—How quickly the queen of this house changed.
The next morning, Mauricio and I went to work. I left soup, rice, and fruit prepared. Before leaving, I asked Ofelia to accompany my mother.
At four in the afternoon I returned earlier than planned. The house was stifling. I found Mom sitting by the window, fanning herself with a piece of cardboard. Her blouse was soaked, and in front of her was a glass of lukewarm water.
I ran to the refrigerator. The doors were secured with a chain and padlock. Above them was a note: “My son bought what’s inside. No strangers allowed.”
They had also turned off the light switch in the room where my mother slept. Ofelia had gone to Raúl’s house.
“Did you eat anything?” I asked.
Mom looked down.
—A cold corunda I brought for Emiliano. I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.
Then I saw another phrase written on the back of the note: “This house will belong to my family sooner or later. Learn your place.”
I put the paper away without shouting. Ofelia didn’t know that Mauricio and I had been preparing to sell that house for two months.
And that very night we decided we wouldn’t wait another day. I couldn’t believe what was about to happen…
PART 2
Mauricio arrived, read the note, and remained silent. Then he knelt before my mother.
—Forgive me, Doña Teresa. No one in my house should have treated you like that.
When he called Ofelia, she returned accompanied by Raúl and Brenda, his favorite daughter-in-law. The three of them entered as if they had come to judge us.
“She just closed a refrigerator,” Brenda scoffed. “A polite visitor doesn’t take what isn’t theirs.”
Raúl added that this was “Mauricio’s house” and that my mother should remember that it belonged to another family.
My husband slammed his fist on the table.
—This house belongs to Laura and me. And anyone who calls their mother a freeloader again will be out of here.
Ofelia began to cry, accusing him of preferring her mother-in-law. My mother, humiliated, asked to return to the village. Emiliano came out of his room and hugged her.
—Grandma, don’t leave because of them.
That scene finally broke something inside Mauricio.
Before leaving, our neighbor Lupita knocked on the door. She had seen my mother sitting in the hallway for almost an hour to escape the heat and thought she was a domestic worker who had been left outside. When she told Lupita, Mom covered her face in shame. I knelt in front of her and cried.
—I brought you here to take care of you and I allowed them to make you feel less than anyone else.
“Don’t fight for me,” she pleaded. “I can handle it.”
—You can handle it, Mom. I can’t anymore.
When Ofelia left again with Raúl, my husband took me to the balcony.
—It’s time to execute the plan.
The house already had a buyer. The documents had been reviewed by the notary, and we had made a down payment on a smaller house near Emiliano’s school. We planned to let Ofelia know when everything was ready and rent her an apartment nearby. But we were afraid that Raúl and Brenda might try to stop the transaction or demand money.
