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E I G H T
"Are you sure you want to go to that dinner tonight? I mean, they sound like terrible people. They practically belittle you without knowing anything about you," Marjan shook her head in disbelief after I told her about the disaster that was my very first gathering with my in-laws.
Maybe they didn't realize or perhaps cared about how uncomfortable and miserable they made both of their children that night because Margaret and Phillip Buckley wanted to have another dinner tonight.
Stretching my legs on the bed from under me, I adjusted the iPad I had on my lap, getting a better view of Marjan. "I can't let Evan go through another disastrous night alone. Plus, Mrs. Buckley insisted on inviting me. My guess is that she's not done trying to offend me."
The night we met, it seemed like they didn't have enough satisfaction in just belittling their children, especially Maddie. The Buckley's also had to bring me into the mix, leaving Chimney and Albert out of their judgmental assumptions.
"Have at it then. You are the one being labeled as the single mom that couldn't keep her legs shut that is now taking advantage of their poor innocent son."
"Who's a slut?" Captain Strand's son, TK, came into view on the screen behind Marjan. "Oh, hey Agatha!"
"Hi, TK," I smiled. "And for your information, Marjan, they didn't call me a slut."
After Mr. Buckley made the unnecessary comment of Evan "raising" a child that wasn't his, they kept implying the entire night that I was using their son for financial stability and having someone to recognize my fatherless "daughter." I had to admit that I found the Buckley's imagination quite amusing. By just seeing Maia, they created a million backstories putting any author and screenwriter to shame.
I know I could've easily put them in their place by letting them know I didn't need any man to take care of me. After all, I have never been one to stay quiet. I have worked my ass off to get where I'm currently at, and yes, maybe I could've gotten farther in life if I kept my position as a surgical nurse, but it still does not take away all the work I had to put in.
Instead, I decided to keep my mouth shut. After seeing how they treated their children, I could care less what they thought about me.
"Hear me out. What if they aren't his parents? What if they kidnapped him or something? That could explain their coldness towards him and the huge age gap between him and his older sister,"
"Wait, I'm honestly trying not to be noisy, but what the hell are you two gossiping about?" interrupted TK.
I snorted before quickly covering my mouth, trying to stifle the noise. Looking around me, I made sure I hadn't woken up one of the firefighters who was sleeping a couple of beds away from mine in the bunk room.
