George yanked the blanket off Emily and barked, “Up!” Emily shielded herself with her arms and blinked in confusion
Over dinner, Emily learned her figure wasn’t athletic, her hairstyle was wrong, her job wasn’t serious—criticisms piled up.
When she and Matt headed home, she asked as gently as she could, “Is your dad always like this?”
“Yeah, his job shapes him. You’ll get used to it.”
“I don’t want to get used to it,” Emily thought. “Fine, we’ll only see them on holidays anyway.”
Before the wedding, the company Emily worked for went bankrupt. She had to scramble for a new job and accept a lower salary. When Matt heard how much she’d earn, he was horrified.
“We can’t afford rent, let alone a mortgage,” he said.
“What do we do?” Emily asked, upset.
“Let’s move in with my parents. Dad offered; said it’s foolish to spend so much on rent when we could save for our own place.”
“I don’t think I can live with them,” Emily said, recalling her future father-in-law.
“What choice do we have?”
Emily replied sadly, “None.”
The wedding went better than Emily expected. Despite her fears, George didn’t interfere, though his face showed his disapproval.
But the first morning at her in-laws’ brought surprises. Someone yanked the blanket off Emily and barked, “Up!”
Emily covered herself, blinking in shock, seeing her father-in-law. George wasn’t fazed by her lacy nightgown and roared, “Ten minutes to get ready, report to the living room.”
Emily glanced at the clock, stunned. “Seven a.m.?”..
