Michael immediately sounded alarmed. “Mom, are they treating you badly? Don’t move. Emily and I are coming to get you now.” After hanging up, I sat on the stone bench near the entrance of the residential area, holding my bamboo basket. The cold wind lashed at me, making me shiver nonstop.
I thought I would have to wait two long hours for Michael in the freezing wind, but unexpectedly, only fifty minutes later, I saw his car rushing toward me.
Before it even fully stopped, Emily jumped out and hurried to my side, pushing a thermos into my hands.
“Mom, drink some hot water first. We were worried you’d be freezing, so we drove faster. Don’t worry, we didn’t break any rules.”
Michael took the thermos from me without speaking, frowning as he asked.
“Mom, weren’t these things prepared for my sister? Why did you bring everything back untouched?”
My hand holding the thermos trembled slightly, and my voice cracked as I answered.
“They didn’t want them.”
Michael’s expression darkened instantly, and Emily gently helped me into the car, softly comforting me.
“Mom, it’s alright. Just tell us slowly.”
Sitting in the warm car, seeing their worried eyes, the emotions I’d been holding back all day finally collapsed.
I told them everything that had happened earlier.
After hearing me out, Michael slammed his hand on the steering wheel, his voice shaking with anger.
“They’ve gone too far!”
“Mom, you braved the rain to go there, brought them so many good things, and instead of treating you kindly, they let you suffer like that! Is that how people act?” Emily, sitting in the passenger seat with her chest rising and falling in anger, grabbed her phone and dialed Sarah’s number.
The phone rang for half a minute, yet no one answered.
Gritting her teeth, Emily dialed again—twice, three times—until the twelfth call finally connected, and Sarah’s lazy voice drifted through.
“Sister-in-law, why are you calling so late? I just put Henry to sleep.”
Emily’s tone shot up, every word burning with anger.
“Mom battled heavy rain to bring you so many nice things, drove for hours to visit, and you wouldn’t even give her a sip of hot water. You complained that what she brought was dirty and didn’t even bother to arrange a place for her to stay.”