My nephew had disappeared.
The snack shop was three stops away from his home. Worried about him, I braved the scorching heat and searched for him along the way, but couldn't find him.
Finally, I texted my mom, "Mom, is Ramon home yet?"
It took a while for my mom to reply, "He's home!"
My heart finally settled.
But when I got home with my daughter, a teacup flew towards me.
I couldn't dodge in time, and it hit me on the head. The pain was intense, and blood rolled down my forehead.
It was my nephew sitting on the sofa. My brother had gone to pick up my sister-in-law from work, and my mom was cooking in the kitchen.
My nephew came home and couldn't find anyone to complain to, so he took out his pent-up anger on me, who had just arrived.
My daughter was terrified: "Mom, does it hurt?"
Then, with a clenched fist, he rushed over to my nephew and asked, "Why did you hit my mom?"
My nephew grabbed my daughter's hand and bit her wrist.
"This is my house. You, a little girl, don't get to yell at me!"
"She's not my aunt. She's just a meanie!"
"My mom said you and her are both worthless little brats!"
I was furious. I rushed over and covered my daughter's ears to stop her from hearing these words.
At the same time, I sternly scolded my nephew:
"That's enough! Who taught you to talk like that? I think you need a lesson!"
With that, I let go of my daughter and sat on the sofa. I grabbed my nephew and pinned him to my lap, ready to spank him a couple of times to teach him a lesson. Unexpectedly, before I could even lower my hand, my mother shoved me hard from behind.
My head hit the coffee table. The pain so intense I saw stars.
My mother, however, held my nephew, who had jumped from my lap, in her arms and yelled at me with an annoyed look:
"Marjorie, why are you, as an adult, arguing with a child?"
"He's your nephew, can't you just give in?"
I covered my head, endured the dizziness, and stood up to confront my mother:
"He just called Sherry and me worthless little brats!"
My mother glared:
"I heard it!"
"Children's words are innocent, you're just taking it too seriously!"
I was stunned.
My mother's words pierced my heart like a sharp knife.
She heard it?
So, she had been secretly observing the living room from the moment I walked in? She saw my nephew hit me with a teacup, heard him scold me and my daughter, and pretended to be oblivious the entire time. But just when I was about to teach my nephew a lesson, she suddenly stood up and pushed me from behind, slamming me against the coffee table.
I gasped, but continued to stare at my mother in disbelief, pointing at the bloody hole in my forehead.
"Mom, he hit my forehead like that, and you're really not going to do anything about it?"
My mother said, "Why did he hit you? Don't you know why? You promised to take him to buy snacks, and what happened?"
My mother narrowed her eyes and looked at me with a determined expression:
"Marjorie, you're actually quite nitpicky!"
"Because your brother didn't give you the money reimbursed by his medical insurance, you're angry and deliberately not buying snacks for your nephew! Am I right?"
"You're my child, don't I know you?"
"Your brother and sister-in-law will be home soon. I advise you to put away your petty thoughts!"
As I spoke, the doorbell rang.
My nephew immediately ran to open the door.
It was my brother, who had taken my sister-in-law home for lunch. As soon as my sister-in-law walked in and saw my red eyes, she immediately started to panic:
