On Wedding Day, Mother-in-Law's One-Cent Gift; Seeing Her Subtitles, I Smiled

On my wedding day, I stepped out of the wedding car and went straight to pin the flower on my mother-in-law.

By our agreement, she would give me a red envelope of ten thousand dollars, and I would call her Mom.

But she didn't give me an envelope. She pressed a filthy one-cent coin into my hand.

Bernice Fox, this is a treasure my own mother gave me when I got married, the thing kept at the bottom of my dowry chest. It's sixty, seventy years old. It's worth more than any change-of-address gift.

I was still trying to process her words when a row of subtitles suddenly appeared above her head.

Treasure from the bottom of the chest, my foot. I dug this out of a scrapyard. One cent. I want to belittle her, put her in her place, let her know that calling me Mom doesn't come so cheap!

I flinched hard and, without thinking, took a step back.

Her eyes flickered, and a wounded look crossed her face.

"Bernice, you're not going to think it's too little, are you? Mom just wanted to leave a lasting memory at your wedding."

If she dares refuse it, she's the wicked daughter-in-law who made trouble for her mother-in-law on the wedding day.

I turned to look at my husband, Alfred James.

"Didn't we agree the gift would be ten thousand?"

Alfred's expression turned a little guilty.

"Don't be so money-minded. My mom just wanted to be different. Just go along with it."

Above my mother-in-law's head, more subtitles appeared.

She chased my son for four years. What she fears most is my son not wanting her. She wants to marry in smoothly, so even with no gift she'll still call me Mom.

I looked at her and smiled.

"Ma'am, you keep the penny at the bottom of your chest. I won't be calling you Mom."

01

The whole place went dead silent.

The smile froze on her face and cracked, bit by bit.

"Bernice, what is that supposed to mean? Whoever heard of a daughter-in-law refusing to change her form of address?"

"And whoever heard of a mother-in-law giving one cent as the gift?"

Her expression stiffened, and that row of subtitles floated up above her head.

She always seemed so meek. Now she dares to go head to head with me. Fine, I'll show her what a top-tier passive-aggressive mother-in-law looks like.

Her face shifted, and her eyes went red in an instant.

"Bernice, I only wanted your wedding to be a little special. If I'd known you cared this much about money, I never would have arranged it this way"

The James relatives around her all turned reproachful eyes on me.

"This new bride is really thoughtless, picking apart her mother-in-law's good intentions."

"Exactly. So what if it's one cent? Back when we got married, there was no such thing. No money and we still changed what we called them, didn't we?"

"Right? Young people today are so grasping, money-grubbing, not a shred of warmth in them."

A trace of smugness slipped across the corner of my mother-in-law's mouth, and then she put on the look of a woman swallowing her grievances.

"Don't say that about Bernice. She probably just can't accept something new all at once. And it's my fault too, I didn't think it through. I should have talked to her beforehand."

Hearing this, everyone around praised how magnanimous she was, which made me look even more thoughtless.

"Look how reasonable your mother-in-law is. Having a mother-in-law like this is a blessing you earned over three lifetimes. Hurry up and call her Mom."

"Young people need to open up their perspective. Your mother-in-law brought out the dowry from the bottom of her chest. That shows how much she values you. Don't be ungrateful."

"That's true. The amount of the gift doesn't matter, it's the thought that counts. Your mother-in-law's gesture is the rarest thing of all."

The smugness at the corner of her mouth was getting hard to hide.

Fight me? You're still too green. All I have to do is cry a little and she's the one making an unreasonable scene, and everyone takes my side.

I smiled, and looked at those few people, taking my time as I spoke.

"Aunt Marlene, isn't it? Your son got married last month. Alfred told me the change-of-address gift you gave was twenty thousand."

Aunt Marlene's face changed. She mumbled under her breath, "That's my daughter-in-law. How is that the same?"

I turned to another relative. "Uncle Douglas, your daughter gets married next month. The groom's side offered ten thousand for the gift, and you followed Aunt Marlene's example and asked for twenty."

The corner of Uncle Douglas's mouth twitched. "My daughter is the treasure of our family. Twenty thousand is on the low side."

Finally I looked back at my mother-in-law.

"Ma'am, when Alfred's older brother got married last year, you gave a ten-thousand-dollar change-of-address gift. That's right, isn't it?"

Her face stiffened. "That's because your sister-in-law brought a bigger dowry. I was just saving her face."

I gave a small smile.

"And how big was her dowry? A hundred-thousand-dollar car? But I brought a two-hundred-thousand-dollar car, and an apartment in a good school district on top of it. Isn't my face worth saving?"

"Your daughters-in-law and your daughters all get a proper gift. How does it come down to one cent's worth of feeling when it's me?"

"So this rule was set for me alone?"

Her face went a shade paler. Her lips moved, but nothing came out.

This little girl is a handful. If I can't manage her, I've still got my son!

She shot Alfred a glance, and Alfred immediately frowned at me.

"Bernice, can you stop nitpicking over every little thing? In front of all these relatives, do you really have to embarrass my mom?"

"Am I embarrassing your mom, or is your mom deliberately trying to embarrass me? A one-cent change-of-address gift, is that telling everyone here I'm cheap?"

Alfred's face shifted. "My mom didn't mean it that way. Do you have to blow it up like this? Don't you want to get married anymore?"

See? The moment my son mentions calling off the wedding, she caves. She'll fall right in line and call me Mom.

My expression darkened.

"Alfred, if that's how you want to put it, that works for me too."

She was startled for a moment, then put on a look of reluctant compromise.

"All right, all right, no more saying things in anger. If Bernice really must have the ten-thousand-dollar gift, I'll go to the bank right now and get the money."

I don't believe she'll actually let me go. The bank doesn't open until nine. Wait an hour and the wedding gets delayed. She wouldn't dare.

I nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"Sure. I'll wait."

The room went dead silent.

Jessica couldn't hold the wounded look on her face any longer. Instinctively, she glanced at Alfred.

His expression darkened. "Bernice, do you really have to do this? It's just ten thousand dollars. I'll give it to you for my mom!"

He reached to transfer the money right there, and I put up a hand to stop him.

"Alfred, this is the gift for calling her Mom. Are you asking me to call you Mom?"

His face changed. "Bernice, don't push it. What's wrong with me covering it for my mother?"

My voice stayed even. "Alfred, we're legally married. Your money is marital property. You're using my money to pay your mother's gift, and your mother puts in nothing. That's a pretty clever arrangement."

His face went black.

Jessica's eyes reddened, and she launched right into her act.

"Don't fight over me. I'll give it."

"Bernie, sweetheart, look, the bank won't open for another hour. How about this. I'll write you an IOU first, and the moment the ceremony's over, I'll go straight to the bank and get it for you. Does that work?"

She turned as she spoke, asked someone for pen and paper, and wrote out the IOU.

[Forcing her mother-in-law to write an IOU on her wedding day. I've already got the trending headline planned out. Bernice, dig your own grave. I'll have you calling me Mom like a good girl, and posting a public apology to me online too!]

She held the IOU out in front of me and forced a smile.

"Bernie, this settles it, doesn't it? Can you change how you address me now?"

[Little brat. Let's see you hold out. All those short dramas I watched would be wasted if I couldn't get a grip on you!]

I stared at the IOU for two seconds and didn't take it.

"Ma'am, I don't need an IOU. Whenever you give me the gift, that's when I'll call you Mom."

Jessica's expression froze, tears still on her face.

Clearly she hadn't expected me to be this impossible to budge.

Alfred finally lost it and grabbed my arm. "Bernice, what are you actually trying to do? Today is our big day. Do you have to make a scene?"

"You think I'm making a scene?"

"Aren't you? It's just the gift money. Are seven years together worth less to you than ten thousand dollars? When did you get so money-hungry?"

The moment the words money-hungry left his mouth, the looks around me shifted. Even the wedding car driver was suddenly sizing me up.

I almost laughed.

His brother had drained the family accounts getting married last year. By the time it was our turn, there was no bride price, no gold jewelry, and my parents had paid for the house outright. The candy, the wedding planner, the wedding photos, all paid for by my family. I never saw so much as a pair of socks from his side, and now he was calling me money-hungry?

Alfred and I were classmates in college. He wasn't especially handsome, but he was exactly my type.

I chased him from freshman year all the way through senior year, four full years, and only got him right before graduation.

Three years in, I followed him back to his city and settled down there.

He couldn't put up a bride price, so I told him not to bother.

He couldn't afford a house, so my family bought one.

He said keep the wedding simple, and my parents, aching for me, covered every expense.

I did all of that, and his family didn't even want to hand over ten thousand for the gift, and used one cent to humiliate me instead.

I forced the anger back down and looked him dead in the eye. "Alfred, you call me money-hungry. So when my mom handed you that ten thousand a minute ago, how did you take it with such a clear conscience?"

"Should I go through the accounts with you right now?"

Jessica's and Alfred's faces changed at the same instant.

[She can't be allowed to say it. I told all the relatives I paid a hundred and eighty-eight thousand for the bride price. They all think our family bought the wedding house. If she blurts it out, where does that leave my face?]

She quickly softened her tone. "Bernie, don't hold it against Alfred. He just loves me too much and spoke without thinking. Mom knows you're not that kind of person."

Her explanation was vague and slippery, and his relatives looked at me as if they'd just gotten their answer confirmed, contempt and anger both.

I didn't expose her. I just corrected her. "Still haven't called you Mom. It's still ma'am."

She went rigid, shooting me a look of disbelief, then a moment later piled that wounded expression back on.

"If you don't want to call me Mom, then don't. Ma'am is fine too. It's only a word."

"As long as you and Alfred are happy, I'll go along with whatever you say. Can we go upstairs and get through the ceremony now?"

That little speech, retreat in name but advance in fact, nailed me firmly to the pillar of the ungrateful daughter-in-law. I was the one being unreasonable now.

My Aunt Diana had come along to see me off, and though she was furious, she still stepped up to coax me.

"Bernie, today's your big day. Don't let a small thing like this spoil the mood. Get through the ceremony first, and whatever needs saying can wait."

Aunt Priscilla lowered her voice too. "Bernie, we've already covered the big costs. This ten thousand or so isn't worth it. Don't worry your parents."

Picturing my parents worn out over this wedding, I finally swallowed it down.

Jessica said nothing more, but the look on her face told me she wasn't about to concede.

I sneered inwardly. It was just one day. I'd handle it carefully and be done.

But at the door of the new home, the moment I stepped inside, I froze.

A stroller stood in the living room, toys scattered all over the floor.

The trash can overflowed with diapers, and the whole place reeked of sour milk and urine.

The master bedroom door was shut. I walked over and shoved it open, and my eyes narrowed on the spot.

The bright red four-piece bedding set was gone, replaced by a plain dark gray one.

The wedding photo of me and Alfred that had hung on the wall was gone too, swapped out for a family portrait of Alfred's brother and his wife with their kid.

The closet was packed full of the clothes belonging to Alfred's brother and his wife.

My clothes had been wadded up and dumped in a corner.

Not a single wedding decoration was left in the room. Every trace of the bridal suite I'd so carefully arranged was gone.

I turned to Alfred, the fury in my eyes ready to spill over.

"Alfred, explain this."

His tone was matter-of-fact. "My brother and his wife came to help with the wedding. It's a hassle for them to go home, so they stayed."

I actually laughed from anger.

"Helping means swapping out the bedding and the wedding photos? Dumping my clothes in a corner like trash?"

Alfred's face darkened a little. "Bernice, are you being reasonable? If they're going to stay, of course they need clean clothes to change into. So they used your closet. Is that really such a big deal to you?"

"Yes, it is! If they came to help, they could stay in the second bedroom. Why take over my bridal suite?"

Alfred glanced at me, and there was guilt in that glance.

"The second bedroom's the nursery for my nephew. It's close by, so if anything comes up with the baby it's easier to look after him."

My head buzzed. I turned and pushed open the second bedroom door.

The bed had a padded rail around it, and the clean walls were covered with photos of the baby.

Alfred's brother Arnold James and his wife Genevieve Dickerson lay across the bed, coaxing the few-months-old infant to sleep, acting like they couldn't see me at all.

I stood in the doorway, my fist clenched so hard the knuckles cracked.

Genevieve looked up, saw me, and her face soured.

"The baby's trying to sleep. Close the door and get out, would you. And keep it down later, don't wake my son."

She sounded exactly like the owner of the place, as if I were the uninvited guest barging in.

They hadn't come to help. They'd come to take over what was mine.

I looked at Alfred and forced the question out through my teeth.

"Then where's our room?"

His face went pale, and his eyes went to the smallest room, the one I'd planned to use as a study.

I pushed the door open. There was no bed. That bright red bedding set was laid out on the floor, tramped into a mess by who knew whose feet.

The wedding photo of me and Alfred was propped in the corner, a chunk clearly broken off the frame.

Shaking all over with rage, I pointed at the bedding on the floor and asked him.

"So my bridal room is a mat on the floor?"

Alfred opened his mouth and said nothing.

Jessica came over, smiling.

"Bernice, your brother-in-law lives far away, and this place is close to his work. It's more convenient."

"Did you ask whether it's convenient for me? This is my house. You all just moved in without a word?"

Jessica's face sank. "We're all family. Don't be so calculating. Family should help each other out. Isn't that the way it should be?"

Aunt Marlene pursed her lips in displeasure. "Bernice, you've got this wrong. Your mother-in-law bought the house, so it belongs to your brother-in-law too. Of course he can live here."

Uncle Douglas gave a snort. "First day married and already can't stand having the older brother around. What's it going to be like later? Alfred, the wife you picked isn't much, is she?"

I looked at Alfred. "You're saying your mom bought this house?"

Alfred's face flushed. He stammered out an excuse. "What does it matter who bought it? We're family. Why draw such clear lines?"

I stared at him, and suddenly the man in front of me felt like a terrifying stranger.

"Alfred, your family didn't pay a single cent for this house"

"Bernice!"

Jessica raised her voice, cutting me off, then came up and took my hand warmly.

"Alfred's right. Family doesn't split things into yours and mine. What matters now is your wedding. Hurry and go sit for the ritual, it's bad luck if you miss the auspicious hour."

I just have to shut her up in front of everyone, get her to admit in front of all the relatives that my family bought the house, and I'll have her right where I want her.

Arnold's moving in and not leaving. If she can't take it, she can just buy another place. Her family's rich anyway, and only a fool passes up a good deal. When the time comes, I'll force her to sign this house over to Arnold.

That row of words stabbed into me like needles.

Giving one cent for the change-of-address gift was only a test. Seizing my house was their real aim.

Link by link, the whole trap had been laid from the day my parents bought me the house.

I pulled my hand back and stepped away.

I spoke coldly. "I bought this house. Without my consent, no one is allowed to live here."

"Now, tell your brother and his wife to take their kid and get out. Otherwise, I'm calling the police."

The whole room went dead quiet.

The smile on my mother-in-law's face froze in place, and Alfred's color drained from red to white.

Arnold and Genevieve came out of the room, staring at me in shock.

"Bernice, have you lost your mind? We're family. You'd call the police on family?"

"Family?" I laughed coldly, my gaze sweeping over the relatives packed into the room. "This is how you treat me like family? Moving into my house while I'm gone, swapping out my bedding, smashing my wedding photos, leaving me to film vlogs on a mat on the floor?"

Genevieve glared at me, her face full of contempt.

"Bernice, don't go spouting nonsense. This house was bought by us, the James family. It's got nothing to do with you, not one cent's worth. We'll live here if we want to, and it's none of your business!"

I laughed coldly. "The James family bought it? Then let me ask you. Is there a deed? How many square feet? How much did it cost? When was it bought? Which bank made the payment?"

Genevieve choked on the questions, her eyes darting to my mother-in-law for help.

Jessica's expression stiffened, then she forced out a thin smile.

"Bernice, honey, we're all family. Why be so aggressive? Your brother-in-law's place isn't as big as yours, so it's only natural they feel a little cheated. Just let them have this one."

I laughed out of pure anger.

"Why on earth should I give up my own house? Are you moving out or not? Because if not, I'm calling the police right now!"

I picked up my phone to dial 911, but Alfred snatched it away and dragged me into the study.

"Bernice, are you done making a scene? This is our wedding day, and you insist on blowing everything up so people can laugh at us?"

"The place is huge. What's the harm in letting my brother move in?"

"This is my house!"

"But you married me, so you belong to me, which makes this house our shared property. I have every right to let my brother move in!"

I stared at Alfred, and all at once this man felt terrifyingly like a stranger.

Something tore open in my chest, and the pain of it left me barely able to breathe.

I looked at him, and my own voice came out so hoarse it startled me.

"Alfred, this is what you really think, isn't it?"

"You never married me because you loved me. You married me because I happened to check every box for a man who wants to live off his wife and still call the shots, didn't you?"

His expression shifted, and he gave a cold snort.

"I never said that. Don't put words in my mouth. I only want a better life for my family."

"My brother's staying here. Enough already. Go finish the parts of the ceremony we still have to do, then get to the hotel. The guests will be arriving soon, and we can't very well not be there."

I stared at him, and suddenly I laughed, laughed until the tears nearly spilled over.

"And if I don't agree?"

His face went cold. "Then we cancel the wedding!"

My head snapped toward him, and the last thread of illusion in my heart broke apart completely.

The man in front of me. The one I had chased for seven years.

Standing against me now with a face I didn't recognize, using our marriage as a bargaining chip to force me to bow my head.

Seven years of love, and in his eyes it came down to a house and a soft target he could squeeze whenever he liked.

I looked at him steadily. "Alfred, so you're sure you don't want this marriage?"

Alfred met my eyes, and something like hesitation flickered in his.

Just then, Jessica pushed the door open and offered a bland little word of advice.

"Bernice, don't dig your heels in. Seven years with Alfred, and this is the day you've been waiting for, isn't it?"

Alfred seemed to snap awake at once and nodded firmly. "That's right. If you won't let my brother live here, then we cancel the wedding!"

Jessica finally let a look of open, undisguised triumph spread across her face.

She loves my son so much, how could she bear to be apart from him? I'm just waiting for her to cry and beg Alfred not to call off the wedding.

Then I'll bring out the property transfer agreement and have her sign it over to Arnold. That'll have her right where I want her.

I almost laughed out loud.

I looked at Alfred and spoke each word slowly and clearly.

"Fine. Then let's cancel the wedding, and let's get a divorce!"