His Penny-Pinching, My Power

inner table. Tom and Eleanor continued to protest my new household regi

one morning, watching me make a fresh pot of coffee. "A

o a mug for my dad and one for myself. I put the rest into a thermal flask and screwed the lid on tight. "

ture of disbelief and fury. "W

in sharing the financial or emotional burden of your daughter'

"Sarah, honey, Mrs. Jenkins from next door i

local gossip. I had a feeling I knew why she was here. Elea

best smile. "Mrs. Jenkins, how

just heard you' ve been having a hard time, with the new baby and all. And Eleanor wa

"It' s been tough. Sarah' s been under

with a tissue. "I just want to help my son and my g

mance, painting me as the uns

hame things are so tense. I remember talking to Tom at the block party back when you were pregnant. He was so excit

ns, realizing she' d said something wrong, cl

y and looked at Tom. H

e was just cheap. He' d wanted a son and he got a daughter, and in his twisted, misogynistic mind, a daughter was a lesser investment. He had deci

?" I asked, my voi

ed, shooting a furious look at the morti

," I said. "It sounds like th

le peace shattered completely. But the fight di

grievances to a wider audience. She had posted a lon

is wife, Sarah, has become so materialistic and cruel since the baby was born. She is trying to extort mon

er and Tom as a long-suffering saint. Comments started pouring in, mo

ple I' d met maybe twice at hol

h always se

ised. She was al

much better. He' s

me. My hands were shaking as I read the comments. They were trying to destroy

uted rage. They wanted a publ

. I found what I was looking for: a screenshot of a text ex

tant was really helpful. L

s covered by insurance? If not, that' s on you

leanor' s post. I didn't add any commentary. I

inutes later, someone wrote, "Wow."

with its first piece of hard evidence. I stared at the screen, a grim satisf