Ellen is over the moon when her daughter, Lisa, accepts a proposal from her boyfriend, Ric. But things quickly turn ugly when Ric's parents prove to be difficult. Will there be wedding bells in the future?
When I found out that my daughter, Lisa, said yes to her boyfriend's proposal, I was over the moon! Ric had always made her feel safe and loved, so naturally, I couldn't wait for them to get married and start their lives together.
But then I met his parents.
This is how the story went.
Lisa's graduation present from my husband, David, and I was a house. It was a modest house, but it was a place for her to set down her roots. David agreed with me that after Lisa's hard work and dedication throughout medical school, our firstborn deserved this.
Class at graduation. | Source: Pexels
A few months after Lisa moved into the house, she phoned me one evening while making dinner.
"Mom," she said. "Ric is moving in with me, okay? We've been together for a long time, and I think it's the right move."
Naturally, I was excited for her. David thought it was too soon for such a big commitment, but I always thought Lisa was made of smarter stuff. She could smell a rat from a mile away. David and I ended up helping Ric move in. I was a bit concerned at the amount of stuff he brought in. It seemed that he was really committed to this move.
Fast track to the family dinner from hell.
It all started out joyfully enough. Lisa organized a party with Ric and our future in-laws because she wanted us to spend time together before they truly got into the wedding planning. This was fine with me because I felt that I didn't know Ric's family enough at that time.
Food being cooked on a barbecue. | Source: Pexels
Lisa wanted her father to man the barbecue, so the whole thing was outside. I was lounging on one of the outdoor couches when David and our younger daughter went inside to get the chicken and sausages for the fire.
But then, David and Leah came outside and shook their heads at me. They seemed shocked as if they had seen a ghost.
"Ellen," I remember David saying. "We need to go home. Now."
That was it. Just that message. But I didn't want to push it further because David wasn't the type of man to exaggerate anything needlessly. So, if something shocked him, it was most likely warranted. We told Lisa that Leah wasn't feeling well, and we left.
After that, in the car, David and Leah told me what had happened. Apparently, when they were in the kitchen getting everything they needed, they overheard Lisa and her in-laws talking about how they wouldn't invite us to the wedding but that this dinner was to convince us to pay for the entire thing.
I was speechless and thanked my lucky stars that David was driving and not me. I would have crashed the car out of shock.
Steering wheel with hand. | Source: Pexels
David didn't want to say too much about it after that, and I knew it was because I had talked him into allowing Ric to move in with Lisa.
So, was this all my fault?
I skipped my lectures the next morning, asking my TA to take over. I went straight to Lisa's house and saw her in-law's car in the driveway. I knocked for a while, but they didn't even let me in! But I saw them through the window, lounging in the living room. They were acting like they owned the place. It seemed like Lisa had given them the keys to the kingdom.
I knocked until I knew I was annoying them. Then, Ric's mother came to the door, opening it slightly. She claimed that we were not going to be invited to our child's wedding because we were influencing Lisa too much. She made it seem like we were puppet masters, pulling at Lisa's strings.
And then she took it even further.
"Your family is just too different for us," Ric's mother said. "Lisa is like us now. Let us take over. But we'll send you your part of the bill for the wedding."
Person calculating bills. | Source: Pexels
Before she closed the door, she told me that Lisa had invited them to stay with her and that they had moved in. Now, it was their family home.
I went straight back home. I had gotten a migraine from dealing with Ric's mother. I phoned Lisa and told her that while the house was given to her, it was still in my name. She had to figure out what she would do in the next 10 days — I thought 10 days to pack up and leave was gracious enough.
But here's the kicker — David and I sold the house. The house that Ric's family believed they owned was gone in the blink of an eye.
I just taught our future in-laws a lesson in boundaries.
Woman giving a lecture. | Source: Pexels
As for Lisa, this was the shakeup she needed. She seems to have come to her senses. She's still engaged to Ric but lives in a tiny apartment near the hospital where she works. I don't know where Ric's family ended up, but I do know that their behavior allowed David and I to use the money from selling the house to buy Leah a car.
Girl driving a car. | Source: Pexels
Now, you tell me: Was I wrong for how I acted?