Chapter 3

About half an hour later, I heard noise at the door. Carol stormed in first, my father-in-law George after her, and James last.

She'd changed clothes and wiped off the cream, but her hair was still damp, like she'd washed up at the hotel.

The moment she saw me lounging on the couch, her face went livid. "Emily. You had the nerve to come back."

"This is my home," I said without looking up. "Why wouldn't I come back?"

"Your home?" Her voice went sharp. "This is the Lancaster family home. Is your last name Lancaster? You think you deserve to be here?"

I set down the remote and looked up at her. "Carol, if you thought I wasn't good enough to live here, then you shouldn't have let me marry in.

"I've lived here for two years. If you want me gone now, pay me back two years of rent, and I'll leave tonight."

"Rent? You're living in our house and asking us for rent?" Carol was breathing hard. "You eat our food, live under our roof, spend our money, and you've still got the nerve to ask for rent?"

I laughed."I eat your food? Carol, who makes that expensive tonic you drink every morning? Who irons your clothes? Who brings you tea when you play cards? It's Me.

"I did the maid's job and more. If you say I've been living off you, then let's do the math. Did you ever pay me maid wages?"

That shut Carol up. She turned first to George, who coughed, sat down, and hid behind a newspaper, then to James.

"Say something. Your wife made our family a laughingstock, and now she's back here acting like this. Are you really not going to do anything?" She complained.

James stood by the door, still holding his car keys. He looked at me, and I looked right back at him. "Emily," he said, "what exactly do you want today?"

"I want to sleep," I said. "I've spent the whole day making a scene. I'm tired. Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow."

I got up and headed upstairs, but when I passed him, he reached out and grabbed my arm hard enough to hurt. "We're clearing this up before you go."

I looked down at his hand, then back up at his face. "James, you've never touched me before. I could stand right in front of you and you'd act like I wasn't there. Now you're grabbing me? What, I suddenly smell good?"

Something flickered in his eyes, and his grip loosened.

But I didn't leave. I turned to face him. "You want to clear things up? Fine. Then let's clear them up."

I walked to the middle of the living room and faced Carol, George and James. "First, I'm not getting divorced anymore. I'm not walking away with nothing. I spent two years as your unpaid maid, and I want compensation."

Carol opened her mouth again, but I raised a hand and cut her off. "Second, starting today, I'm not doing any housework. Whoever eats cooks. Whoever wears it washes it. Whoever lives there cleans it. I am not this family's servant."

Then I looked straight at James. "Third, starting today, you either act like my husband or act like a stranger. Stop this half-dead, half-there act you've been pulling. I'm done waiting on you." That was it.

The living room went quiet. George's newspaper hid half his face, and Carol stared like a fish on shore. James stood still, expression blank, eyes moving slightly as he tried to process my words. The silence lasted about ten seconds.

Then Carol suddenly clutched her chest and sank down. "Oh God... my heart... my heart can't take this..." George threw down the paper and rushed over, while Grace ran from the kitchen in a panic to find the medicine.

James helped his mother onto the couch.