It lasted so long that Claire crossed the room and stopped by the window.
“Rachel,” Daniel admitted at last. “My sister. She said it.”
“Why?”
“You see, Mom had started demanding that she repay some money.”
“What money?”
“The money she and Michael borrowed two years ago for their car. It was a substantial amount. Lately Mom kept bringing it up—almost every week asking when they planned to return it.”
Daniel exhaled heavily.
“Rachel finally lost her temper and said, ‘You should stop asking me for money. Daniel’s former wife took everything from him. Go demand it from her instead.’”
Claire laughed unexpectedly.
“So your sister redirected your mother’s greed toward me just to stop her from asking about the car money?”
“That’s how it seems.”
“And Eleanor never bothered to check whether it was true. She simply wrote a list and went to my address.”
“Yes,” Daniel said grimly.
“Then explain something else. Why didn’t you come and tell her the truth yourself?”
“What was I supposed to say?” he asked irritably. “That I was the one who abandoned my wife? That I destroyed the marriage? You know my mother. She never would have accepted that.”
“She would have accepted it, Daniel. You just preferred to look like the innocent victim.”
“Claire…”
“You wanted everyone to believe I was responsible. That way, you weren’t the man who betrayed his wife. You were the poor, unfortunate son who walked away from a divorce with nothing. Everyone pities you. It’s a comfortable role, isn’t it?”
“You’re misunderstanding everything.”
“No. I understand enough now.”
She paused.
“Your mother received everything she demanded and signed a statement saying she had no further claims. This is finished. Neither you nor your relatives will come to me with anything like this again.”
“Claire, wait—”
“Goodbye, Daniel.”
She ended the call.
To her surprise, no tears came.
For the second time that week, she had closed another door to her former life without feeling the urge to turn back.
News of the unusual return of the gifts spread through the family with astonishing speed.
At first, Eleanor told the story herself with great satisfaction.
She described it to friends around the kitchen table, repeated it to neighbors near the building entrance, and always emphasized how decisive she had been.
“Can you imagine it? I went to her with the list and demanded everything back—and she gave it all to me! Every single thing! She knew I was in the right!”
Eleanor would spread her hands triumphantly.
“I wasn’t afraid to defend my son’s interests.”
One day, a friend cautiously asked:
“Eleanor, why did your daughter-in-law agree so quickly? She didn’t even argue?”
“Because she knew perfectly well whose things they were.”
“What are you going to do with the dinner service? You already have two sets at home.”
“It’s not about plates!” Eleanor snapped. “It’s about principle. There has to be justice.”
About a week later, Rachel came to visit her mother.
She intended to help unpack the many items that had remained in the boxes since Eleanor’s visit to Claire.
Rachel opened the largest box and began removing things.
First came the old peacock housecoat.
Then the towels with her mother’s initials.
Then Rachel found the little knitted blanket.
She spread it carefully across her knees and studied the tiny pattern for a long time.
Finally, she looked up.
“Mom, are you serious? You took even this back?”
“I didn’t take anything!” Eleanor protested immediately. “Claire put it all in the box herself!”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Rachel asked almost in a whisper.
“I secured justice.”
“You went to a woman who had been divorced for one month with a written inventory of gifts. Mom, an inventory! You sounded like a store manager taking stock.”
“You have no right to judge me. You were the one who told me Claire had taken everything from Daniel!”
“I said it because I was angry!” Rachel shouted. “You kept pestering me about the car money. I only wanted you to leave me alone! I never thought you would actually run to Claire!”
Eleanor stared at her daughter in confusion.
Michael, Rachel’s husband, stood in the doorway. Until then he had said nothing. Now he folded his arms and spoke.
“Eleanor, may I clarify one thing?”
“Well? Go ahead.”
“When Rachel and I moved into our new house, you gave us a sofa.”
“So?”
“And a refrigerator.”
“Michael, I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”
“I’ve been thinking. What if you come to us one day with an inventory too? What if you demand the sofa, the refrigerator, Rachel’s bracelet, and the children’s bicycles?”
“What ridiculous nonsense!”
“Why is it ridiculous?” Michael asked calmly. “You’ve shown us that you are capable of taking gifts back. I’ll have to remember that from now on.”
He paused.
“I would rather buy everything ourselves than live with the fear that someone might eventually send us a bill for our family life. So everything you’ve given us—I’ll return it.”
“Michael, do you hear yourself?”