Mom took out some papers from the cupboard. I recognized the letters at the top. It was a mate bond termination agreement.
Had it appeared in the cupboard the first time Dad scolded Mom because of Judy?
Or had it been at my birthday party, when he abandoned Mom and me to go and see Judy?
Or perhaps it had been when Dad gave Judy Mom’s favorite moonstone necklace?
After every argument with Dad, Mom would take out those papers and read each line, each word, carefully. Then she would look up at me.
But every single time, she ended up locking the papers back in the cupboard.
That day, Dad finally came back like he usually did. He even brought back a fancy-looking lunchbox.
He set it down on the dining table and said to Mom, “Judy made this delicious food for you herself. Look at her. Despite how rudely you treated her, she still made sure to leave good food for you.”
He looked around, frowning. “Where’s Ray? Where’s she hiding now? It’s been days. Does Ray know what she’s done wrong? All I did was tell her to calm down after the scene she caused at the banquet. I didn’t expect her to come crying to you!”
He sat down angrily on the couch and began criticizing Mom again. “You’re just as ill-mannered as she is. You barged into someone else’s home without an invitation and humiliated me! To clean up your mess, I had to say all kinds of nice things to Judy to get her to forgive Ray.”
He slammed his hand down on the armrest. “Tell her to come out quickly! Why is she still hiding? I want her to apologize to Judy in person!”
Mom lowered her head and began weeping again. She didn’t react to what Dad had said at all.
