I’ve been married to Masato for sixteen years. We live with our three kids — Yuma (7th grade), Rei (5th grade), and Takuto (2nd grade). Then one day, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with a serious illness. That’s when I found out my husband had an older brother who’s been shut in for over twenty years. When I confronted his mother for hiding it, she lashed out at me instead. With my parents present, I made my husband promise that neither I nor our children would have any contact with his parents again.
But then… I got a voicemail from the hospital about my mother-in-law, Setsuko Kudo. Why me?
She must’ve filled out her hospital paperwork after revealing her son’s secret to me. And yet, under those circumstances, she still thought I’d help her during and after her hospital stay? To make things worse, she apparently told the hospital I’m her eldest son’s wife! So she really plans to keep pretending her shut-in son doesn’t exist. I’m the younger son’s wife. The elder son is the one living with her, right? Honestly, I just want to shout it out loud.
Maybe my mother-in-law has her own pain to bear, but that’s not my problem. No matter what anyone says, I’m staying out of it — completely.