"Well, obviously. If she hadn't landed a good man like our Edgar, she'd probably never have found a husband at all!"
Georgette's lips were twitching with a smile she could barely suppress, but she put on a show of waving them off.
"Oh, now, don't say that, don't say that. She's pregnant right now, so if anything were to happen..."
"So what if she's pregnant? Which one of us hasn't been pregnant before? She's the only one acting like a princess about it!"
"Right? Does she think carrying one baby makes her royalty?"
As they said this, they ground my figurines under their heels, deliberately crushing them.
Both of those were limited editions. Current market value: twelve thousand dollars.
And intentional destruction of property valued over six thousand met the threshold for criminal charges.
I didn't hesitate. I pulled out my phone to call the police.
But just as I was about to dial 911, Edgar came out of the balcony and pulled me over.
"Fern, come look at the bed I set up for Dad. I made it myself. What do you think?"
For a moment, I didn't register what he meant.
Then I saw it: a four-foot folding cot wedged between the potted plants,