I’m Kaori, 46. My husband, Yuichi (also 46), comes from a family that runs a ballroom dance studio. After his parents asked him to eventually take over the business, he started staying overnight at the studio under the guise of practice. But when I stopped by at 1:00 AM, I found him and his female partner, Suzuka, drinking beer in casual loungewear—with a double futon laid out in the corner. He insists, “This is standard in the ballroom world,” but I’m not buying it. As he continues to brush me off, my distrust only grows.
It had been a long time since I last talked to my mother-in-law one-on-one. Between running the dance studio, my in-laws were always busy, so we rarely interacted. Taking a leap of faith, I called her and asked if she could talk to my husband about drawing a line between his work and personal life.
She stayed silent the entire time, listening to everything I had to say. While she didn’t take his side, I couldn’t tell if she was on mine, either. Did she really understand what was going on…? I can only hope she truly took my feelings to heart.