Gritting her teeth, Emily dialed again—twice, three times—until the twelfth call finally connected, and Sarah’s lazy voice drifted through.
“Sister-in-law, why are you calling so late? I just put Henry to sleep.”
Emily’s tone shot up, every word burning with anger.
“Mom battled heavy rain to bring you so many nice things, drove for hours to visit, and you wouldn’t even give her a sip of hot water. You complained that what she brought was dirty and didn’t even bother to arrange a place for her to stay.”
Sarah’s voice held a hint of grievance. “Sister-in-law, you don’t understand my situation. Mrs. Adams already dislikes my mom.” “We live in the countryside. Mom brought vegetables and poultry and messed up the whole place. Mrs. Adams’s face turned dark. What was I supposed to do?”
“Besides, Mom lives well in the countryside. Her sudden visit just makes things harder for me!” Emily let out a breathless laugh, her voice shooting up two octaves.
“Making things harder?”