Chapter 13 - The Red Basin
I stared at the red basin, then up at Gloria. “Excuse me?”
“I said, kneel down,” Gloria repeated, her voice dripping with venomous authority. “I’ve been walking around this filthy city all day. My feet are aching. In my family, a good daughter-in-law knows how to show respect to her elders.”
I looked at Eric. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He shifted uncomfortably, staring at the floor.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said.
“Eric,” Gloria snapped. “Tell your wife what we discussed.”
Eric cleared his throat, finally looking at me. “Claire, you’ve been acting totally out of line this week. You froze the accounts. You insulted my mother in front of her friends. Mom thinks… we think… you need a lesson in humility.”
I let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. “You want me to wash your mother’s feet? In a bucket of bleach? In my own living room?”
“It’s about submission, Claire,” Gloria said, leaning forward. “You think you’re so high and mighty with your money and your fancy job. But a woman’s real value is how she serves her family. You need to learn your place.”
I looked at the scrub brush resting in the murky water. I looked at Eric, the man I had married, the man who was standing by while his mother tried to physically and emotionally degrade me.
Any remaining shred of love I had for him evaporated in that exact second.
“You’re right,” I said softly.
Gloria’s smile widened. She actually thought she had broken me. She wiggled her bare toes, preparing for the royal treatment. Eric let out a breath, his shoulders relaxing.
I set my briefcase on the table. I walked over to the red basin.
I didn't kneel.
I bent at the waist, gripped the handles of the heavy plastic tub, and lifted it.
“Careful, don’t spill it on the rug,” Gloria commanded.
May you like
I looked her dead in the eye, pivoted sharply, and threw the entire basin of dirty bleach water directly into her face.
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