Stop nagging, you meddlesome motherinlaw, Agnes snapped, widening her eyes theatrically. You said my hands grow out of the same place as my legs!
Wouldnt it be better if I had neither? she continued, because after Im gone youll have to roll the garden in tarmac!
Ethel Whitmore huffed, Oh, settle down, dear. You dont need to be coaxed! With a spade youll manage just fine.
Youre flattering me to the point of blush, Agnes replied, shaking her head. Youve made me blush!
Last time I ask, will you help me in the garden? Ethel raised her voice. Will you?
Like its the last time? Agnes exclaimed. And then what? Youll fall silent?
Your tongue has no bone! If you swung a spade the way you swing a tongue, wed be done! Ethel retorted. Come to the garden, Ill show you what to do!
How can I? Agnes recoiled. You told me last time not to let your eyes see me!
And now, for the sake of my son, you put up with me at home, but on your holy plot you wont let me trouble you! I must still look after my beloved motherinlaw!
Ethel sputtered, Youre a sly one! Ill try to survive somehow. Ill show you what to do and wont get in your way. My eyes will be fine!
Is that so? No tricks left! You asked for help and now you create a mess! Agnes said with a smirk. You asked for assistance, yet you never saw me in your picture!
If we were nosetonose on the same row, I might have thought about it, but I wont turn over your whole farm without supervision, guidance or a kind word.
If I do something wrong, youll eat me alive! Why would I stay if there is no love between us?
Then Ill sit by the stove while Tom steams in the bath!
Ethel snapped, What a tongue you havenothing can stop it! You should have finished everything alreadyyoung, healthy, strong!
Agnes giggled, Thanks for the compliment! My motherinlaw still has plenty of energy and vigor!
Just a month ago you shouted at me, and I still hear it in my left ear! she said, her voice rising. What power in that voice! Envy, pure and white! Dont worry, I mean it from the bottom of my heart!
Ethel threatened, Ill tell Tom you refused to go to the garden, that you turned down my help. Do you think hell forgive you?
Refused? Im ready to help with all my heartjust give me the chance! Im a model daughterinlaw! Agnes protested. If you need a hand, Ill be there. Ill even pay the price for you, because I love you, motherinlaw. Do you feel any pity?
What pity? Ethel asked, bewildered.
Last summer my husband and I spent the whole season on your plot, bending our backs while you rewarded us with curses instead of a harvest! Agnes recalled. Were grateful you made us lean and strong, but a proper meal would have been nice, too. You seemed to regret making us haul jars on the bus, so this time well come by car. The boot is emptyjust tell us when to deliver the produce if were to work the land again.
If its like last year, just let us go! My enthusiasm has vanished!
Ethel muttered, Youre holding grudges.
That was never my thought, not even a drop! I have plenty to do without your garden, Agnes said. My husband disappears without a word, my son longs for his mothers love, and Im not going to keep planting on your plot just to please you.
Ethel snapped, Your son will need help! Ive prepared jam and canned fruit for Kate, who raises two daughters on her own. And youwhat about your husband?
Why not push Kate and her two girls onto your garden? They come for the harvest, so let them work. I wont get in their way, nor trample their feet. All for your amusement!
Ethel sighed, Tom chose this, chose it! Curse or worse!
Agnes smiled, You keep flattering me, but why call me a snake? Its more comfortable for me that way.
Or perhaps youve fallen in love with me? Then Ill go confess! Maybe youll send me off to a guest house already!
Ethel shouted, Spit it out!
What? Agnes feigned surprise. Didnt you just predict Tom would become a widower just to get rid of me?
***
Agnes married James, not his entire clan. She loved him, respected him, and wanted to spend her life with him, eventually caring for grandchildren. The sprawling relatives she imagined never existeduntil reality proved otherwise.
Her parents were well off, not rolling in gold as the gossiping cousins claimed, but they gifted her a flat for her wedding. They ran a modest livestock business that gave a steady income, though they worked so hard that the money seemed to slip through their fingers. Their hands were as calloused as theirs.
If Tom had tried to claim their money, it would have turned him into a former husband with all the complications that follow. But Tom loved Agnes, not her parents cash. He only learned about the money at the wedding, and they earned the wedding expenses together.
When Tom finally needed money, he said, Agnes, if we really need it, lets try to earn it ourselves first. If we cant, then well ask for help later. He kept his word. Three years after the wedding, when their son needed a cot, a pram and a baby tub, they turned to Agness parents. Tom insisted on a written agreement; the solicitors office dismissed it, and Tom repaid the loan honestly.
How did Tom grow up in a rather mercenary family? Perhaps a neighbours influence? His mother, Ethel, gave birth out of wedlock, swearing the father was the same as Kates. That mystery stays with her. She tried, but could not spoil Tom. Even curses couldnt break him.
When the parents financial state was exposed, greedy hands reached for Agness cat. Tom would never have gone along, but the offer came:
Before the wedding Ill help, after it Ill have my own budget. If my wife agrees, Ill give a penny; if not, Ill stay out of it.
Agnes saw through the ploy. She didnt send anyone to fields, meadows, hills or bogs. Instead she brought them to her parents pig farm.
Gentlefolk, theres plenty of workwellpaid, you can combine it with your main jobs. The pigs eat, and the endless process of cleaning up after them never ends! She warned the cousins and aunt, though they still held a low opinion of Toms wife.
Excuse me! Ill take the money myself, Agnes said when asked where to send the aid.
When the sisterinlaw hinted where shed be sent if she begged for the two children shed had without a husband, Kate cut off communication with Agnes and Tom in an instant. She had enough adventures finding a father for her two angelsnot dealing with pigs.
Ethel Whitmore, listening to the sisters and nephews mischief, decided to act smarter and craftier.
The girls still young, thats why shes cheeky! Shes just married, nothing to worry about. Life will chew her up, and her earnings will leave no trace. Then well start squeezing her for juice! she thought.
Patience was not her shortage. She waited for the youngsters to settle, have a child, and go through the endless circles of domestic concerns, all while maintaining a friendly neutrality.
When her grandson Andy turned five, Ethel finally made her move. She already knew Agnes had no access to her parents money and that Tom could not pull it from his son. Where cash wont work, you can count on nature, she mused.
Ethel lived in a modest cottage on the edge of a village that the nearby city of Oxford would soon swallow. The real treasure was her impressive garden, and she planned to draw on Agness strength there.
Agnes, raised in a similar village where her parents kept a small pig farm, was no stranger to hard work. Though she worked as an accountant in London, she could wield a spade and enjoy a rake.
When Ethel asked for help, Agnes and Tom gladly took two weeks off to plant, then another two weeks to weed, spending weekends pulling and hilling.
Both of you are a family, you work, why not help? Kate is alone with her kidsshe needs it! Ethel declared, opening a conflict that could have erupted into a shouting match. Neighbours gathered on fences, hanging on every word, as if they were listening to a Shakespearean drama.
Agnes chose not to inflame the situation. Tom, you can see her point
No! Tom shouted.
Im not saying Ill forgive her, Agnes said, stopping her husband from spewing curses. I can understand her, but her behaviour is another matter. Your mother cant be changed, but staying enemies with someone close is worse. To prevent future trouble, we must not let her ride us any longer.
Darling, shell keep pestering you! Im the son, the beloved, and youre the daughterinlaw. The law says a daughterinlaw should be built up, not torn down, Tom sighed heavily. I must protect you.
Tom, Im not a helpless maiden, Agnes laughed. Believe me, Ill find a reply.
She answered Ethel so sharply that the older womans eyes widened. Yet she never insulted her; the feeling was that theyd been dragged through a pile of manure.
Ethels retorts were blunt, spilling everything without a hint of shame. Agnes turned it around, refusing to be trampled.
She refused to help with the cleaning, cooking, preserving, or any household chores on the farm. Ethel thought Agnes would never show up again, but she arrived, husband in tow, as proper. Ethel expected Agnes to crumble, but instead she gave another excuse, another protest, another outburstyet said nothing truly hurtful.
Stop this nonsense! Ethel flared. Do I really wish my own son ill? I try my best for him!
Weve shed our tongues, Agnes beamed. Im giving all my strength to please Tom! What if I get tired on your garden? What if Im exhausted?
How will I then tend to Tom? How will I love him, feed him, water him, lull him to sleep? Will I leave my beloved Tom unattended? Hell be angry, and his anger will fall on his mother, saying his wife doesnt love or care for him!
Are you just going to stay silent? No, youll argue! Why ruin my relationship with my motherinlaw even more? She already doesnt care for me! So no garden work! Ill save my energy for Tom!
Ethel, stunned, whispered, Agnes
Dont try to convince me! Agnes declared firmly. Im needed by my husband! Hed be lost without me. I wont barter myself for your garden chores. Only for my own home, and only for Tom.
Ethel wasnt a fool. She saw that Agnes had outwitted her on every point, and she could not fault her son. When Ethel finally calmed down, she sipped her brandy and thought clearly:
Tom is sensible enough, and with such a backing Im comfortable.
That acknowledgment didnt stop her from testing Agness resolve. Perhaps shed finally break her.
In the end, Agnes learned that peace cannot be forced with stubbornness or resentment. True harmony comes from respecting each others limits, offering help without demanding repayment, and keeping love at the centre of family. The garden may be tilled, but the heart must be tended with patience and humility.
