Looking back, I can see that the signs were there. The fluctuations in her voice during phone calls, the way she stopped dropping by unannounced, usually with baked goods for all of us.
I let my schedule get out of whack. And I didn’t think about the consequences.
‘Mum,’ I said softly, sitting down next to her. ‘What you did was wrong. But I understand why you were hurt. And I’m sorry if I made you feel abandoned. I let my life get away from me, Mum. It wasn’t easy, balancing work and children.’
Her face crinkled.
‘I’m so sorry, Ellie,’ she said. ‘I’ll make it up to you! I promise! I’ll pay for the cleaning and do whatever you need me to do.’
‘We’ll clean it up, Mum,’ I interrupted. ‘Together. But we’ll start by fixing ourselves. No more games. No more letting other people’s words distort our feelings. Okay?’
She nodded, her relief palpable. We hugged, and for the first time in years, I felt like the walls between us had finally crumbled.
After lunch, Mum came in with a bucket of soapy water and a stack of rags. Together we scrubbed the egg off the walls, porch and windows.
It was dirty, smelly, gruelling work, but somehow with each strip we scrubbed off it felt like we were erasing years of tension.
By the time we were done, the house looked – and felt – whole again.
That evening, after Ethan and I made the kids grilled cheese sandwiches and put them to bed, we sat down to talk over a glass of wine.
‘Babe, it was your mum who started all this. Gloria called my mum and told her she was holidaying with us and having the best time of her life. She made it so real that my mum broke down.’
‘You’re kidding, Elle,’ Ethan said, shaking his head. ‘She actually did it? What was she thinking?’
‘I have no idea, but I think you need to talk to her. I need to focus on Mum, darling. She’s been feeling abandoned for years and this was just her breaking point. I’m sorry, but Gloria is on your conscience.’
‘I’ll call her,’ Ethan said, his voice firm. ‘She’ll have no choice but to tell me the truth.’
Ethan went to our bedroom and called his mum and I called my mum again.
‘Mum, why don’t you come over and celebrate New Year’s Eve with us? We’ll just be at home, okay? We’ll just eat and drink and have a good time!’
There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then her voice rang out in a way I hadn’t heard in a long time.
‘Do you really think so?’ – She asked.
‘Yes, Mum,’ I replied. ‘It’s time.’
On New Year’s Eve, Mum came in with a tray of homemade dumplings, chocolate cake and lagtons for the kids. She was wearing a sparkling dress that made her look about ten years younger.
Maddie and Noah rushed to meet her at the door, clinging to her legs as she bustled around them. Ethan handed her a glass of champagne and even managed to make her laugh with one of his notoriously awful jokes.
At midnight, as fireworks lit up the sky outside the window, we raised our glasses together.
‘Let’s drink to new beginnings,’ my mum said quietly.
I looked around the room – the happy, sleepy faces of my children, my husband’s arm around my shoulders, and my mum glowing with happiness. Something had changed.
A week later, Ethan and I were sitting with Gloria at a coffee shop.
‘Mum, explain yourself,’ Ethan said, adding sugar to the coffee. ‘And don’t deny anything. Be honest.’
‘I lied to your mum because I was hurt that you didn’t invite us. I don’t know why I did it, but I did. I think I was overcome with loneliness too. You know how the holidays sneak up on widows…’
‘Why didn’t you just go and spend time with her?’ I asked, taking a bite out of my croissant. ‘You were both lonely. You could have spent time together and enjoyed the holidays getting to know each other better. You could have watched films, baked and chatted until the early hours of the morning.’
‘I wasn’t thinking, Ellie,’ she said, her voice trailing off. ‘I’d take it all back in a heartbeat if I could, I promise you.’
For a while we were all silent.
‘So what now?’ asked Ethan.
‘I’m going to call Irene and make things right. I’m going to have a tea party with her and fix everything. We’re going to fix everything. You’ll see.’
‘I hope so, Gloria,’ I said. ‘Because we can’t have kids torn between their grandmothers. I’m not going to let that happen.’
‘You bet!’ – she exclaimed. ‘I wouldn’t let that happen either. I’ll fix it, Ellie. Don’t worry about it, honey.’
Eventually we left our mothers to their own devices, and slowly but surely they mended their relationship. They are now mahjong buddies who bake something new every weekend.
And by the way, I can’t stand eggs anymore.
What would you do?