Cody’s ex-wife began showing up regularly, taking items from the house and eventually made excuses to let her younger son move in permanently.
Cody’s sister also moved in, continuously finding fault with my mom and treating her with hostility.
Mom kept all of this from my aunt, worried about adding to my stress or disrupting my life.
The most disturbing revelation was that Cody was still in touch with his ex-wife, though my aunt was too fearful to share this with Mom.
In our hometown, the stigma surrounding second marriages was already harsh. A second divorce would be devastating for Mom’s reputation.
“Reina, the ribs are ready,” Mom called, setting a plate of mouthwatering ribs on the table and gesturing for me to come over.
I snapped back to reality, quickly taking my seat. Just as I was about to dig in, I noticed something was missing.
“Mom, where’s the gold bracelet I gave you? Aren’t you wearing it anymore?”
Mom’s hand instinctively pulled away, and she pushed the water glass toward me.
“I found it a bit inconvenient to wear while working, so I put it away.”