My mother dropped out of school at 18 to raise her younger siblings. Years later, when my future mother-in-law learned that she didn’t have a degree, a simple question changed the way she treated her.
My mother never went to university.
She was 18 when both her parents died, leaving her solely responsible for her 13-year-old sister and 10-year-old brother.
While her friends were preparing to enter university, Mom was working double shifts in a snack bar to pay the rent and put food on the table.
My mother never went to university.
Later, she married my father and raised his three children.
But she never stopped learning.
Our house was always full of books borrowed from the library, and even when we grew up, she watched history lectures, gardening tutorials, and videos that taught her how to fix just about anything.
She never complained about the education she didn’t receive.
She never stopped learning.
And my fiancé, Nathan, adored it.
One afternoon, I caught him watching mom repair a broken cupboard hinge.
« How do you know how to do all that? »
Mom shrugged. « When you live long enough, you learn quite a lot. »
Nathan smiled. « I’m starting to think I should take notes. »
My fiancé, Nathan, adored it.
***
Compared to his mother’s modest house, Nathan’s parents’ house was almost intimidating. Diplomas covered an entire wall, the shelves were overflowing with books, and Laura and Ronald were both teachers.
During our first dinner there, my mother-in-law , Laura, sat down under one of her diplomas with a glass of wine.
« And where did you study? » she asked her mother.
The diplomas covered an entire wall.
« I didn’t go to university, » she replied shyly.
« Oh. » Laura lowered her glass. « I see. »
« I was working in a snack bar. And then… »
« Rose, Nathan told me you were still taking classes? » she interrupted.
Mom closed her mouth and smoothed down her skirt.
I replied to Laura, but I immediately noticed this change.
» I see. »
Over the following weeks, I learned to observe Laura’s hands whenever someone brought up a topic she was unfamiliar with.
At lunch, Nathan talked about a documentary about octopuses.
« Apparently, they can recognize people individually, » he said.
Laura lowered her phone under the table.
His thumb moved as he described an experiment.
« They can recognize people individually. »
« They also have three hearts, » she interrupted. « Two pump blood to the gills. Most people don’t know that. »
Nathan glanced at his bright screen.
He said nothing.
The following Saturday, she gave a speech about museums returning objects to their countries of origin.
I recognized an example from a magazine I had seen open on his desk.
« Wasn’t that in the article you were reading? » I asked him.
Laura hid her phone under the table.
Laura paused.
« It’s a topic that’s been getting a lot of attention, Rose. » Then she turned to her mother. « How’s your little garden doing? »
« It’s working well. Although planting mint next to parsley turned out to be counterproductive. It took over everything. »
« Counterproductive means that something is going against what you wanted to do, » Laura explained.
Mom folded her napkin. « Yes. I wanted parsley. »
Nathan coughed into his glass.
« It’s a topic that’s generating a lot of discussion, Rose. »
Later, Mom noticed that a handle on the service cart was loose and she tightened it with a screwdriver that Ronald had found.
Laura laughed. « Well, everyone has their talents. »
I followed Mom into the kitchen. « Do you want me to say something? »
« About the drawer? »
» Mom. »
« Please don’t make a fuss before your wedding. »
« Well, everyone has their talents. »
« She corrected a word you had used correctly. »
« I heard it. »
« And you’re supposed to smile? »
« No, darling. I’m asking you to forget about tonight. »
***
A week later, Laura spotted the textbook in my bag. « Who’s giving you your last lesson? »
I gave the professor’s name.
« Please don’t make a fuss before your wedding. »
« Arthur? We studied together. » She smiled. « Talk about me. I’m very respected in these circles. »
On Monday, after class, that’s what I did.
« Laura? » Arthur burst out laughing. « Good heavens. I haven’t heard that name in years. »
« She’s my future mother-in-law. She says she’s very respected. »
Her smile faded.
« What were you going to say? »
« That’s a name I haven’t heard in years. »
« Nothing very appropriate, given the context. »
« Come on, please. I’d prefer if you told me. »
He hesitated. « I don’t think I should. But if Laura talks as much about academic integrity now as she did back then, you could ask Nathan’s father how she managed to stay enrolled. »
« Why Ronald? »
« I don’t think I should. »
« Because he was there. »
That’s all he wanted to tell me.
That evening, I told Nathan exactly what Arthur had told me.
« My mother? »
« I don’t know what happened. Arthur wouldn’t tell me anything. »
Nathan shook his head. « She made me rewrite an entire assignment because I forgot to cite a source. »
That’s all he wanted to tell me.
« There might be an explanation. »
« So, we’ll find her. »
The following evening, Nathan and I went to see Ronald together. He fell silent when we talked about Arthur.
« Your mother was young, » he finally said.
« Everyone there was, » Nathan replied. « What happened? »
« There might be an explanation. »
Ronald rubbed his forehead. « She was caught copying answers during an exam. She had notes during another one. »
« And she was able to remain enrolled? » I asked.
« Her father was the dean. Complaints went through him. One way or another, Laura always had the right to a second chance. »
« Did she know? »
« Of course she knew. »
« She was caught copying answers during an exam. »
I thought back to Laura’s phone that had disappeared under the table and the assurance with which she had given information that she had just learned a few seconds earlier.
« Has she ever admitted that she did something wrong? »
Ronald gave a tired smile. « Not to me. »
On the way back, Nathan hardly said a word.
« Not mine. »
Finally, he said, « Mom had someone to remove all obstacles from her path. Your mother had no one to do that, and yet she continues to despise her. »
During our next dinner, Ronald mentioned a project to transform a disused railway line into a hiking trail.
Laura picked up her phone.
« What do you think before you look for information? » asked Nathan.
« I’m checking a message. »
Laura picked up her phone.
« So, finish your sentence. »
She placed her phone face down. « I need more information. »
« That’s true, » he said. « Me too. »
***
Before our wedding, Nathan suggested that our two families spend a long weekend together in a rented house by the sea. I hoped it would bring us all closer together.
« So, finish your sentence. »
Mom immediately offered to prepare sandwiches for the journey and those lemon biscuits that Nathan loved so much.
« You’re supposed to be having fun, » I told her.
« I love feeding people. »
« You could try sitting next to them from time to time. »
« And what would I do with my hands? »
« Hold a glass. Accept a sandwich prepared by someone else. »
She laughed. « You make it look easy. »
« And what am I supposed to do with my hands? »
On Friday, before leaving, I picked up the printed place cards and the rest of the equipment I had ordered for the weekend.
At home, I spread everything out on the dining table. Next to it, there was a small pile that I had prepared myself.
Nathan came in with the groceries. « More wedding preparations? »
« Weekend preparations. »
He took one of the place cards.
I spread everything out on the dining room table.
« Don’t cheat. »
Nathan noticed the rest.
He looked at me. « Rose. »
« It’s insurance. »
« Against what? »
« That your mother says something to mine that I can’t ignore. »
« It’s insurance. »
« Are you expecting that? »
« I hope I’m wrong. »
« And if you’re not wrong? »
« Then maybe I’ll finally stop putting on a good face. »
I slipped the cards into an envelope and put them away with the rest of our belongings.
Nathan said nothing more about it.
« I hope I’m wrong. »
***
On Sunday morning, the kitchen of the rented house was cluttered with breakfast plates, coffee cups, and relatives discussing wedding preparations.
I found Mom at the counter, washing everyone’s plates.
« You promised. »
« I promised to leave you some. »
She handed me two plates, then grabbed another one.
I found Mom at the counter washing everyone’s plates.
Laura was sitting on the sofa next door, an open book on her lap.
She took a sip of coffee and grimaced. « I told you I wanted cream, not milk. »
Mom turned around from the sink. « Sorry. I must have misunderstood. »
Laura handed him the cup. « So, make me another one. »
See more on the next page