My son and his pregnant wife came over for my birthday party. While my daughter and I played with the kids, they stayed by the grill. When we came back, they were gone, along with all the food.
I asked my husband about it, and he said that my DIL wanted to take it home “for the baby.”
At first, I just stood there, blinking. Everyone else had plates in their hands, waiting. The cousins, the uncles, even the neighbor who always brought deviled eggs was there.
But the grill? Empty. The trays?
Gone. My own birthday cake? Half of it had been packed up too.
“I thought she just meant a few leftovers,” my husband added, scratching his head. “Didn’t realize they were taking everything.”
I wanted to be understanding. She was pregnant, after all, and cravings can be wild.
But this? This was more than cravings. This was taking ribs meant for twenty people and not saying a word.
We scrambled to put together something from what was left in the fridge. My daughter microwaved a few frozen pizzas. My sister ran to the store for another cake.
People were kind, saying it was fine, but the mood had shifted. The laughter was thinner. The next day, I called my son.
“Hey,” I said, “Did something happen yesterday? We were surprised when you left.”
He sounded distracted. “Oh yeah, sorry about that, Mom.
Lily wasn’t feeling great, and we figured we’d just eat at home.”
“But… you took all the food.”
“Yeah, well, she said she’d been waiting all day and didn’t want to eat junk. You know how she is. And she’s eating for two now.”
I didn’t know what to say.
I love my daughter-in-law. Truly. But she’s never been… considerate.
Not really. Still, I bit my tongue. I told myself, Let it go.
A week later, I was at my daughter’s house for coffee when she brought it up. “Mom, do you remember how Lily acted at the baby shower last year?”
I did. She threw a fit when someone gifted her a diaper bag that wasn’t “on theme.” Left early because the cake was “too dry.” I had spent hours baking that cake.
My daughter gave me a look. “She does this kind of stuff all the time. Takes what she wants and plays the pregnancy card.
And Alex just lets it happen.”
Alex—my son—used to be different. Sweet. Thoughtful.
Always helped clean up after dinner, always called just to say hi. Since marrying Lily, he had changed. Not rude, just… distant.
Like everything was always about her now. But again, I stayed quiet. I told myself, She’s pregnant.
It’ll get better after the baby. Then came Thanksgiving. We hosted, as usual.
I made a giant turkey, mashed potatoes, two pumpkin pies, and my famous green bean casserole. Everyone brought something. Lily and Alex arrived late.
She didn’t say hi to anyone, just went straight to the food and filled two plates. When we sat down, she announced loudly, “We’re taking leftovers with us today. I’m not cooking for the rest of the week.”
Everyone laughed politely.
I said, “Of course, take some. We made plenty.”
But when the meal was over, and I went to pack up the extras for everyone, I found Lily already in the kitchen, loading containers into a cooler they’d brought. A cooler.
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