Chapter 4

It was Jasper calling.

I didn't want to pick up, but I couldn't swallow this either.

I wanted to ask him myself where my necklace and gold bracelet had gone.

But before I could get a word out, Jasper rattled off: "Babe, my sister just had her baby. Have you got a gift ready?"

"What?" I said.

He sounded put out. "You're really something. Did nobody ever teach you how the world works?"

"I'll try to stall a little on my end. Come home from the hospital around noon."

"This morning, go buy my sister a first-meeting gift. Get one for my nephew too."

"Don't be cheap about it. Gold, ideally. If it's silver, make sure the weight's decent."

I said coldly, "Am I your family's ATM? Why do you people keep bleeding me dry?"

Jasper flared up. "What's that supposed to mean? Do you even hear yourself?"

I said, "The necklace around your mother's neck, the bracelet on your sister's wrist—aren't those mine? Where did they come from?"

"I looked everywhere for them. How did they end up on those two?"

Jasper's temper snapped. "Mavis, are you done? My sister just gave birth and you pick now to make a scene?"

"You're a mother too. Don't you know how dangerous postpartum depression is?"

"Whatever your problem is, it can wait until my sister's out of confinement! Right now, go buy the gifts."

Before I could answer, someone else took the phone.

It had to be Renee, snatching it away.

She said in that simpering voice of hers, "Sis, stew me a whole chicken, would you? I want some chicken soup."

"Stew it until it's really tender, I can't eat anything hard right after giving birth. And don't let it go cold, whatever you do. You can't have cold food during confinement."

"Oh, and the baby's diapers and formula are almost out. Run to the baby store and grab some. Get a good brand, don't skimp."

Then it was my mother-in-law's voice. "My girl just came home from the hospital, and a lot of relatives will be coming to see her."

"When you cook, make extra. Cook for twenty or thirty people."

"Don't let the relatives show up to no food. That's cheap and embarrassing."

The whole family really did treat me like a maid, lining up to hand me their demands.

And when they finished, they hung up without waiting to hear a word from me.

I muttered, disgusted, "Sick, all of them."

I spent the whole morning with my daughter.

She was doing better and better, up and off the bed, even running and playing.

The doctor said we'd be able to leave after a little more observation.

Around noon, my phone, quiet for so long, suddenly went off like mad.

I ignored it outright.

Then he fired off one message after another.

"Babe, where are you? Why is nobody home?"

"Where's the gift I told you to get? My sister's so hurt she's crying. What kind of sister-in-law are you?"

"Ugh, thirty-some relatives came today and you didn't cook a single thing. What are they supposed to eat? I'm mortified."

"There's a lawyer here at our place. What is going on?"

"Mavis, have you lost your mind? You actually want to divorce me?"

"The lawyer says you filed for asset preservation, that the house has to be sealed for now, that no one can move back in until the divorce settlement is done. What's my sister supposed to do? What's this whole family supposed to do?"

I couldn't help laughing, and I texted back: "Jasper, do whatever you all want. Just sign. After this, the two of us are nothing to each other."