I brought tea to Russell’s parents, and Brenda took the cup before remarking that she was glad the ordeal was finally over now that both my parents were gone.
Don added that funerals were a burden on everybody else, and I felt a sudden heat rise inside me as I realized they were speaking as if my parents had died at them.
I walked into the hall and heard Don telling Russell that it must have been a pain living with outsiders like my parents.
Russell laughed and agreed that it was difficult because I always expected everyone to rearrange their lives around my emotions.
That was the moment I stopped begging for fairness because I finally saw that I had married a man who felt nothing but contempt for me.
A few minutes later, Brenda walked into the living room carrying my mother’s favorite leather purse and asked if she could keep it as a keepsake.
“No, we are not sorting through my mother’s belongings today,” I said firmly while taking the purse back from her.
Brenda was outraged that I had contradicted her and asked if she was now considered an outsider after all these years.