes is exhausting. You all go out to eat."

"You know I'm broke!"

"If you're broke, why did you invite so many people over to eat?"

"This was all set up last week. I can't tell them not to come over something this small."

"Figure it out yourself."

The next day, Anthony's parents showed up before his friends did.

They came dragging duffel bags and suitcases, like refugees who'd just fled.

Rowena said with a big smile, "Mildred, starting today, your dad and I are moving in with you two."

"We'll rent out our old place, so we'll have a little extra income coming in."

I asked them, "So who gets the rent money?"

"Your sister-in-law, of course. She can hold onto it for us along with everything else."

Anthony said smugly, "You didn't want to cook, so Mom and Dad came over and did it for me. If you've got the nerve, go ahead and don't eat any."

I laughed and said, "You all eat your food. I'll order takeout for myself."

Anthony only had two hundred on him, and his parents together had just sixteen hundred.

My father-in-law goes through a pack of cigarettes a day, twenty a pack, that's six hundred a month.

He also loves the card hall, where a single visit runs a hundred and change, and he goes at least five days a week.

My mother-in-law doesn't spend on much, just groceries and cooking.

But today's one meal alone was going to run five or six hundred.

After this, the three of them probably wouldn't even be able to afford plain bread and pickles.

"Mildred, come to the market with me. I can't carry all of it by myself."

"Mom, I still have work I haven't finished. Anthony's not busy, so let him go with you."

Anthony scoffed. "Mildred, you really are calculating. You're just afraid that if you go with Mom, she'll make you spend money, aren't you?"

"That's right, I don't want to spend money."

Anthony pulled out his phone. "Look what your sister-in-law just sent me. The stocks she invested for us have gone up this much, and the fund is growing steadily too."

"We're about to be filthy rich, and when that happens, you'll be the only poor one left in this family!"

"After the way you're treating us, you won't get a single cent of that investment money to spend!"

I took the phone and zoomed in on the picture.

"This picture is photoshopped."

"No way!"

I held the phone up in front of his eyes. "Look, the numbers are all warped from editing."

Anthony snatched the phone back. "I think you're just jealous. You can't stand to see the whole family do well!"

"Come on, Mom, I'll take you to the market!"

I went straight back to the bedroom, shut the door, and tuned it all out.

Anthony's buddies arrived one after another. They ate and drank in the house, leaving aluminum cans and dried-fruit peels thrown everywhere.

Every air conditioner in the house was running, his two buddies had the eighty-inch TV monopolized for PS5, and the high-wattage oven was going nonstop.

The electric bill was definitely about to be more than we could handle.

My mother-in-law finished the food but didn't call me.

One of Anthony's buddies asked him, "Isn't your wife eating with us?"

"Don't mind her. You guys eat."

I ordered my own takeout and ate it slowly in the bedroom.

Right when they were halfway through the meal, the air conditioners, the oven, and the TV all cut out at once.

"Power's out?"

Anthony stood up and looked over at the neighbors across the way. Their big TV was still playing its palace drama.

Anthony came into the bedroom. "You didn't pay the electric bill?"

"We agreed to split things 50/50. Now your parents are moving in too. There are three of you, so why should I be the one to pay?"

My mother-in-law came in too.

"Anthony, why don't I just go ahead and pay the electric bill?"

"No need, Mom. If she won't pay, we won't pay either. She uses the most electricity. Let's see who outlasts who."

Anthony led his mother back out.

I heard him tell his buddies.

"There's a little problem with the wiring in the house. You guys go ahead and eat. If the meal's not great this time, we'll get together again next time."

They finished the meal in the dark.

My power bank, laptop, and phone were all fully charged, more than enough to last through the weekend.

After seeing Anthony's buddies off, my mother-in-law said, "It's too dark. Let's clean up tomorrow."

Early the next morning, my mother-in-law woke me up.

"Mildred, hurry and help me tidy up. Anthony's buddies made a real mess of the house yesterday."

I got up right away, but not to help her clean.

"Mom, I've got plans with a friend and I'm heading out soon. Take your time cleaning up."

Anthony heard.

"Mom, don't bother cleaning. This is Mildred's house too. If she won't clean it, then let it stink like this. We'll see who can't take it first!"

Anthony knows I like things clean, and he was sure I couldn't stand a house in this state.

But what he didn't know was that tonight was my last night living in this house.

When I got home that evening, the house was indeed exactly as before.

With no electricity, the air conditioner and fans couldn't run, so my father-in-law sat by the window fanning himself against the heat.

The fruit peels left uncleaned on the coffee table had already drawn flies and gave off a foul smell.

Right now it was only the power that was out. Next would come the water, the gas, and the internet.

I showered in the bathroom, then went back to the bedroom and lay down.

The next day, before dawn, I grabbed my things and left.

That night, when I still wasn't home by eleven, Anthony flew into a rage and video-called me.

"Mildred, you're getting more and more out of line! You stay out this late and don't even bother to say a word about it!"

Then he froze. "Why is it daytime where you are?"

"I'm overseas."

"Forgot to tell you, I applied for an overseas work assignment. Three years."