You Make My Parents Wear Shoe Covers I'm Divorcing You

1: 1

On my thirtieth birthday, my husband and his mother invited a crowd of relatives and friends over for dinner.

My parents made the trip too, more than a thousand miles from their village in the countryside.

But before they'd even stepped through the door, my mother-in-law's disgust was already ringing out.

"Don't just walk in! Your parents have been sitting on that bus for hours. Who knows how filthy they are?"

"Honestly, that whiff of poverty pollutes the whole apartment."

Garry Butler hurried to the shoe cabinet and dug out two pairs of slippers.

But before he could even hand them to my parents, Lucy Butler snatched them right back.

"Slippers? Who knows if country folk have foot fungus? Once they've worn them, how are we supposed to?"

"Don't we have those disposable shoe covers? Let them wear those."

My parents smiled weakly to cover the awkwardness, but they couldn't hide the hurt and disappointment in their eyes.

They still had the fresh vegetables and homemade country goods they'd brought, four sacks of it, big and small.

Two people, four hands, hauling all of it across more than a thousand miles.

And now they hadn't even made it through the door, hadn't even set anything down, and they'd already been stopped on the threshold.

Watching my mother-in-law lord it over them, watching my parents' faces bend into apology.

In that moment, I suddenly felt this marriage had gone completely dead.

My nose stung. I was about to speak when my eyes met my mother's.

Maybe she saw the look on my face, because she jumped in quickly.

"You're right to be so careful. We've been traveling all day, we really aren't clean."

"Shoe covers are good. Shoe covers are convenient. Throw them out when you're done, much easier than slippers."

My father caught on too and quickly set down the sacks in his hands, taking the covers Garry held out.

"These covers are brand new. Really nice."

Once my parents had them on, Lucy still looked sour, but at least she said nothing more.

To smooth things over, the moment they got inside my parents carried the sacks over to me.

"Sweetie, look, your mom brought your favorite smoked sausage and homemade biscuits. You can't buy these in the city."

"And these farm-fresh eggs, I went around the village to collect them fresh just for you. Best thing for you."

"Oh, and I brought two free-range chickens, already dressed, and some other vegetables. All good things you can't get in the city, so keep them and take your time"

Before she could finish, Lucy, who'd barely been quiet two minutes, cut her off.

"Get that garbage away from here, would you? Look how filthy it is, tracking dirt all over my floor."

"Only people like you would think this is worth anything. What can't you buy in the city these days? Who needs your poor-country junk?"

I couldn't hold it in anymore, and looked her straight in the eye.

"Every time my parents send something, you're the one who eats the most of it."

"You're not disgusted by any of this. You're disgusted by my family."

I had no patience left to play polite with her, so I named exactly what she was doing.

Lucy froze, and Garry rushed to step in.

"All right, Mom, that's enough. It's Penelope Summers's birthday. Do you have to ruin the mood for everyone?"

Then he turned to me.

"Come on, Penelope, don't be angry. You know my mom doesn't have a way with words."

"She just feels bad for putting your parents through so much trouble, traveling all that way with so much to carry. It really was hard on them."

"But she's not wrong either. You can buy all this in the city, so why haul it here and clutter up the place?"

Every word sounded like it was for me, but it was all for his mother.

This time, I wasn't going to let it slide.

I was about to argue back when my father, wringing his hands again, spoke up.

"It's fine, Penelope. Lucy and Garry have a point."

"The city's got to be better than back home, you can get anything here. It's us who don't know better, we didn't think it through."

"Today's a good day. Don't fight."

My parents stood side by side, the exact same stiff, careful look on both their faces.

They'd lived honest, humble lives, and their one wish was for me to have a good life.

And instead I'd let them be humiliated like this.

My throat closed up. I was about to take my parents and just leave, when there was a knock at the door.

Garry's relatives had arrived.

Lucy's whole face changed in an instant, breaking into smiles as she rushed to greet them.

"Oh, you're finally here! Come in, come in, right this way."

"Change your shoes? No need. Shoe covers? Don't bother with those either."

"We're all family here, no need for all that fuss. Just come on in."

2: 2

Lucy hadn't bothered to lower her voice, so my parents heard every word.

Then she and Garry both hurried to the door to greet the relatives, leaving my parents and their four sacks stranded where they stood.

They had done nothing wrong.

And yet for a moment they looked like two lost children, rooted to the spot, afraid to so much as move.

I was about to step over to them when my daughter, a year and a half old, came running out of the bedroom.

Beth Walter had just woken from her nap, still bleary with sleep, and threw both arms around my leg.

"Mommy, Beth woke up and couldn't find you."

The instant they saw Beth, the helplessness left my parents' faces and their eyes lit up.

My mother rushed to the bathroom to wash her hands, wanting to hold her granddaughter.

But before she could even take the baby, Lucy snatched her away.

"You've been living out in the country all this time. Who knows how many germs you're carrying?"

"Beth is the treasure of this family. She's not something any old riffraff can go picking up."

The anger I'd been swallowing all this time finally broke loose.

"What do you mean, riffraff? Beth is my daughter. My parents are her own grandparents."

"My mom just went and washed her hands. What more do you want from her?"

"I'm Beth's mother. Are you saying you care more about her health than I do?"

Seeing me flare up, Garry started smoothing things over again.

"Mom, what are you going on about?"

"I know you dote on Beth, but you can't talk to them like that."

"All right, Penelope, don't be angry. Mom only means well for the baby."

Maybe it was because I'd lost my temper, or maybe because so many relatives had arrived and she didn't want to lose face in front of them. Lucy pursed her lips and, grudgingly, shoved my daughter into my mother's arms.

At last there was joy on my mother's face again.

My work kept me busy, and our hometown was far away.

Beth was already a year and a half, and we'd only been back once, over the New Year.

The rest of the time they saw her only over video calls, and they missed their granddaughter terribly.

My father's eyes were full of tenderness too as he kept coaxing little smiles out of her.

Maybe because of all those video calls, Beth wasn't shy at all. Her grandfather had her giggling in no time.

But the warmth hadn't even lasted two minutes before Lucy impatiently snatched her back.

"That's enough, isn't it? You've held her, so what more do you want?"

"Don't get so close to the child. Beth's been raised delicate. Don't let your shabby poor-folk smell rub off on her."

My spine went rigid and I was ready to fire back, but my mother caught my arm.

She leaned close to my ear and spoke in the softest voice.

"Don't fight with your mother-in-law. Your dad and I are only guests here. You're the ones who are family."

"We're fine. Just getting to see you is enough for us."

At her words my nose stung again, and I nearly couldn't hold back the tears.

Garry and I had dated two years and been married five.

From the first time our families met when we were dating, all the way to my thirtieth birthday now, my parents had been enduring it all.

Garry's father had died young, and Lucy never remarried, pouring her whole life into her son.

Garry and I met at the company. We had similar educations, our work and temperaments matched, and marriage came naturally.

Lucy was domineering, and my parents gave way again and again, hoping only that she and Garry would treat me a little better.

After all, a harmonious home makes everything else go well.

And all these years, that was exactly what I'd done.

My parents had lived honest, humble lives, and their one pride was me.

They didn't fear their own suffering. They only feared that their only daughter, a thousand miles away, wasn't living well.

I'd already made up my mind.

But right now, with my parents and my child here, I didn't want to clash with Lucy. I didn't want my parents to worry.

After a moment I forced the anger back down.

"All right, Mom, Dad, I won't argue with her. Let's go sit over on the couch."

But before they could reach the couch, Lucy's sharp voice cut in again.

"Sit? What is there to sit on? Can't you see there's no more room on the couch?"

"The relatives are all here. Shouldn't the two of you get into the kitchen and start cooking? Who's supposed to make the food for you?"

3: 3

I stepped in front of my parents, shielding them.

"There are more than a dozen people here today. How are just my mom and dad supposed to cook this much food?"

"Didn't I hire a caterer to come cook? Why aren't they here yet?"

Today was my thirtieth birthday, and my mother-in-law and husband had insisted on throwing a party.

I'd wanted to book a restaurant.

But Lucy insisted that since we'd just moved into such a big place, the relatives and friends should come eat at the house instead.

Figuring it could double as a housewarming, I agreed, and lined up a caterer to come cook two weeks in advance.

Lucy rolled her eyes at me.

"Made a little money and now you're floating on air? A private chef, really?"

"Your parents worked the land their whole lives out in the country. Making one meal is nothing to them."

"Besides, everyone coming today is close family and friends. Giving your parents the chance to cook for them is doing them a favor."

I didn't take her bait. I just repeated my question.

"Where's the caterer?"

For a second her eyes darted away.

But with so many people in the living room, she pushed through it and shot back.

"I canceled them. Three thousand for one meal, it's daylight robbery!"

"You young people just don't know how to manage money. If I weren't managing it for you, you really wouldn't treat money like money at all."

My hands shook with anger, my chest heaving on its own.

In the five years since I got married, Lucy had never watched my daughter for a single day. A nanny had raised her the whole time.

Lucy spent her days playing mahjong and her evenings out dancing in the square, and every so often she'd book a trip with her old girlfriends.

Those package tours ran into the five figures, and I never blinked.

Yet now, over a three-thousand-a-table banquet with everything included, she stood there righteously accusing me of wasting money.

Never mind that all that money was money I'd earned.

Garry hurried to tug his mother's arm, signaling her to stop talking.

The next second, Garry turned to look at me.

"Penelope, don't be upset. My mom's only looking out for you and your parents."

"It's your birthday, after all. She was just worried the caterer wouldn't cook things the way you like them."

"You're your parents' own daughter. Of course they know your favorite dishes best. Don't read into it."

Mom hurried over too, patting my back to calm me down.

"Sweetie, don't be angry. This is your home. Your dad and I aren't outsiders here. Looking after the guests is only right."

"Don't worry, I love cooking for you most of all. And you've always loved my cooking, haven't you?"

"All right, all right, Garry's already said it, and I'm sure his mother didn't mean anything by it."

And with that my parents started toward the kitchen.

I fought to steady myself and moved to follow them and help.

But Dad blocked me at the kitchen door.

"Enough now. You're the guest of honor today. There's no sense in you lifting a finger."

"Besides, with you in the kitchen, your mom and I won't have room to work."

Just then my daughter toddled over to me, stretching out her chubby little arms, mumbling.

"Mama... up..."

Garry called out to me across the living room.

"Penelope, come over and talk with everyone. Your uncle and aunt have things they want to say to you."

"Everyone came here for you today. Don't leave them hanging."

In front of me were my parents, wronged and still forcing smiles.

Beside me was my innocent little girl, waiting to be picked up.

Behind me was the husband I'd loved for two years and been married to for five.

Seeing me rooted to the spot, Mom scooped up my daughter and pressed her into my arms.

"Go on now, hurry over."

"A harmonious home makes everything prosper. Your dad and I are fine."

My tears nearly spilled again.

A harmonious home makes everything prosper.

Yet in this big home, there was no place for my mom and dad.

But so my parents wouldn't worry, I forced back the wetness in my eyes, held my child, and walked toward the living room.

The moment I sat down, Lucy waved a grand hand, as if she'd just agreed to something.

"No problem, no problem, it's a small thing."

"Penelope's a director at Grandwell Group. Setting up a few jobs is nothing. It'll be no trouble at all!"

4: 4

The relatives all laughed and piled on the compliments.

"You really did luck out. A son who makes something of himself, and now he's found you a daughter-in-law with real talent."

"Isn't that the truth? First thing Garry did after the wedding was bring his mother into the city to live the good life. Who wouldn't envy you now?"

Lucy waved a hand as if to brush it all off, but the pleasure on her face said she was eating every word of it up.

I watched the whole happy Butler clan with cold eyes.

I came from the country. My parents gave everything they had to put me through college.

From the day Garry and I started dating, Lucy had looked down on my parents.

Back then Garry and I were both just junior office workers.

In the five years since we married, I clawed my way up, killing myself to give my parents something to be proud of.

And now Garry was still a coasting junior office worker, while I was a director earning seven figures a year.

I lifted my head and looked at the two figures busy in the kitchen.

And even so, it was the Butlers who reaped all of it.

In this house, my parents didn't have so much as a place to set their feet.

Just then, a cry of pain came from the kitchen.

My stomach clenched and I bolted for it.

My mother was standing in front of the built-in steam oven. The steam ran scalding hot, and the whole back of her hand had been burned an angry red.

When she saw me come in, her first reaction wasn't her burn. It was to look at me with an apology all over her face.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. Mom doesn't know how to use this oven. I only wanted to steam some meatballs for you..."

It hurt me to see it. I pulled her hand under the running tap, trying to ease some of the pain.

While I was rinsing it, Lucy's sour voice cut in again.

"Country people are country people. Can't even work a steam oven."

"Just don't go breaking my appliances. These are all new, and they weren't cheap."

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I spun around and let her have it.

"Country people, country people, that's all you say. Weren't you born in the country too? What's wrong with the country?"

"If Garry hadn't married you and brought you out of the country back then, would you be standing here so high and mighty, lecturing my parents?"

"And your whole clan, every single one of them, if they hadn't gotten into that company through my connections, would any of them be the so-called high-and-mighty city people they are now?"

I forced my ragged breathing down, trying to win some justice for my parents, who'd swallowed so much.

"I gave your family everything I had. I treated you like my own mother, and in five years I never once let you lift a finger with the housework."

"And what did I get? My parents come to my home and have to put on shoe covers? Don't even have a place to sit?"

"A two-thousand-square-foot place, and there's really no room in it for my parents?"

The relatives were all watching, and Garry's face had gone stiff.

His voice dropped low, an edge of threat under it.

"That's enough, Penelope. Say any more and you're going too far."

"There are a lot of relatives here today. Rein it in. It's not as serious as you're making it out to be."

Garry's words made me laugh out loud.

"I'm going too far? Garry, is it you and your mother going too far, or me?"

"From the moment they walked in until now, my parents haven't had a sip of water, haven't sat down once. They traveled a full day and night to get here, and now they're stuck in the kitchen cooking for your whole clan."

"So the way you all see it, I'm the machine that makes your family money, and my parents are the maids who cook for your family?"

Garry was so angry the veins stood out on his forehead, his lips working like he still wanted to say something.

But I didn't give him the chance.

"You look down on my parents, and you've never thought much of me either."

"So then, Garry."

"Let's get a divorce."