And so, mother and son left the house pleased with themselves.
After picking up the relatives, Dirk made a point of parking everyone in the mall near the complex to wander around first.
His aunt felt a little uneasy, and asked as they browsed,
"Dirk, there's a whole crowd of us. Can Corinne really manage the whole spread on her own?"
"After all, she's been buried in work for years. She can't be much of a cook, can she?"
Dirk waved a hand and said lightly,
"That's exactly what I had in mind, which is why I brought everyone to the mall. Give her a little more time, and even if she's no expert, she'll have the food done."
"Besides, I wanted to use this chance to really sharpen up her housekeeping."
"That's the only way she'll be able to take proper care of my mother down the road."
His aunt pressed on,
"But isn't her job pretty demanding? Dumping everything on her like this, doesn't that seem a bit off?"
His uncle couldn't help chiming in too,
"Right. I hear young people these days are under a lot of pressure at work. You've got her working a job and doing all the housework, won't she resent it?"
At that, Trina straightened her back and bragged loudly,
"Don't you worry. That daughter-in-law of mine, we've trained her to obey like a dog. Whatever we tell her to do, she does."
"Back when she'd just had the baby, I faked a bad back and ran off home, brought her own mother in as a free nanny, and lived it up back in my hometown, eating, drinking, having a fine time."
"The minute the kid started college, I came straight back, drove her mother out on the spot, and she didn't dare so much as frown."
"I told her to handle all the housework, host the guests, and take care of me in my old age, and she smiled and promised she'd make sure I was satisfied. A woman like that, how could she ever have a problem with it?"
Dirk chimed in, looking every bit as smug,
"Exactly. Good thing my mom came up with the whole fake-illness trick. No need to nurse Corinne through her postpartum recovery, no need to raise the kid, just come straight here to be waited on and take it easy."
"I used to worry Corinne would get angry. Never expected her to be this easy to handle."
"Now, no matter what we ask of her, Corinne does it without fail, not the slightest pushback."
Only then did the relatives set their minds at ease, all talking over one another in agreement,
"Now that's the life. Most people marry a daughter-in-law and end up with an ancestor to wait on, but you two landed yourselves a free nanny, earns money and does the housework both."
"Daughters-in-law these days really can't be coddled. The more you spoil them, the worse their temper gets."
"Trina, with a daughter-in-law as obedient as Corinne, you're set for an easy old age."
Trina, flush with all the flattery, grinned so wide she couldn't close her mouth,
"You bet. Daughters-in-law these days, if you don't get tough with them, they'll walk all over you."
"I just want her to know exactly who runs this household."
The more she talked, the more she warmed to it, holding forth endlessly on her "art of taming a daughter-in-law."
From mother-in-law dynamics to who holds rank in the family, from divvying up the chores to controlling the purse strings, she went on and on, the words pouring out for a solid morning.
It wasn't until noon that she gave a satisfied wave of her hand,
"Let's go! Time to head home and inspect the results!"
At the door, Trina was still swearing up and down,
"Just follow the methods I taught you, and I guarantee you'll all end up like me, with a daughter-in-law as obedient as a dog!"
With that, she couldn't wait to fish out her keys, opened the door full of confidence, ready to show everyone the fruits of her daughter-in-law's obedience.
But the door swung open, and the moment everyone got a clear look at the scene inside, they all froze……
