No Place at Home

When I heard my younger brother was bringing his girlfriend home, I took annual leave, bought gifts, and flew back for the occasion. The moment I arrived, I found my luggage dumped carelessly outside the front door. My parents looked surprised to see me, but quickly recovered. "Ryan's girlfriend only wants to marry an only child, so we've been telling people Ryan has no siblings. You need to stay somewhere else for now and introduce yourself as a distant cousin from now on. "Don't blame us. Everything in this family will belong to your brother eventually. A daughter leaves when she marries." As they spoke, Ryan tossed the last of my belongings outside as though they were trash. "Finally. All that junk was an eyesore." My fingers slowly tightened around my purse, which still held the heavy gold bracelet I had bought as a welcome gift. Fine. Since I was only a distant cousin, they could stop living in my house. I turned around and pulled out my phone. "Hello. I'd like to sell the house in Maple Gardens. List it twenty thousand below market." Chapter 1 When she saw the displeasure on my face, my mother curled her lip. "Elena, you're not getting any younger. It's time you found someone and got married. What kind of grown woman keeps treating her parents' house like a permanent home? "Your brother is getting married soon. We're turning this place into his marital home, so sooner or later, you'll have to move out." It felt as though someone had stuffed my chest with wet cotton. I had taken annual leave, flown three hours, and arrived carrying bags of presents, only to be greeted by this. My father immediately backed her up. "Elena, you know how difficult dating is for young men now. Try to understand where your mother and I are coming from. "Your brother finally found a woman he wants to marry. For the sake of this family, just put up with it." Put up with it. I had heard those words for more than twenty years. Whether it was college tuition or the last piece of fruit in the refrigerator, I was always the one told to give in. I had endured it for more than twenty years, and their final answer was still the same. My throat burned. I turned toward the bedroom where I had slept for most of my life. It had been stripped bare, as empty as I felt inside. My mother frowned and stepped in front of me. "That's enough. Stop staring. You won't be staying in there again. This is your brother's home now." Ryan Goodman leaned against the doorway, watching me with complete indifference. "Come on, Elena. Think about me for once. You're already this old and still single. People might start thinking something is wrong with our family. "Besides, Chloe told me she would only marry an only child. If you care about my happiness, you'll move out and keep quiet." I stared at them in disbelief. "I spent three hours on a plane to come home, and this is how you treat me?" A flicker of guilt crossed my mother's eyes. "No one asked you to come back. Besides, even if you did, there's no place for you here." Then her gaze dropped to the purse hanging from my shoulder. Greed flashed in her eyes. "Didn't you say you bought a welcome gift for your future sister-in-law? Is it in that bag?" I clutched the purse and stepped back. "Mom, you won't even let me through the door, but you still expect me to hand over a gift. Don't you think that's a little much?" My father scoffed. "As Ryan's older sister, giving his future wife a gift is basic courtesy. What does that have to do with whether you come inside?" The two of them yanked the purse from my hands, and the heavy gold bracelet I had just purchased tumbled onto the floor. It struck the tile with a sharp metallic ring. My mother beamed at the sight of it. "At least you have some conscience. I suppose raising you all these years wasn't a complete waste." I snatched the bracelet back and shoved it into my purse. "Since this family has no room for me, there's no reason for me to give this to anyone." My father's face fell. "What kind of thing is that to say? When have we ever treated you unfairly? Whatever your brother had, you had too. You're cutting off your family over one bedroom?" His shameless reversal made me laugh. "Dad, aren't I supposed to be a distant cousin?" His face darkened like an approaching storm. "That's only what we tell outsiders. Inside this family, you still owe every courtesy expected of a daughter." Then he ripped the bracelet out of my hands and glanced at the heap of luggage by the door. "Since you're already here, take the rest of this garbage with you." Chapter 2 My bedding lay on the ground, spotted with mildew and piled up like filthy rags. A wave of bitterness rose in my chest. The damp season in my hometown lasted for months, and bedding that wasn't aired regularly always developed a heavy, moldy smell. Every winter and summer break during college, I came home to find my room reeking of damp. Ryan's blankets, meanwhile, were always soft, fluffy, and warm from the sun. I had asked my mother about it more than once, and she always gave me the same answer. "You chose the wrong room. Your window faces the shaded courtyard, so of course your blankets get moldy. Ryan was smart enough to pick the sunny room, so his bedding stays warm." But I had never been allowed to choose. My room was simply the one left over. I brought my heel down hard on the mildewed bedding. "If it's garbage, then I don't want it." I didn't want any of them either. My mother's expression changed. "How can you talk like that? Those are good quilts made from good cotton. I stitched them myself, and you don't have a grateful bone in your body!" I laughed. So I was ungrateful. I had bought their television. I had replaced their refrigerator. I paid for the clothes they wore and the phones they used. I even transferred a generous allowance to Ryan every month. And somehow I was still the ungrateful one. I wiped the tears from my cheeks. "If this family has no room for me, then I won't come back again." I turned to leave. "Wait!" My mother shouted after me. "Ryan's girlfriend is coming the day after tomorrow. Aren't you friends with the owner of Harbor House? Reserve their fifteen-hundred-dollar seafood banquet for us. We can't let the girl's family think we're cheap!" I stared at her as if she had lost her mind. "If you want the dinner, make the reservation yourselves." She choked. "But you can get us a discount." Discount was merely a polite way of saying they expected me to pay. I took the luggage I had arrived with and walked away without looking back. As I crossed the familiar apartment complex, uncertainty swept through me. I worked in another state and had not been home in more than six months. I had taken leave so I could stay for several days, only to discover I no longer had a place there. I sighed and checked into a hotel. Early the next morning, the family group chat began chiming nonstop. My mother posted a video. "All ready for my future daughter-in-law. Do you think she'll like it?" In the video, the wall between my room and Ryan's had been removed. A king-size canopy bed stood in the center, surrounded by pink stuffed animals, with a new walk-in closet beside it. They had clearly put an enormous amount of thought into the renovation. My old room had contained nothing but a bare wooden bed and a flimsy wardrobe Ryan had discarded. I had expected the unfairness, but my heart still clenched. Then I noticed a jewelry box in the corner of the video. Inside it lay an emerald bracelet. My breath caught. It was the only keepsake my grandmother had left me. I immediately called my mother. "Mom, move anything else you want, but don't touch the emerald bracelet Grandma left me." She gave a scornful laugh. "What do you mean, yours? That's the Goodman family heirloom. It goes to the family's future daughter-in-law." Chapter 3 Panic surged through me. "Grandma told everyone that bracelet was for me. How did it suddenly become a gift for Ryan's wife?" My mother scoffed. "Your grandmother was senile. Why would a daughter who'll marry into another family get the heirloom? Not a chance." After she hung up, fury made my entire body shake. Helplessness closed around me. I scrolled through photographs of Grandma, my hands trembling. Then I abruptly raised my head. I remembered that Grandma's will had also left me the house my parents were living in. I had simply been too busy with work to record the transfer. I gathered my identification and went straight to the county recorder's office. An hour later, the newly recorded deed in my hands finally steadied my heart. I opened my phone and found Nina Carter, the realtor whose contact I had saved months earlier. "I want to sell the house in Maple Gardens. It's urgent. List it twenty thousand dollars below market." She responded almost immediately. "That neighborhood is in high demand. At that price, I can have a buyer and paperwork ready within two days." Satisfied, I put my phone down. Now I wanted to see how they planned to use my house as Ryan's marital home. Afterward, I treated myself to a comfortable lunch at a newly opened restaurant. I had made up my mind. A family like this was not worth keeping. Just as I finished eating, my friend Rachel called. Her voice sounded uncomfortable. "Elena, your parents are trying to reserve our three-thousand-dollar premium seafood package and put it on your account." My ears rang. Three thousand dollars? Were they planning to eat gold? Then the family chat began chiming again. My mother posted photograph after photograph of Harbor House's menu. "Family, here's tonight's menu. We chose only the best and most expensive dishes, so everyone needs to come welcome our honored guest!" My aunt Carol replied in surprise. "Harbor House is expensive. That meal must cost at least a few hundred dollars." My mother sent a laughing emoji behind her hand. "Carol, you really are out of touch. The butter-poached lobster alone costs several hundred. The whole dinner is three thousand dollars." The relatives immediately began replying that they would be there. I grabbed my purse and went straight to Harbor House. My mother was standing over the menu, criticizing every detail. "Don't try to substitute cheaper ingredients. We have an extremely important guest tonight!" When she saw me, panic flashed across her face. "Elena, why haven't you gone back to work? Usually you guard that job as though your life depends on it." My chest rose and fell sharply. She was right. I was always afraid of losing attendance bonuses, so I rarely dared to take even a single day off. "Mom, you're entertaining your future daughter-in-law. Why are you charging the meal to me?" She sneered. "I knew this was about money. "You're obsessed with money. Your brother meeting the woman he plans to marry is a major family event. Why is contributing such a hardship?" I nearly broke down. "Yes, it is about money. I earn eight thousand dollars a month, and after you call crying poverty, I spend almost seven thousand of it on this family!" Annoyance flickered across her face. "Enough with the tears. Go away. Ryan's girlfriend will be here soon, and if she sees you, we'll have even more explaining to do." At those words, an unnatural calm settled over me, and I met her eyes. "I'm staying. I want to see exactly how you intend to pay for tonight's dinner." Chapter 4 My mother immediately panicked. "You can't stay. Everyone believes Ryan is an only child!" I curved my lips into a smile. "Aren't I his distant cousin? Besides, I'd like to meet Chloe. I even prepared a special gift for her." I emphasized the words special gift. My mother completely missed the warning. She smiled. "Good. At least you still understand your responsibilities. "But don't say anything you shouldn't." I said nothing, which she took as agreement. Then I opened my phone and opened my chat with Nina. "You said someone wanted to see the house? I can meet you there in two hours. Bring them over." She replied at once. I wanted to see how the engagement survived without the promised house. By the time Chloe Bennett arrived, all the relatives had gathered. During the introductions, my mother glanced at me twice and vaguely called me one of Ryan's distant cousins. Not one relative questioned it. Clearly, they had coordinated their story in advance. My heart turned colder. Throughout dinner, my mother enthusiastically described the marital home they had prepared. Chloe nodded along. "Mrs. Goodman, my family doesn't ask for much. I just want my future husband to be an only child and already own a home." Embarrassment flickered across my mother's face, but vanished instantly. "Don't worry, Chloe. Ryan meets both requirements." Near the end of dinner, the server followed my instructions and walked directly to my father with the card terminal. "Sir, the total is three thousand five hundred dollars. Will that be cash or card?" I gave a quiet laugh. Since they thought I was paying, they had ordered several bottles of the restaurant's most expensive wine. Every eye at the table turned toward my father. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He sent me a questioning look. It clearly meant, Wasn't this supposed to go on your account? I calmly turned away. Only after the server asked a third time did my father shakily pull out a credit card. The atmosphere became awkward. Everyone could tell he resented paying. Chloe looked displeased as well, apparently unimpressed by his stinginess. Trying to rescue the mood, my mother took Chloe's hand. "Now that we've eaten, let's go see your future home. I also prepared a surprise for you. It's our family heirloom." Chloe's expression finally softened. After dinner, the entire group marched toward the supposed marital home. The front door stood open, and several figures moved around inside. My mother charged through the doorway. "Who are you people? Frank, call the police! There are burglars in our home!" More than a dozen relatives crowded into the apartment behind her. Nina and two prospective buyers stared at them in disbelief. "We're here for a scheduled showing. Didn't the owner list the house for sale?" My mother grabbed a broom and began driving them toward the door. "Sale? This is my son's marital home!" Nina frowned. "But the legal owner of this property is Elena Goodman." My mother laughed as if she had heard an absurd joke. "Elena Goodman? Impossible. I've lived in this house for thirty years!" I pushed through the crowd, opened my purse, and removed the recorded deed. "Mom, she's right. This house belongs to me."