Chapter 4 - WHY MARGARET MOVED IN
The arrangement started with desperation.
Nine months earlier, Jason called Margaret at 6:30 in the morning.
“Mom, we’re screwed.”
Thomas’s daycare had closed with almost no notice.
An inspection had uncovered staffing violations.
Parents were told to find alternative childcare immediately.
Jason had a project in Richmond entering its busiest phase.
Melissa said her work schedule was packed.
Waiting lists at nearby centers were months long.
Margaret was working three mornings a week at the county library.
Not for money.
She liked the structure.
She liked books.
She liked having somewhere to go where nobody called her Mom or Grandma.
Still, when Jason asked for six weeks, she agreed.
She took unpaid leave from the library.
Packed one suitcase.
Moved into the guest bedroom.
The first weeks were manageable.
Jason helped when home.
Melissa thanked her constantly.
Then Melissa’s gratitude became expectation.
“Could you wash Thomas’s things too?”
“Would you mind starting dinner?”
“The cleaner canceled—could you just do the bathrooms?”
“I have a call at four.”
“I need to run out for an hour.”
The one-hour errand became four.
Margaret began doing laundry because nobody else did.
She began buying milk because it ran out.
She began sweeping because Thomas crawled through food crumbs.
She began cooking because otherwise Jason came home from a twelve-hour day and ordered takeout.
Then one afternoon, Margaret overheard Melissa on the phone.
“No, childcare is handled. My mother-in-law basically works for us now.”
Margaret stood in the hallway holding folded towels.
Melissa laughed.
“Best nanny ever. Free and guilty if she says no.”
Margaret said nothing.
That evening she started keeping receipts.
May you like
Not because she intended to charge them.
Because suddenly she wanted to know exactly how much “free” was costing her.
