Off The Record
I Insisted On Checking My MIL’s Bags Before She Left — What I Found Inside Made My Blood Boil
Years of mistreatment come to an end when Maxine discovers her mother-in-law stealing. However, revealing the truth is only the beginning, as nothing shines brighter than a lady who has finished being polite.
When I first met Lorraine, she examined me from head to toe with a steady, careful glance that seemed to be cataloguing my shortcomings. Something that wasn’t quite a smile curled her lips.
“Oh,” she uttered in a tone full of honeyed contempt. “How… quaint you are.”
Every phrase had a pause, and it was surgical—a scalpel masquerading as civility. The box of lemon shortbread laced with ribbon suddenly seemed heavy in my hands as my cheeks began to heat up.
The previous evening, I had prepared them while humming softly in my kitchen, hoping that this moment would be delightful, perhaps even hospitable.
Rather, her comments cut like a chilly wind through my hope.
Lorraine grimaced as she turned to see her son, who was then my boyfriend.
“Tyler, don’t you think someone a little more sophisticated would suit you better?”
The box shook a little in my hands as I halted in the middle of smiling.
Tyler mumbled to himself, “Mom, that’s enough,” but she simply hummed and vanished into the kitchen.
That was the start.
She never feigned approval of me in the three years since we were married. Her disapproval was a low-frequency sound that only I could hear, a steady hum that pervaded every interaction.
“A teacher of preschoolers?” She would laugh at every family get-together, saying, “Really, Maxine.” “How charming. I guess someone needs to watch the local children.”
She also made remarks about my food, stating that it was “too safe,” “too eager,” or “way too much garlic, goodness me!”
My confidence was pierced by every statement, making me feel like a patchwork of apologies. I was kind and pleasant, but even my tolerance was wearing thin, so I didn’t know how to act around her most of the time.
Before supper, I practiced smiling in the mirror, the type that made me feel good even when I wasn’t.
She once said to me, “You dress like a picture book, Max,” following a school concert.
At dinner another time, Lorraine leaned in my direction.
“I’m hoping you’re prepared to lead a pretty basic life.” She remarked, “Tyler could have had so much more in his life.”
As if in grieving for him, she said it. As if my existence had somehow deprived her kid of the dazzling future she had once dreamed of.
I didn’t respond. I simply continued to devour my grilled chicken while nodding in agreement with the discussion taking on at the other end of the table.
However, like porcelain under strain, something inside of me silently snapped.
Tucked under our navy quilt in bed that night, I told Tyler. The candle I had lighted earlier had left a subtle lavender scent in the room, but it was insufficient to ease the pain in my chest.
“Ty, she no longer even makes an effort to conceal it. It’s unfair. I’m at a loss for what else to do.”
“She’ll come around, babe,” Tyler moaned, drawing me in.
“You’ve been saying that for three years.”
“I know,” he replied. “I simply want to believe. I must. Max, I have to think she’ll see you for who you really are.”
Lorraine, however, never did. She actually become more cunning.
She invited us to her friend’s art fundraiser a few weeks later. I went, grinned, gave paintings praise, and struck up conversations with stiff cocktail dress-wearing women.
Like a queen, Lorraine glided through the room. I noticed them when she turned to giggle at something. They were diamond earrings, almost exactly like a pair I had.
Before I could stop myself, my breath caught. For a brief moment, the world swayed, and the noise surrounding me subsided into a drab murmur.
When I opened my jewellery box when I got home that evening, my earrings were missing.
Did Lorraine have my earrings on? Had she stolen them and swapped them out for a fake pair, knowing I wouldn’t have the courage to call her out?
Without any evidence, could I truly go up against my mother-in-law?
“Are you okay?” As I stood there looking at the velvet-lined box, Tyler requested from the loo.
“I think I lost something really important,” I replied.
“What was it? Where was the last place you saw it? Am I able to assist? With his toothbrush still in hand, Tyler stood in the doorway and asked.”
“I’ll figure it out,” I muttered. “Thank you, though.”
I placed an order for two tiny nanny cams the following morning. They were simple to install and undetectable.
“What’s that for?” When Tyler noticed the package, he enquired.
“It’s just for security, honey,” I promised, planting a kiss on his cheek. “In case something disappears once more. The fact that I’m not leaving stuff laying about is all I need to know.”
He nodded slowly and said, “You think someone’s been taking things?” “Stealing from us?”
“Ty, I’m not really sure. But the next time, I want to be certain.”
He stopped asking questions. That indicated he trusted me, and I was grateful for that.
However, I knew in my heart that I was correct to follow my instincts. There was a missing item. Furthermore, I couldn’t act as though it hadn’t.
Lorraine came to see us frequently as the months went by. Every time, I made sure to keep the cameras going. Every visit seemed like a show, with my heart pounding like a drum and me grinning through clenched teeth.
My mother-in-law thought I was submitting when I greeted her with the same smile I had always worn. She returned the grin, composed and refined, her poison hidden beneath her gold and pearl jewellery.
I kept the earrings to myself. The suspicion that was like a stone in my stomach remained unsaid.
I waited.
The holiday get-together followed.
This year, we invited both sides of the family, Tyler’s coworkers, and a few close friends. I spent the day getting the house ready.
The kitchen was a hive of activity, with roasted rosemary potatoes and crispy-skinned chicken, white candles flickering next to pine boughs, and soft music playing in the background. The aroma of apples with spices permeated everything.
Naturally, Lorraine was thirty minutes late. Her method was to arrive stylishly late and with a smug demeanour to join her. Like she was entering a palace she had once owned, she entered with her chin up and wrapped in sequins.
She didn’t give me a hug. She didn’t.
Saying, “Evening, dear,” she kissed me on the cheek.
“Lorraine,” I answered, maintaining a kind tone. “I’m so glad you made it.”
She looked around, absorbing everything. Like a predator spotting weakness, her gaze darted over the food, the decorations, and the laughter, looking for any cracks.
She enquired, “How’s work going, Maxine?” “Still teaching kids to tie their shoes and prevent wars over finger paint?”
“Yes,” I said as I straightened my dress. “It’s a rewarding career.”
As though she were going to whisper something significant to me, she moved closer.
She remarked, “You know, Maxine,” “There was so much more Tyler could have done. I hoped he would find a sophisticated partner. Someone having manners and taste. I simply don’t get why my son choose you.”
Tyler heard her. His jaw tightened, and I saw him move to stand next to me. His hand touched mine. The pressure of his palm against mine was sufficient, even though he didn’t say anything.
Our visitors continued to chat and joke, not realising that I was keeping a closer eye on Lorraine than ever before. However, there was a time when I was reheating the dish and was unable to explain her location.
I slipped away to check the nanny cam stream towards the end of the evening. As the movie loaded, my stomach fell.
My mother-in-law was captured on the shaky video feed.
Standing in my bedroom was Lorraine in all her magnificence and attitude. While everyone else was clinking glasses, I observed her gently slide my diamond bracelet into her handbag.
Tyler had given me the same bracelet for Christmas the previous year.
My heart pounded loudly in my ears. I felt fury and incredulity flow through me, and the room appeared to tilt, the lines of reality blurring.
After shutting off my laptop, I returned to the living room in a composed manner. I waited. I spread out the dessert. Lorraine sipped wine and giggled as if nothing could stop her.
And I took a chance when the first visitor said good-bye and grabbed their coat.
I went across the room to my mother-in-law, who was holding a miniature chocolate tart.
“Lorraine,” I said with a courteous smile. “Before you leave, could I see your bag?”
The room fell silent. A few attendees glanced over with questioning eyebrows as the conversations dwindled.
“Pardon me? What are you doing, in your opinion? Lorraine insisted.”
“Your purse. Can you please open it for me?”
Despite his perplexed expression, my spouse approached me and took a position next to me.
“That is absurd. What do you suppose I have inside? A few of your munchies? A terrible scented candle? A tissue pack?” Lorraine sounded haughty as she talked.
“Just humour me, please.”
She was transfixed, staring at me. She gripped the strap firmly. Then she opened it slowly.
My bracelet was inside, nestled next to a lipstick and a silk scarf.
Tyler had saved for the same one, the one he had chosen with my best friend Candace because, according to him, it made him think of me.
He had added, “It’s elegant, understated, and a little sparkly,” while putting it on my wrist and kissing me.
She said, “That’s mine, Maxine,” with a red flush. “I don’t know what sort of stunt or prank you think you’re pulling, but —”
“But what?” My bracelet is that one! I yelled, “I have video of you taking from my jewellery box earlier.”
The room reverberated with gasps.
“Oh my God,” I heard someone whisper.
“Mom… is this true?” With wide eyes, Tyler said as he stepped forward.
“What a stupid question!” “Oh!” said Lorraine. “You’re actually siding with her? Tyler, she’s only a preschool teacher. These things are not fair to her. She has no standing or reputation whatsoever, and she comes from nothing. She is nothing.”
Tyler wrapped me in his arm. He spoke in a firm yet low voice.
“This is sufficient, Mom. This isn’t related to Maxine’s work or experience. It all comes down to respect and honesty. And ever since you first met my wife, you haven’t shown her any respect,” Tyler remarked.
Nothing came out of Lorraine’s wide mouth.
“Why do you hate me, Lorraine?” I enquired.
“That’s not the case.” “I must apologise to you,” she started. “The truth is, I’ve been angry for so long, I didn’t even know who I was angry with anymore.”
She let out a sigh and glanced at her hands.
“The issue was never you. You’re just the person Tyler picked. And because I believed I was losing him, I resisted that. However, it appears that pushing you away made him go farther.”
My throat constricted. I let her talk as I was at a loss for words.
“I believe that helping myself to your possessions was my method of retaliating against you for how I was feeling. All I want is for my son to return.”
She forcefully swallowed.
“None of what I did was fair to you. The remarks, the presents I accepted… Honey, you never tried to take my place. All you were doing was attempting to love him. And I apologise for that.”
“Lorraine… thank you for saying that.”
She picked up her luggage and walked out.
After another beat of silence, there was a clap. Another person trailed behind.
Finally, I let out a breath.
I put all of the jewellery back where it belonged in the days that followed. I reported that my belongings had been returned, primarily for documentation purposes.
Tyler and I received a chilly, generic apologetic email from Lorraine. We didn’t respond.
However, a week later, Tyler brought home a little orchid in a frog-shaped container along with some Thai food.
He said, “She won’t be coming back, my love,” and put down the food. “I spoke with her. It’s finished. This terrible chapter has ended.”
I simply grinned at my hubby without crying.
I peeked at him later that night while I was wrapped up under a blanket on the couch.
“Do you regret it?” I asked quietly. “Choosing me, I mean?”
“If there were all the many versions of my life in the room, I would pick you, Maxine. My mother’s opinion doesn’t matter to me. I would always pick you, my love.”
I only needed that.
And the quiet in my chest felt peaceful for the first time in years.
Although the encounter with Lorraine had not completely erased everything, it was the first time I had seen her as more than just my story’s enemy.
Perhaps that was important.
Tyler surprised me this morning by taking me to a small, quiet downtown store.
He said, “Come on,” while keeping the door open.
Inside, glass cases glistened with bracelets, rings, and necklaces while gentle jazz played overhead. The store had a scent that was reminiscent of wood polish and velvet.
As if he had been there before, Tyler made his way directly to a certain case at the rear.
“I wanted to get you something, Maxine,” he replied. “Something that’s just from me — not to replace anything, but to mark a moment.”
“What moment?” With a gentle smile, I enquired.
“The moment that I truly chose you,” remarked the man. “Not simply our wedding day. But after everything… After witnessing your identity, your self-defence, and your graceful handling of it all. This should be our reset, I hope.”
A small heart pendant on a dainty gold necklace found inside the case. It was so tiny and basic that it glistened with subtle elegance.
It wasn’t a performance; it was a promise.
After removing it, Tyler put it around my neck. I shuddered as his fingertips touched my skin.
Shouting, “It’s beautiful,”
And he said, “So are you, my Max,” “And I’ll spend the rest of our lives reminding you.”
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