“Come on, Beulah, we’re all family. You’re not a kid anymore. Don’t make your sister-in-law upset. It’s just a bit of money. Isn’t it only right to give it to her? We’re family. Don’t be so stingy.”
Ethel, smug and sure of herself, stretched out her palm toward me, waiting for me to hand over the cash.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
So this was how it was.
This entire family thought I was some kind of fool with a bottomless wallet.
I opened my bag, pulled out a small mirror, and placed it in Ethel’s outstretched hand.
“Take a good look at yourself. You see a difference between you and a beggar?”
“Actually,” I sneered, “scratch that. No beggar would have the nerve to ask for this much!”
She froze, her face twisting like she’d just swallowed a fly.
“Who are you calling a beggar, huh, Beulah?! What are you, exactly? Coming into my house acting like you’re the queen of it?! Is this how a sister-in-law should be treated?!”
She stomped her foot and shouted, “That’s it! I’m done! I want a divorce! I’m getting divorced!”
Her outburst sent Mom and my brother into a panic.
Mom slapped my arm sharply, her voice trembling with anger.