The Weiss family had their Twenty-Four House Rules, and even a bride who hadn't married in yet was expected to live by them.
Breakfast on the table before six. No sleeping in. No takeout. No talking back. That was the life of a Weiss daughter-in-law.
When Irvin Weiss handed me that little red booklet, his voice was gentle.
"My mom's particular about a lot of things. Just bear with it for now. Once we're married, I'll change things little by little."
So I lived in the Weiss house for two years. I thought marriage was supposed to be this kind of endurance.
Until the day of my future mother-in-law's birthday, when I carried the soup out of the kitchen and saw a woman sitting in the living room.
She was sliding onto her own wrist the jade bracelet that Irvin's mother had promised to give me after the wedding.
"Auntie, isn't this too valuable?"
Phyllis Weiss was beaming so hard she could barely close her mouth.
"It suits you. Not like some people, who can wear gold and jade and still can't carry off the cheapness."
The woman looked up, saw me, and smiled.
"You must be Irvin's... girlfriend who acts like the maid, right?"
For a second the whole room went silent, and Irvin didn't say a word against it.
I set the soup bowl down on the table, smiled, and looked up at his mother.
"Auntie, you always say family doesn't keep score, right? Then my two years of maid's wages, family discount, twenty percent off, let's settle it today."
...
The only sound left in the living room was the soup bowl touching the table.
Phyllis's face darkened first.
"Kayla Swanson, you really have to make a scene on my birthday?"
I glanced at the bracelet. Last New Year, Phyllis had called me into her room.
She'd said, "This is passed down to the daughter-in-law of the Weiss family. Once you and Irvin register the marriage, I'll put it on you myself."
That night I'd been too happy to sleep.
Irvin had seen it and ruffled my hair, smiling.
"This happy?"
I'd said, "Does your mom finally accept me?"
He'd said, "Just be good, and she'll like you."
Because of that one sentence, I'd been good for two years.
Now the bracelet was on Marie James's wrist.
It suited her. It suited my humiliation too.
Marie stroked the bracelet, her eyes reddening fast.
"Kayla, I really didn't know this was meant for you. Here, let me give it back."
She made a show of taking it off, and the moment her wrist turned a little red, Phyllis pressed her hand down to stop her.
"Don't take it off. What if you hurt yourself?"
Irvin stood up too.
"I'll get some oil."
I thought of last month, when I cut my finger slicing fish and the blood dripped into the sink.
Phyllis told me to get the fish steaming first.
"The guests are about to arrive. Don't be so precious about it."
Irvin only said, "Put a bandage on it."
Now Marie's wrist had one red ring around it, and the two of them acted like the sky was falling.
I said, "Don't take it off."
Marie looked at me.
"I don't want what isn't mine."
Irvin's movement stopped.
"Kayla Swanson."
When he called me by my full name, it usually meant he thought I was being unreasonable.
Sure enough, his next line was exactly that.
"Marie just got divorced. She's not in a good place. Don't embarrass her."
I asked him, "When she called me the maid, how come you weren't worried about embarrassing me?"
He was silent for a second.
No one picked it up, because everyone in the room had understood.
Marie was Irvin's high school classmate.
Two months ago, she'd come back to the city after her divorce, saying she had nowhere to live.
One word from Phyllis, and she'd moved into the Weiss house.
I'd asked Irvin, "We're getting married soon. Is it really appropriate for her to move in?"
He'd been fixing Marie's suitcase at the time, and didn't even look up.
"It's hard for a woman on her own. Don't read too much into it."
I'd asked, "Doesn't House Rule Sixteen say unmarried men and women should keep their distance?"
He'd said, "Rules are rigid. People are flexible."
