When Serena finally sheds the deadweight of her marriage with a divorce, she meets someone who makes her feel supported. But her ex-mother-in-law has other plans and wants Serena to go back to Ryan. Eventually, tired of asking Serena, Helen sends her a gift box that Serena will never forget…
I always knew turning thirty-four was going to be a little weird, but I didn’t expect it to be this weird.
My life had gone through a series of changes in the past year alone. First, there was the divorce from Ryan. We had been married for six years, and we had two kids, Chloe and Jacob, during that time. I’ll admit it, the first few years were great as we navigated our lives together, but as time went on, things got heavy.
Being married to Ryan was like dragging a deadweight through life. That man was lazy, he lacked ambition, and spent most of his time drinking outside or at bars with his friends while I was juggling my job and raising our kids.
I hesitated for a moment, then decided I might as well open it. Maybe it was something harmless. Maybe Helen had finally decided to let go of the past.
I tugged at the ribbon, and it fell away instantly. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
But as soon as Jacob lifted the lid excitedly, the sides of the box collapsed outward, and that’s when I saw them. I screamed loudly along with my children, who were clutching tightly onto my legs.
Rats. About a dozen of them. They spilled out of the box in a frenzied wave, squealing and scurrying in every direction of my home. Some of them ran toward the kitchen, others darted under the couch.
“Oh, my God!” I shrieked.
I grabbed my kids and bolted out of the house, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might explode.
Thank goodness I had my phone in my pocket. Instead of calling Kevin, I ended up calling 911.
“What’s your emergency?” the dispatcher asked.
“There’s a… there’s a box of rats in my house!” I said, the panic rising in my chest. “My ex-mother-in-law sent it to me for my birthday!”
There was a brief pause on the other end, and I could almost hear the dispatcher processing what I’d just said. I knew how ridiculous it sounded.
“We’ll send someone over right away,” she replied.
Within minutes, a patrol car pulled up in front of my house. Two officers got out looking as confused as I felt.
“You’re the one with the rat problem?” one of them asked.
“Yes,” I said, holding my daughter close to me. “They’re everywhere. The box came from my ex-mother-in-law. She sent a note with her name on it. If she denies it, she’s lying.”
“We’ll check it out,” the officer said.
The officers went into my home, and a few moments later, they returned, their expressions grim.
“There’s too many of them,” an officer said. “We need animal control in. You can’t stay here tonight.”
“I want to press charges!” I exclaimed. “How could she do something so stupid? And who knows what damage these rats are going to cause?”
“We’ll talk to her,” the second officer said. “What’s her address?”
I wrote it down on a notepad and gave it to them.
“She’ll probably deny it when she sees you,” I said. “Even if she wrote a note.”
“You drive and we’ll follow you,” an officer said.
I nodded and followed them. Thankfully Kevin had arrived while the officers were inside the house, and reassured me that he would keep the kids.
When we arrived, Helen opened the door looking surprised.
“You know exactly why I’m here,” I said. “You sent me a box full of vermin!”
Helen spent a good ten minutes trying to convince us that it hadn’t been her.
“There was a note, ma’am,” an officer said simply.
“Oh…” Helen said, finally realizing that she had nowhere to hide. “I forgot…”
“You deal with her,” I said to the officers. “I’m going back to my family.”
I got into my car and drove back home, leaving Helen looking scared as an officer took out a notepad and pen.
As I got home, Kevin was packing the car with the kids sitting on the swing.
“What’s going on?” I asked, getting out of the car.
“The party has moved, sweetheart,” Kevin said. “Come on, we’re going to your parents’ house for a barbecue. Helen isn’t going to ruin the day. We’ll get animal control to come in tomorrow. And unfortunately, the cupcakes are a no-go.”
“Yeah, Mom!” Jacob called out. “There was a rat sitting on the cupcake tray!”
Hours later, we were sitting in my parents’ backyard grilling burgers and steaks and just having a good time.
Helen and Ryan who?
What would you have done?
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