Jess, my sister-in-law, had other ideas for the family dinner than for it to turn into a fight. Her high standards and luxurious lifestyle always made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, and this meeting was no different.
For her party, Jessica wanted high-end foods like gourmet cheeses and fine wines. We were having a hard time making ends meet because my husband Mark lost his job. I knew we couldn’t afford it. Everything had to be cut back.
I kept thinking about what Mark said: “I wish I could help make it better.” I knew he couldn’t say sorry for how his sister behaved, though.
When Jessica called to tell me about the potluck, I didn’t want to go, but I did because it was a party for Mark’s dad’s retirement. For dinner, I chose to make a casserole from a recipe my grandma gave me.
When Jessica got there, she laughed at my dish and said it looked like something from a “soup kitchen.” I felt ashamed and embarrassed by her condescending tone and rude hand motion.
“You and Mark shouldn’t be in this situation if you were smart with your money,” she said in a harsh voice.
As I grabbed my dish and left, the stress of the past year’s problems hit me hard.
The next morning, Jessica called and was laughing so hard she was crying. She yelled, “You won’t believe what happened last night!”
It turned out that her helper forgot to plug in the fridge, which meant that all the food went bad. The potluck was a mess, and people left early. Jessica’s mum said that my turned-down dish was the only thing that could have saved the night.
And Karma gave Jessica a plate of humble pie. It was so funny that I couldn’t help but laugh.
What would you have done in this situation? Would you have stood up to Jessica or done the right thing?
