Let's see.
So now I knew he's always wanted me to work. What isn't included in that short conversation is a trip down memory lane, but not in a good way. It's a sad terrible night that ended with an enraged father-in-law shaking a checkbook at me, begging me to get a job. Any job. Whatever job I could find. Really? Like I could only get a job in a McDonalds.
Let's go back a few moments further. An angry father-in-law, a checkbook, and a poised ball point pen.
Get a job.
Any job and I will double whatever your pay is. If you make five dollars an hour I will make it ten.
"No." I said. "I want to raise my son."
The grilling only continued.
I remember the room thick with electricity. In their carefully chosen mobile home in their carefully chosen mobile home park. Their carefully chosen brand-new mid-size affordable vehicles in the carport. The in-laws were pretty certain they had arrived. The good life was theirs. Only a few loose ends.
I refused to work. Perhaps earn my keep, if you will. Whatever he had told them, whatever they assumed, I don't know. They weren't at our pre-marital counseling sessions. I would stay home and raise our children. No one else. It was his job to provide for the family and my job to make our home and family a safe haven from the world.
How did this fit into a quantifiable equation? Heck if I know.
Their disappointment laced in anger was palpable that night.
I held my ground and left with my son and my dignity in tact.
It's always been about the money with them. Write a check. That will solve it. Nothing was ever given without strings attached. Interest.
I felt good about our little family. We had ridden out a sizable storm that night. The wrath of my father-in-law. The weak silence of my mother-in-law. We had held together and survived.
In my opinion, we had done nothing wrong. We were young. All three of us. We were poor.
There was so much more to come.
I would learn I was alone that night and would be alone again.
No comments:
Post a Comment