Having received a slap from her mother-in-law in front of the guests for a poorly set table, Margaret began pulling some things out of the cabinet, and the guests were STUNNED by what they saw…

Only she slams the door so that the whole building hears it. Sure enough, on the threshold stood the mother-in-law in person, holding by the collar the flushed first-grader Cody. — Here, mommy, take your idiot, he was sliding down the hill.

— All kids are like kids, but yours is different. Tore his backpack all up. I don’t know if he slid on it himself or the whole school including the principal rolled on it…

— I can only state the fact. The backpack is torn and unlikely to be repairable. What do I expect from him, Lord? Like mother, like son.

Cody looked guiltily at his mother, sneakily pushing the torn backpack under the nightstand with his foot. Margaret peeked into the hallway from the kitchen for a second and, saying nothing, just staring at her son, returned to the kitchen. — We’ll deal with him later, Zelda Patterson.

— Run, Cody, get undressed. We’ll eat soon. The boy, happy that mom didn’t scold him for the torn backpack, joyfully dove into the kitchen to her.

— Mom, I’m hungry as a wolf. Give me something to eat quick. Margaret, engrossed in setting the table, didn’t have time to answer her son.

Instead, Zelda Patterson, who appeared out of nowhere, answered, rattling the pot lid. — And what could she give you here? It’s slop all around. The mother-in-law daintily stuck her nose right into the fridge, pulled out a pot of cabbage soup for some reason, grabbed a ladle, and started stirring it disdainfully.

But at that time, hungry Cody grabbed a sandwich with red caviar from the table and gobbled it in two bites, warily glancing at grandma. — Mom, can I have another sandwich? I’m so hungry I could eat an elephant. Margaret frowned.

— Wait, son, eat some cabbage soup for now, and soon the guests will come, then we’ll sit at the table. Cody sighed and, seeing that arguing with mom was useless, trudged to his room to change for the guests. And the mother-in-law immediately pounced on the daughter-in-law.

— Margaret, how can you do that? Your son does whatever he wants, and you don’t react at all. The mother-in-law planted her hands on her hips and imagined herself an oracle foreseeing the future of this little criminal. — Everything starts in childhood and builds from little things.

— First, he’ll start destroying everything around him. Then he won’t respect his mother, then he’ll start beating his wife, and then prison isn’t far. Is that what you want? Margaret was stunned, stopped, and looked attentively at her mother-in-law.

Something was clearly off with her today. Zelda Patterson was on a roll. — Zelda Patterson, don’t talk nonsense.

— I’ll deal with Cody later. Better tell me, why didn’t you like your last haircut I did? Veronica told me about it. Why does she even know? If you tell all the neighbors like that, I’ll be out of work and clients.

Zelda Patterson shot a gaze cold as steel at her daughter-in-law and said: — Yes, you’ll be out of clients. But pardon me, I don’t see anything terrible in that.

— What kind of job is that, hairdresser? I’m trying for you, fool. That way you’ll find a normal job faster. For example, become an accountant.

She spoke maliciously, brazenly poking a fork into the Mimosa salad that Margaret had finished just half an hour ago. That’s what it was, Margaret realized. Got it…

So, the accountant Lena, cruising in a fancy SUV, wouldn’t let her rest. The girl watched the brazen action her mother-in-law was doing to her salad. For some reason digging the fork over its surface, and even inside, she didn’t understand at all.

All the dill laid on the salad’s surface bunched to one side, and the dish itself started looking like a crater from an exploded bomb. That’s how much the mother-in-law had wrecked it. Margaret silently snatched the plate with the salad from Zelda Patterson and put it in the fridge.

And after that, she declared: — I’m not Lena. She wanted to say more, but the mother-in-law rudely interrupted her. — Of course you’re not Lena, don’t even compare yourself to her…