At the wedding, my daughter handed me the ceremonial cup of tea that was meant for her mother-in-law.
"A daughter who marries out is like water poured from the bowl. From now on I belong to another family, as a wife and a daughter-in-law."
"So there's no confusion over what to call you, from now on I'll only call you Aunt. That means this cup of tea is yours to drink."
I couldn't stand it. I threw the cup down and slapped her across the face.
The wedding turned into a joke.
My daughter had lost face, and so she poured out every lie in her, one after another, smearing my name.
"All these years, you've dragged home hundreds of 'uncles.' I wanted to cut ties with you a long time ago."
"You'll drink this tea whether you like it or not. I don't want my future children to have a grandmother like you!"
I wanted to defend myself, but my son-in-law's family closed in from every side, cutting me down.
Rage seized my heart, and my heart gave out right there.
But my daughter and her husband said I was putting on an act to win sympathy.
So not only did they refuse to call an ambulance.
They locked me in the resting room and said they'd let me out once I admitted I was wrong.
Too weak to fight, I listened to the wedding march and died with the bitterness still in me...
Now I have another chance.
Calmly, steadily, I took my daughter's cup of tea and drank a mouthful.
"Since you're calling me Aunt now, then the million-dollar dowry and the multimillion-dollar wedding home I'd prepared, this Aunt will be keeping for myself."
……
The—
The moment those words left my mouth.
The room, already gone quiet because of my daughter Stacy Matthews's "ceremonial tea," fell so silent it was frightening. Even the sound engineer at the wedding froze, staring blankly, unsure whether he should keep the music going.
Stacy blinked, stunned at first.
After all, in her eyes, someone as proud and unbending as me could never accept being called Aunt.
Seeing me act nothing like she'd expected, she couldn't hide her irritation.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Today is my wedding. It means Robin James and I have started a new family. From now on we're the family that matters. Am I supposed to keep turning my back on my own household day after day, fussing over you instead?"
"Don't forget, I'm the James family's daughter-in-law now. I'll be entered into the James family register soon. When I die I'll go into the James family graves, and my children will carry the James name for generations to come. If I say I'm one of the Jameses, is that wrong?"
I still didn't get angry. Instead I gave a small smile.
"It's not wrong at all."
"I never said you were wrong. I'm just going along with what you said, aren't I? Or would it be more fitting if I smashed cups and threw dishes?"
Stacy had nothing to say to that, and the tears came pouring out in an instant, she was so furious.
The bridesmaid waiting nearby rushed over with an oversized cotton swab to dab at the tears, murmuring the whole time for the baby not to cry, that she'd ruin her makeup.
My son-in-law, Robin, looked like his heart ached at the sight.
"Aunt Priscilla Gilbert, today is Stacy's and my wedding. Why would you say something that leaves Stacy with no way to save face?"
His parents, Roy James and Wanda, chimed in right after.
"Stacy has a kind heart. She knows it wasn't easy for us to raise Robin, so she's only thinking about honoring us together with him from now on. And even that you have to compete over, and be jealous of?"
"And yes, Stacy put it too bluntly, but she wasn't wrong. As her mother, you should let go. You shouldn't have no sense of boundaries and try to force your way into her marriage."
