Then I met his parents.

Lisa got a house as a graduation present from my husband David and me. Even though it wasn’t fancy, she chose to live there and put down roots. David agreed with me that our firstborn child earned this after Lisa’s hard work and dedication in medical school.

Lisa called me one night while making dinner a few months after she moved in.

“Mom,” she dialed. “Okay, Rick is moving in with me. I believe it’s the right choice since we’ve been together for a long time.”

I was happy for her, of course. I always thought Lisa was smarter than David, but David thought it was too soon to make such a big promise. A rat smelled bad to her from a mile away. David and I helped Ric move in in the end. I wasn’t sure what to think about all the stuff he brought in. He seemed to be very set on making this move.

Get ready for the worst family dinner ever.

Everything began with happiness. Lisa planned a party for Ric, our future in-laws, and us because she wanted us to get to know each other before beginning to plan the wedding. I didn’t mind this because I didn’t think I knew enough about Ric’s family at that point.

The whole thing took place outside because Lisa wanted her dad to run the grill. David and our younger daughter went inside to get the chicken and sausages for the fire while I was relaxing on one of the seats outside.

David and Leah then came outside and looked at me with a sneer. They looked like they were scared, like they had seen a ghost.

“Ellen,” David said, I remember. “Let’s go home.” Now.”

That was all. That word only. But I didn’t want to go any further because David wasn’t the kind of person who would lie about something. That means that if something shocked him, it probably made sense. We left after telling Lisa that Leah wasn’t feeling well.

David and Leah told me what had happened in the car after that. They heard Lisa and her in-laws talking about how they wouldn’t ask us to the wedding but that this dinner was meant to get us to pay for the whole thing while they were in the kitchen getting things they needed.

I couldn’t say anything, and I thanked God that David was driving instead of me. I would have lost control of the car and crashed it.

From then on, David didn’t want to talk about it much. I knew that was because I had convinced him to let Ric move in with Lisa.

So, was it all my fault?

The next morning, I didn’t go to class and asked my TA to take my place. I went right to Lisa’s house and saw her husband’s car in the driveway. They wouldn’t even let me in after I knocked for a while! But I could see them in the living room through the window. They looked like they owned the place. Lisa seemed to have given them the kingdom’s keys.