My son held my hand tightly while my daughter-in-law poured an entire bottle of shampoo over my head and forced me to shower as soon as I entered the house. They treated me like a stinky old woman. They didn’t realize how much they would pay for what they did…
A sudden April downpour in Connecticut soaked me from head to toe. My old Ford broke down three blocks from my son’s house, forcing me to walk. Mud splattered on my trousers, and my graying hair clung to my forehead.
But the chill of the rain was nothing compared to the cold I felt as I stepped through the exquisitely carved oak door of the house.
“Oh my God! What the hell are you doing?” Brenda’s shrill scream rang out like an alarm. She stood in the middle of the white marble living room, a glass of wine in hand, staring intently at my muddy shoes.
“I’m sorry,” I stammered, trying to take off my shoes. “My car broke down… I had to walk…”
“Don’t move!” Brenda hissed. She put down her glass, rushed into the guest bathroom, and returned with a large bottle of shampoo.
Before I could understand what was happening, my son Jason came over. I thought he’d help me up, get me a towel. But no.
Jason grabbed both my wrists.
“What… what are you doing, Jason?” I asked, panicked.
“Stay still,” Jason said, his voice icy, avoiding my gaze. “Brenda is allergic to dirt. You know how clean she is. You smell like a sewer rat.”
And then, the nightmare began.
Brenda opened the bottle of shampoo – the cheap, pungent minty kind they use for their pet dogs – and poured it upside down over my head.
Splash.
The icy liquid flowed down my hair, into my eyes, my nose, and my mouth.
“Take a shower! Right here!” Brenda yelled, roughly scrubbing my hair like a rag. She grabbed the garden hose from the porch and sprayed cold water directly into my face.
“Jason! Tell your wife and children to stop!” I screamed, struggling desperately. The soap suds stung my eyes, blurring my vision.
But Jason only tightened his grip, pinning me to the spot so his wife could torment me. “Just bear with it, Mom. You’ve made a mess of the floor. We’ll talk after we clean it up.”
I stood there, paralyzed, not from the cold, but from the humiliation. My son – the child I once held, the one I sold my jewelry to pay off his gambling debts – was now holding me like a prisoner, while his wife humiliated me in the very house I thought was my sanctuary.
After five minutes of torture, they released me.
“Go change in the basement bathroom,” Brenda ordered, tossing me a tattered old car wash towel. “And don’t come up here until the party is over. We have important guests. Don’t let anyone see you.”
I trudged down to the basement, tears mixing with the salty soap suds.
Chapter 2: The Secret in the Plastic Bag
In the damp basement, I shivered as I dried myself off. Luckily, beneath my soaking wet coat, I had a waterproof leather crossbody bag.
I opened the bag. Inside was a file carefully wrapped in two layers of plastic. It was dry and intact.
I looked at the file, then up at the ceiling – where footsteps and music began to play. Today was Jason’s birthday. I had traveled all the way from Ohio to give him the biggest surprise of his life.
This file contained the ownership transfer papers for a $2 million trust fund that my husband – a diligent carpenter with a genius stock market investment vision – had left behind. I kept this money a secret for the past ten years, living frugally to let it grow, just waiting for Jason’s 30th birthday to give it to him, to help him pay off his mortgage and start his business.
But their recent actions have killed the kind mother in me.
I heard Brenda’s laughter echoing down from the ventilation shaft: “That old woman was disgusting, wasn’t she? I don’t understand why you invited her. Luckily I handled it quickly, otherwise the whole house would have stinked.”
Jason replied indifferently: “Never mind, dear. Mom said she has some kind of gift. Probably just some baked goods or some handmade woolen items. We’ll get rid of her after the party.”
Get rid of her. A sewer rat. Stinky.
I stood up in front of the cracked mirror in the basement. My eyes, red from shampoo, now blazed with a different fire. I was no longer poor Margaret.
I took out my phone and called Attorney Stevens.
“Hello, Stevens? It’s me. Are you near Greenwich? Good. Come here immediately. Bring the notary’s seal. Yes, the plan has changed. Completely changed.”
Chapter 3: The Feast of Pretense
7 p.m.
I walked up the stairs. I was wearing the only dry clothes left in my bag – a neat black suit I intended to wear to the award ceremony. My hair was still damp, but I combed it back, revealing a serious expression.
The living room was now packed with people. Jason and Brenda’s friends, all showy and snobbish.
“Oh, look who’s here,” Brenda exclaimed when she saw me, her voice sarcastic but trying to maintain politeness in front of the guests. “Mom, you’ve finished showering? Could you come down to the kitchen and help the maid wash the dishes? We’re busy.”
Jason stood by the fireplace, a glass of whiskey in his hand, glanced at me, then turned away, pretending not to know me.
I didn’t go down to the kitchen.
I walked straight to the middle of the room, where the table displayed the birthday cake.
“Excuse me, everyone,” I said loudly, my voice clear and sharp. The noise subsided. Everyone turned to look at the strange old woman.
“What are you doing, Mom?” Jason hissed through clenched teeth, lunging forward to grab my arm again.
“Don’t touch me,” I pushed his hand away, so hard that the glass in his hand sloshed and spilled onto the floor. “You held my hand long enough.”
I placed my briefcase on the table.
“Today is my son’s birthday,” I said to the crowd. “I’ve traveled a long way, through rain, cold, and even the special ‘purification’ of my daughter-in-law to get here.”
A few giggles rang out. Brenda’s face turned pale.
“I was planning to give my son and daughter-in-law a gift,” I pulled out a file. “This is the transfer document for the Jason Miller Family Trust, currently valued at $2,150,000.”
Silence fell. The $2 million figure hung suspended in the air like a dazzling golden orb.
Jason’s eyes widened. His mouth dropped open. Brenda dropped the plate of cake she was holding, the clatter echoing loudly.
“Two… two million dollars?” Jason stammered. “Mom… are you serious? Dad left it?”
“Yes,” I said calmly. “I’ve kept it, living like a poor person to dedicate it entirely to you today. I intend to use it to pay off the mortgage on this house for you, so you won’t have to worry about finances anymore.”
Brenda snapped out of her daze. She rushed forward, her demeanor changing in a flash. “Oh Mom! You’re amazing! I’m so sorry about what happened earlier, I was just so nervous! You know I love you!”
She tried to hug me. I took a step back.
Chapter 4: The Price to Pay
“But,” I raised my voice, interrupting her clumsy charade. “When I entered this house, you taught me a lesson about the value of human life. You taught me that an old, mud-stained mother deserves to have shampoo poured over her head and be thrown down to the basement.”
I pulled a pen from my pocket.
“Jason, you held your mother’s hand. Not to support her, but so your wife could humiliate her. That handshake… was worth $2 million, son.”
The front door opened. Lawyer Stevens entered, professional and cold.
“Mrs. Margaret, is everything ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” I replied.
I opened the file. In front of dozens of guests, in front of my son and daughter-in-law trembling with greed and fear, I refused to sign the line “Beneficiary: Jason Miller.”
I crossed out Jason’s name. A strong, decisive line that tore the paper.
“Mr. Stevens,” I said loudly. “I want to change the beneficiary immediately. All of this money will go to the National Wildlife Refuge. At least animals are grateful to their caregivers, unlike some humans.”
“No! You can’t do that!” Jason yelled, lunging to snatch the file.
But Attorney Stevens signaled. Two of his bodyguards stepped forward to stop Jason.
“This is Margaret’s property,” Stevens said coldly. “She has complete control. You have no right to it.”
I signed the amended document Stevens presented. My handwriting had never been so elegant and refreshing.
“Done,” Stevens stamped the document with a loud thud. The sound was like a court gaver’s gavel pronouncing a death sentence on their dreams of wealth.
Chapter 5: A Thorough Bath
“Mom…” Jason knelt on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. “I’m your son. We’re drowning in debt. The bank is about to foreclose on our house. How could you…”
“Oh, the bank forecloses?” I feigned surprise. “Then you should save money. Don’t buy that mint shampoo anymore, it’s a waste.”
I picked up my bag and walked toward the door.
Brenda stood frozen, her meticulously made-up face now smeared with tears and horror. She knew that, because of a bottle of shampoo and her vanity, she had lost a fortune.
I stopped at the door, turning back for one last look.
“Thank you for washing my hair,” I smiled, a gentle but sharp smile. “Thanks to washing away that mud, Mother can now clearly see who is human and who is evil. Goodbye.”
I stepped outside. The rain had stopped. The air was fresh and cool. Attorney Stevens’ limousine was waiting to take me to the airport.
I got into the car, leaning back in the comfortable leather seat. I no longer had the $2 million, and I no longer had my son. But I felt incredibly relieved. I had given them back exactly what they had given me: a chillingly clean emptiness.
