The Mother-in-Law

by Modglin, Kiersten

  His thumb continued to stroke my skin. “I don’t know. She might not like us going through her things.”

  “We won’t take them anywhere. We could just pack them in boxes and move them out of her room. Or, if nothing else, just clean it up a bit. It’s been empty for nearly two months. I’m sure it could use a cleaning.” I squeezed his hand. “Come on, she was so nice to do this for us. I want to do something to pay her back.” Jack wasn’t as good as I was. He couldn’t see the lie behind my innocent stare. In all reality, I wanted to get into Coralee’s house to find out what I could about her. I wanted to find something to give me some insight into the enigma that she was. Jack still didn’t see it. The few times I’d tried to bring up her behavior, he’d shut the conversation down quickly. I didn’t want to spend the whole vacation fighting, so I’d let it go. It was for good reason, as we were now in a better place than before, but I still had a growing sense of dread as we neared our home.

  Anything to put that moment off, especially something that could help me learn Coralee’s dirty secrets, well, that sounded pretty appealing to me.

  “I just don’t know how she’ll feel about us going into her house.”

  “You have a key, don’t you?” I asked. I knew he did; it was one of only five keys on his ring—keys to the bar, the house, his car, my car, and Coralee’s front door.

  “I do,” he confirmed with a look that said we both knew that.

  “So, what could it hurt? You’re her son. We’d be helping her out. Besides, aren’t you ready to have our house to ourselves again? Those nights in the cabin were,” I moved my hand from his, running my fingers across his forearm slowly, “so nice.” I winked. “I’m not saying we rush her out, but this could be a nudge. She has to be missing home, but maybe his stuff being there just makes it that much harder to face.”

  He twisted his lips in thought, his eyes narrowing. Finally, he turned on his blinker and made a left at the next street. “You really think this could help her get ready to move home?”

  “I do.”

  “Just a bit of cleaning, then,” he agreed. “She hates a dusty house.”

  “Just a bit of cleaning,” I said, looking away to conceal my grin.

  A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of the old, gray home.

  “It looks strange, without her in it,” Jack said, staring up at the house. “Like it lost its soul or something. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”

  I shook my head. “I was thinking the same thing. Something about it looks…strange, doesn’t it?”

  “I guess it’s just a trick of the mind.” He laughed. “Let’s go in, shall we?”

  I moved to open my door, but stopped. “Jack, look.” I pointed toward the house as a curtain swished, almost so quickly I hadn’t noticed. Jack looked back to me, his eyes wide, and I knew he’d seen it, too.

  Someone is inside the house.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Loren

  “What do we do?” Jack asked.

  I tried to be rational. “Does your mother have a housekeeper?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “It’s the middle of the day. Surely no one’s broken in.”

  “We have to call the cops, right?”

  “What if it was just a vent kicking on? What if no one’s there?” I asked, thinking of his explanation about the self-closing door in Rynlee’s room. “Should we call your mom?”

  He stared at the dashboard, obviously trying to think through our next move. “Good idea,” he said finally. “Yes, let’s call and check to see if someone’s supposed to be there.” He pulled his phone from the holder on the dashboard, scrolling through his contacts while I kept a firm eye on the window.

  “We should’ve been coming through and checking more often.”

  “More often than never, you mean?” he asked, placing the phone to his ear. “This is a safe neighborhood and the house is far enough away from its neighbors, I never thought something like this could happen.” When the call connected, it beeped in through the Bluetooth, and Jack lowered it from his ear.

  “Hello?” Coralee’s voice called out over the line.

  “Hey, Mom, it’s Jack.”

  “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “Um, okay, don’t panic, but we’re at your house and I’m—”

  “You’re what?”

  “Jack,” I whispered, patting his arm.

  “We came by to clean up. It was supposed to be a surprise—”

  “I don’t need you to clean up for me, Jack. Don’t worry about that. Just come on home, okay?” Her voice was urgent, and I was beginning to understand why.

  “Jack,” I said again, patting him harder.

  “What?” he asked, looking at me as his mother continued to ramble.

  “Coralee, we’ll call you back,” I said, pressing the end button as I nodded toward the house. Jack followed my gaze.

  “What the—”

  The front door of the house was opened, an East Asian man standing in the doorway with one hand over his brow to shield his eyes from the sun. Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, he certainly didn’t look the part of a burglar. A woman walked up behind him, her shiny, black hair draping over her shoulders, a daughter dressed in pink in her arms. They looked at us as we looked at them—confused.

  “What should we do?” Jack asked.

  “Go see who they are,” I told him. Before he could budge, the man had begun walking down the steps, then the long path, headed our way. Jack opened his door, climbing from the car, but kept his hand in the door.

  “Hey, can I, um, can I help you?” the man asked, his voice wary.

  “Yeah, this is kind of awkward. Do you…are you, like, Airbnbing or something?” Jack asked, pointing toward the house.

  The man looked behind him. “Sorry, no. You could check the website, though. I’m sure someone in the neighborhood might be. Or there’s a hotel just down the street. It’s pretty cheap this time of year.” He smiled, trying to appear friendly, but I could tell he was put off by the strange question.

  Jack shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, I meant…well, this is my mother’s house.”

  The man looked confused for a moment, then his brows raised. “Oh, wow. Man, this sucks. We never met the seller—the agent did all the work—but I didn’t realize…did she pass away?”

  “What? No! What seller?” Jack said, though I knew he was beginning to piece it together, same as I was.

  “The seller of the house. Was it your mother’s estate? Or…did she not tell you she moved?”

  “T-temporarily,” Jack sputtered. “She’s living with my wife and I, but…are you saying she sold you this house?”

  The man nodded cautiously. “We closed last week. I’m…really sorry if you didn’t know.”

  Jack took a step back, the weight of what he was learning hitting him square in the gut. At the same time, I rested my head on the back of the seat, my mouth open in shock as my eyes beaded with tears.

  What the hell had she done? What the hell were we going to do?

  Well, I thought, as I saw Jack meet my eye, at least you believe me now.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Loren

  Coralee called over and over again for the first few minutes of our drive home, but eventually gave up, knowing her secret had been spilled. We rode in silence, both of us reeling with the revelation. What were we going to do with our newfound information?

  “Surely there’s some sort of explanation,” Jack repeated for the fourth time.

  I nodded. There is an explanation. Your mother’s a psychopath.

  We’d dropped Rynlee off with Sarah for a few hours. I knew whatever happened when we got home, it was going to be an explosion, and I didn’t want her exposed to that. The bottom line was, Coralee had to leave, and if I had to call the police to get her out as a last resort, I’d hit that point pretty easily.

  When we walked into the house, Coralee was sitting in the re
cliner, wearing a dress a shade darker than her silver hair. She wore a pearl necklace with earrings to match.

  When she saw us, she leaned forward in her chair slightly, her hands gripping the arms of the chair. She was prepared for battle.

  “Mom, we need to talk,” Jack began.

  She nodded. “I agree.”

  “We met the people you sold the house to.”

  “Did you?” she asked, her upper lip quivering, though I saw no fear in her eyes. “I never had the pleasure. Were they nice?”

  Jack stepped toward her. “Mom, what’s going on? Why have you sold your house? And why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Were you even planning to tell us?” I demanded. “Where do you think you’re going to live?”

  She pushed herself up from the chair, clasping her hands at her waist with a small, sinister smile. Her voice was soft and smooth as the answer came. “Why, I’m going to live here, of course. After all, how could you kick out a frail, elderly woman? Even you can’t be that heartless.” The you was pointed, her gaze drilling into me.

  “You’re insane.” I scoffed, looking at Jack. “Do you believe me now? This was her plan all along! The second she moved in here, she never planned to move out. We let her come in and get comfortable, and now she thinks she can stay.” I flung a hand out toward her, begging my husband to see reason. “Jack, you have to put a stop to this. This can’t go on.”

  He sighed through his nose, scratching his temple. “Mom, I…I don’t understand. How could you—why would you do this? I trusted you. I went to bat for you against my wife!”

  “As you well should’ve. I’m your mother.”

  “And she’s my wife!” he bellowed, stepping forward so he was towering over her. “This is her house, not yours. Now, I want you to go upstairs and pack your bag. I’m going to call you an Uber.”

  She didn’t budge. “Where, pray tell, do you propose to send me?”

  “That’s your own problem, created by you,” he said, his eyes betraying his tone. He couldn’t be nearly as harsh with her as he was trying to be. “I don’t care where you go. To a hotel, to a friend’s. But you can’t stay here. Not after this.”

  She turned around, moving toward the staircase, and I held my breath. When she stopped, I let it out. I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. “You know, I don’t think I will be going after all.” She made her way, almost floating in her dress like a ghost—no, demon—toward the chair she’d been in before. “And I’d like to see either of you do a thing about it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Loren

  Up in our bedroom, while the monster-in-law lay in wait, Jack and I paced the floors.

  “What are we going to do?” I asked. “She can’t stay here. I can’t handle it.”

  “I know,” Jack said, and I could tell he was still in utter disbelief of what had happened, as those two words were practically all I’d managed to pull from him since we came upstairs.

  “Jack, we have to get her out of here.”

  “I know,” he repeated.

  “I’m scared of her,” I told him, stopping suddenly. “I’m scared to bring Rynlee into this house with her here.”

  He stopped walking, too, a scowl taking over his face. “Oh, she wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. I think this is just…lashing out, you know? Because she feels alone. With Dad gone, I’m all she has left.”

  “This isn’t normal behavior, Jack. You rationalizing it doesn’t help anyone!” I screamed, panic rising in my throat.

  “I’m not rationalizing it, I’m just…” He groaned. “Well, maybe I am, but I don’t know what to think, Lor. That woman down there is the same one who took care of me when I was sick and cried at my graduation. How am I supposed to accept that this is what she’s become? I don’t even know her anymore.” His eyes were wild with fear as he said the words. “How am I supposed to move on from this? I can’t kick my mother out of our home. How could I live with myself?”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. “Well, you can’t live with me if you don’t.”

  He jerked his head back. “You don’t mean that.”

  “I do, Jack. It’s not fair to me or Rynlee to keep living this way. I know it’s not fair to make you choose, but it’s what I have to do. If you won’t ask her to leave, I’ll ask you both to go.”

  “It’s my house, too,” he argued halfheartedly.

  “Would you really do that? Try to take my home?”

  He hung his head. “No, of course not, but…”

  “The choice is yours, but you don’t have long to make it. If you can’t get her out of here, I’m calling the police.”

  “Don’t!” he cried. “Okay, just—just give me a minute, okay? Let me talk to her.” He walked past me toward the door without another word.

  I could tell he’d never forgive me for the choice I’d given him. I may have just sealed the deal on the end of our marriage on my own, but I couldn’t take back what I’d said. I meant it. She had to go. Now. And if she took him with her, so be it.

  Chapter Thirty

  Loren

  Coralee wasn’t leaving. She’d made that abundantly clear. Jack asked me to let her sleep on it, let her realize she wasn’t thinking sanely—I think he was hoping I’d do the same—but by the next morning, I was every bit as angry as I’d been the night before.

  Sarah had texted me a photo of Rynlee, letting me know she was fine to stay there for a bit longer while we ‘got things sorted out.’ I could hear Jack and Coralee downstairs arguing, trying to make sense of our dreadful situation, but she wasn’t budging. Jack would never make her.

  I held the phone in my hand, the non-emergency police number on the screen. It felt drastic. I would’ve given anything to make any other decision, but this was what we’d come to.

  I placed the phone to my ear, mentally begging Jack to forgive me. I knew it wasn’t likely. I needed to save my marriage, even if that meant temporarily upsetting my husband. Coralee had sold her house. There was no way she was planning to leave now, and she’d made that clear. If we let that slide, let it be known that we knew about her sale and we’d allowed her to stay, then I wasn’t sure there was any coming back from that. We had to make our stand and we had to make it now. Coralee couldn’t stay in our house another moment. I wanted to cry at the thought of Jack leaving with her, of him finally choosing her over me, but I forced the thought away. He loved me. He loved Rynlee. We weren’t the ones who’d lied to him.

  “Little Valley Police Department, how can I direct your call?” The man sounded tired, like it’d already been a long day and I was about to make it worse.

  “I, um, well…I have someone in my house that I’d like to have escorted out.”

  His voice became more alert when he spoke next. “Was there a break-in, ma’am?”

  I hesitated. “No, not a break in. It’s…it’s my mother-in-law. She’s been staying here, but I’ve asked her to leave and she won’t.” I felt two inches tall making the request.

  There was a pause, and then the man said, “Does your husband agree with asking her to leave?”

  I chose my words wisely. “We’ve both asked her to leave, but she’s refusing.”

  “Okay. You mentioned she’s been staying there. For how long?”

  “A little over two months.”

  “Does she pose a threat to your safety?”

  “I don’t…well, I don’t—”

  “Has she tried to hurt you or your husband?”

  “She gave my daughter cookies with peanuts. She knew she was allergic,” I said, realizing all too quickly how ridiculous I must sound, how small my case against her seemed unless you’d lived it.

  “She did that today? Is that why you asked her to leave?”

  “No, that was about a month and a half ago.” I tried to remember. “It’s been a while. We’ve asked her to leave because…well, there have just been a lot of issues since she moved in, and it’s not working out. We tried to be reasonable,
but she…she just won’t leave. We aren’t sure what else to do.”

  “If you believe she was trying to harm your daughter, why didn’t you ask her to leave then?”

  “We weren’t so sure before—”

  “But you are now?”

  “Yes, well, no, but—”

  “Ma’am, I’m happy to take down the report for you, but I’m afraid based on what you’re saying, it’s something you’ll have to settle amongst yourselves. We wouldn’t be able to get involved unless someone was in danger.”

  My heart thudded in my chest. “What do you mean? It’s my house.”

  “Did you invite your mother-in-law into your home?”

  “I did, but—”

  “And did you set specific ground rules for how long she could stay? Did you get it in writing?”

  “Well, no, but I—”

  “Unfortunately, the law doesn’t see it as if she’s trespassing, then. Has she paid you any rent? Helped with utilities?”

  Ah, I had her there. “No, nothing.”

  “What about groceries? Has she contributed to your household at all? Bought any furniture?”

  “She…bought wallpaper. And food, once or twice.” I thought back to the meatloaf she’d surprised us with—had she known? Was it her plan all along?

  He clicked his tongue. “See, all of that makes this sticky. The law sees it as a family spat. We aren’t allowed to get involved in issues like this without a court order.”

  “So, what are you saying? I can’t make her leave at all? Unless she tries to hurt us?”

  “There are still ways, but it gets complicated and could take months, if not years. Your best bet would be to go talk to a lawyer about your options. I believe you’d need to send her an eviction notice, via certified letter. You’ll have to give her sufficient notice to find a place to stay. She’d be given a reasonable amount of time to leave. It would need to go through the courts, and it could be costly if she refuses from there. Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point, though. Usually families are able to work this sort of thing out without it having to go too far.” His tone was light, and he was trying to make me feel as if this could all go away with a nice sit down chat, just like Jack had, but I knew better. Coralee wasn’t going to be reasoned with. I sighed.