Chapter 4
Three days later, Margaret arrived in Hawthorne.
As soon as she walked in and saw Mark, she said, "Sit down."
Mark stood in the middle of the living room without moving.
"Mom—" he started.
"Sit down!" she snapped.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was heavy with authority.
I sat on the couch, keeping quiet.
Mark glanced at me, then sank into the chair like his legs had gone out from under him.
"Tell me, who is she?" Margaret demanded.
"Mom, listen to me," Mark said.
"Out with it!" she snapped.
"She's a coworker," Mark mumbled.
"How long have you known her?" she demanded.
Mark kept his head down.
"A year and a half," he said quietly.
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Is the baby yours?" she asked.
"Yes," Mark admitted.
"How long has Emily known?" she asked again.
"Three days," Mark replied.
She opened her eyes and turned to me.
"Emily, I'm so sorry," she said.
I shook my head.
"Margaret, it's not your fault," I said.
"Whatever my son did, it's my responsibility," she said.
She turned to Mark.
"Get a divorce," she said, her voice cold and unwavering.
Mark's head snapped up.
"Mom!" he blurted out.
"Emily's carrying your child, and you're out there cheating. Are you even human?" she snapped.
"Mom, it's too late to do anything about her baby now," Mark said.
"So you're just going to abandon this one? You want Emily to abort her baby?" she shot back.
Mark fell silent.
"You think I don't know?" she shot back.
Her voice turned icy.
"Are you seriously trying to force Emily to abort her baby?" she demanded.
Mark kept his head down.
"I never said she should do that," he mumbled.
"Oh, you never said it? Really?" she fired back.
She walked right up to him.
"Have you ever once asked Emily how she's feeling? Or how your baby is doing?" she demanded.
Mark stayed silent.
"All you care about is that woman. What is Emily to you, huh?" she snapped.
"Mom, I—" Mark stammered.
"You've been married three years, and Emily has handed you 2,000 dollars a month for the household. Where did all of it go?" she demanded.
Mark looked up at me.
"Did you tell her?" he asked.
I didn't say a word.
Margaret let out a cold laugh.
"I didn't need her to tell me. You think I don't know? You send me 170 dollars a month and say money's tight.
"Emily sends me 700 dollars every holiday and tells me it's from you. I thought my son had finally grown up, and look at this," she said.
She jabbed a finger right at Mark's nose.
"You've been wasting all that money on your mistress!" she snapped.
Mark sat there and didn't dare say a word.
Margaret looked at me.
"Emily, what do you want to do about this?" she asked.
I was quiet for a moment.
"I want to meet her face to face," I said.
She nodded.
"Alright. I'll go with you," she replied.
Mark started to panic.
"Mom!" he blurted out.
"Call her here," Margaret said coldly.
"Mom, please don't do this," Mark said.
She turned to him.
"Do you even have the right to say anything right now?" she snapped.
Mark clamped his mouth shut.
I pulled out my phone.
"Mark, ask her to come over. Tell her I want a word."
He glanced at me, then at his mom.
Finally, he dialed her number and made the call.
"Hey, swing by. Emily wants to meet you," he said.
A woman's voice came through the phone.
"Sure, I've actually been wanting to meet Emily myself," she replied.