I called for an ambulance right away.
When it arrived, I climbed in with the baby in my arms.
The medic checked my mother's pupils and blood pressure, then asked how she'd fallen.
I opened my mouth a few times before I could say it: my wife pushed her.
The medic gave me a look and said nothing more.
At the hospital, they took her back for tests.
I sat in the corridor with the baby, who'd cried himself to sleep in my arms, my shirt still smelling of chicken soup.
The pot had been knocked over by Dudley before we left.
The broth had spilled across the floor, and no one bothered to clean it up.
Just like this marriage of mine.
I'd always believed that if I just endured a little, gave way a little, things would smooth out in time.
But some people don't soften because you back down.
They only decide you can back down further.
The results came in. Thankfully it was only soft tissue bruising and a mild concussion.
The doctor said she needed to stay for observation to rule out delayed bleeding.
Hearing there was no real danger, the breath I'd been holding finally let go.
Only then did I remember to call my sister, Gail Swanson.
She reached the hospital in under half an hour.
One look at the woman in the bed, and her face went frighteningly dark.
"Who did this?"
I didn't hide anything from her.
From Julia bringing Dudley's mother into the house, to her making us sleep in the living room, to Dudley raising his hand and Julia shoving Mom, I laid it all out, every last bit.
When Gail had heard it, she turned on her heel and headed for the door.
I grabbed her arm.
"Where are you going?"
"To find Julia."
"She dared put her hands on Mom. I'm not letting her get away with it today."
"Gail, don't."
She whipped around.
"After all this, you're still protecting her?"
"I'm not protecting her."
I pulled the baby tighter against me.
"You go beat her up now, sure, it'll feel good. But the second she calls the cops, we're the ones in the wrong."
"Mom's still lying in a hospital bed. I can't have something happen to you too."
Gail stared at me for a few seconds, then sat down, forcing the anger down with her.
"So what do you want to do?"
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed a few times.
It was a message from Julia.
【Dudley's still with his mom for her checkup. Have Mom get the master bedroom and the second bedroom cleaned up right away, they'll want to move back in the moment they're home.】
【Especially the second bedroom your mother stayed in. Everything that can be replaced, replace it with new.】
【Throw out the sheets, the duvet cover, the pillows. Whatever can't be replaced, disinfect it.】
【Dudley's a germaphobe. He doesn't like using anything other people have used.】
Then she added one more.
【Don't throw a fit. It has to be done tonight.】
Start to finish, not one word asking how my mother was.
Gail snatched the phone out of my hand.
When she'd read it, the veins at her temple stood out.
"She shoved Mom into a hospital bed, and now she wants Mom to go back and change sheets for her ex-husband?"
"Does she really think our mother is her servant?"
"Julius, you wait. I swear I'll—"
"Gail."
I pressed my hand over hers.
"You asked what I want to do."
"I've figured it out now. But I'll need your help."
When Gail had heard me out, her expression shifted from fury to a cold smile.
"Fine. Leave this one to me."
"You just stay here and take good care of Mom."
After my mother woke and the doctor confirmed she was out of danger, I took her and the baby back to her house.
The moment I stepped through the door, Julia called.
Her voice was full of anger.
"Julius, where the hell are you? Get back here right now!"
"What is going on at this house?"
