In the hazy glow of a dream, Evelyn Pendleton stood in the grand foyer of her newly built country home, the culmination of four long years of labour by her and her husband, Richard. Their three children darted through the halls like shadows, laughter echoing off the freshly painted walls. It should have been a perfect momentif not for the looming spectre of Richards mother, Margaret Holloway, who had always dismissed the project as a frivolous waste of money.
The relatives had come and gone, each marvelling at the houseall except Margaret.
«Your sister, Harriet, wont stop gushing about your little palace,» Margaret drawled over the phone, her voice thick with false indifference. «I suppose I ought to see what youve squandered your savings on.»
Richard, ever obliging, sent her a few photos. Almost immediately, her dissatisfaction crackled through the line.
«Funny how everyones been invited except me. Am I not family anymore?»
«Perhaps because you called it a fools errand from the start,» Richard reminded her.
«Oh, must we dredge up the past? Let sleeping dogs lie,» she snapped, her laughter brittle.
«And let bygones be bygones,» Richard countered flatly.
Margaret swiftly redirected the conversation. «Send me the address. Ill drop by tomorrow.»
True to her word, she arrived unannounced, bearing three bars of chocolate for the grandchildrena perfunctory gesture, given her notorious indifference toward them. She prowled through the house, her lips pursed, her disapproval palpable.
The truth spilled out over champagne.
«Why must I live like a pauper in that flat while your wife plays queen in this mansion?» Margaret demanded, her voice laced with venom.
Richard bristled. «Pauper? We sold your old studio and upgraded you to a two-bedroom. I send you five hundred quid every month. Since when is that poverty?»
«Grateful as I am, I deserve a house too!» she seethed.
«This was our dream, Mum. Whats it got to do with you?»
«Everything! I birthed you, raised youdont I deserve a piece of your success?»
Evelyn, listening nearby, sighed. «Shes envious, Richard. Shell never be happy for us.»
Margarets eyes flashed. «If its so dreadful, let your wife take the flat. Ill reign here instead.»
The air grew thick. Richard led his mother to the terrace.
«Enough, Mum. Youre a miserable grandmother, and the children avoid you. Living together is out of the question.»
«Or perhaps youve let your wife turn you against me!» she spat.
«This house is our happiness. I wont let you poison it.»
Margarets face twisted. «Of coursemy feelings mean nothing! Im always the villain!» She stormed off, summoning a cab without a backward glance.
A month later, she called in a rageshed tried to sell her flat, only to discover Richard owned it.
«You cheated me! Left me with nothing!»
«Funny, considering I paid most of it. Or was that my right?» Richard shot back.
«Youve taken everything!» she shrieked before slamming down the phone.
Silence followed. No calls, no visitsjust the ghost of her resentment lingering in the air.
