“Your mother is gone. Tears won’t bring her back—so wipe your face, make dinner, and don’t look like a grieving child when my guests arrive.” That was what my husband said.

Mark turned to Jessica, hoping his mistress could help him. He asked her to take him in her car to let him sleep at her place. But the drama in the yard was not yet over. Jessica, realizing that Mark was now a useless beggar who had also dragged her into legal trouble, flatly refused in the pouring rain. Jessica’s screams could be heard as she pushed Mark, causing him to fall into a mud puddle. Jessica yelled that all this misfortune was Mark’s fault. She called him a man of bad luck, a scammer, an idiot. The couple who had been feeding each other cake in my party now pushed and insulted each other in the mud of my yard.