A few weeks before Memorial Day, the cemetery office called to say my mother-in-law's plot needed to be relocated. I tried calling my husband, David, dozens of times before he finally picked up. "All I'm doing is taking Brittany out for a hike; do you have to be so dramatic?" Before I could explain, he hung up. With no other choice, I brought my mother-in-law's ashes home. Three days later, David showed up with Brittany in tow. By the time I got back from work, they'd stuffed a dead stray cat into Mom's urn. I rushed to stop them, but David just gave me an annoyed look. "You're a pet cremation specialist, Ashley. You've got urns coming out of your ears. I just grabbed the oldest one we had lying around." "Don't be so uptight, okay?" I could be chill about it, sure. But when we went to move her and David saw there were barely any ashes left he was ready to collapse. 1 David grabbed Brittany's hand and stormed out the door, not even looking back. The sky, which had been bright and sunny just a minute ago, instantly turned dark and gloomy. I ran after them. "Didn't you even notice there was something in the urn?" David just rolled his eyes, like I was trying to pick a fight on purpose. "What are you talking about? "I told you, it was an old one. There was nothing in it but dust." Brittany, flaunting the hand David was holding, chimed in with fake sweetness. "Seriously, that urn was ancient. It took us forever just to clean out all the dust and stuff." "But David and I took care of it all, tossed the garbage. All done." I was shocked, felt like I couldn't breathe. I remembered how Mom had always looked out for me, treated me like her own daughter. And now, her ashes were being treated like garbage by her own son, thrown in the dumpster downstairs. No matter what was going on with him and Brittany, I just had to clear this up. "That urn contained Mom's ashes!" David blinked, the expression on his face shifting through a dozen changes. He tried to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, he gave me a hard look. "You're making this up, right?" "Mom's ashes are buried in the cemetery. How could they possibly be here?" "She was always so good to you, and now you're using her to start drama?" Before I could answer, Brittany's voice piped up, all sweet and teary. "Ashley, I know you're upset that I touched your stuff, but you can't just say stuff like that. "I'll Venmo you the money for the urn, okay? The kitty was just so sweet…" "Please don't fight over this; it's just silly. You and David should not fight." She said it with a smile, but there was something smug in her eyes, like she knew she had me beat. Rain started pouring down, and I couldn't waste any more time arguing. When I got to the dumpster, the rain had scattered Mom's ashes. I managed to salvage what I could. I was trying to scoop the remaining ashes into a Mason jar when David and Brittany came back. David was soaked to the bone. I glanced at Brittany. Aside from a few fake tears, she was bone dry. I guessed David had kept her pretty well protected. Brittany fussed over David, dabbing his face with her sleeve. David tossed his wet jacket at me and frowned when he saw my hands. "What's all this gunk on your hands?" "Go wash up and get Brittany a hot bath. Or a foot soak." "She gets cold easily." He didn't even bother to look at me, just barked out the orders like always. When I didn't move, his voice got a little harder. "You're still mad about the urn? "It's not a big deal, right?" "How much do you want for it? Brittany will Venmo you." "Consider it done." I couldn't help myself; I snapped at him. "That urn was Mom's, David. It's priceless." "You can never repay it. Ever." David didn't bother to listen, didn't believe me anyway, and started lecturing me again. "Ashley, can't you ever just be normal?" I felt so sick. To make Brittany happy, David had thrown away everything – his common sense, his decency. I didn't say anything, but Brittany seemed to think she'd won. She rubbed her eyes, looking pitiful. "Maybe this urn was meant for one of Ashley's clients. We shouldn't have just taken it without asking." Hearing that, David's eyebrows furrowed. I shook my head quickly. Because if anyone had a right to be upset, it was my mother in law. Chapter 2 David never really liked my job, thought it was creepy. "So what if it was for a client?" "Cats and dogs, what's the point of a funeral? It's just weird." I gave him a look. "If you think it's so weird, why did you bother putting that stray cat in an urn?" "Even burying it in the rain." David's face went red, like he couldn't believe I was still arguing. "It's not the same thing!" Brittany coughed. "David did it for me. I'm sorry… cough, cough." Seeing Brittany all delicate, David's face softened. He looked at her like she was made of glass. But he grabbed my hands, shoving them under the faucet, cold and rough. "Wash your hands and go get some hot water!" I clenched my fists, trying to pull away. "I can't! These are the last of Mom's ashes on my hands!" Hearing me mention Mom again, David snapped. He stared at me, like he wanted to burn me alive. "You think this is funny?" "If you didn't want to give Brittany a foot bath, just say so. Don't drag Mom into it!" "Can't you at least let her rest in peace?" No matter how I struggled, he was too strong. I knew there was no point in arguing, so I begged and pleaded. "David, we've been together for years. When have I ever lied to you?" "These really are Mom's ashes. I brought them back from her old house yesterday…" David looked like he was starting to doubt himself, so I tried to pull my hands away. "The cemetery called to say the plot needed to be moved…" Brittany cut me off. "Ashley, please. You can't keep doing this to him." "If Aunt Susan's grave really needed to be moved, why didn't they call David instead of you?" I'd wondered the same thing. The person on the phone sounded really frantic, said they couldn't get hold of David. And when I called David, he thought I was just being jealous and dramatic. David, who'd seemed to be wavering, suddenly hardened. He glared at me, teeth clenched. "Ashley, enough." There was no reasoning with him, so I had to watch the last of Mom's ashes swirl down the drain. Mom's last connection to this world was gone. I sank to the floor, numb. I'd grown up in a broken home, never really knowing a mother's love. I'd actually met Mom before I met David. We'd met on vacation. Mom said it was her first solo trip after raising David. She could finally be herself. But she found out she had cancer. She was only diagnosed six months before she passed away. To fulfill her wish, David and I got married. I remember her last words, before she faded away, hoping that David and I would have a good life. David was looking at the foot bath. "I'll get you a new one tomorrow, okay?" I didn't think he'd remember I was a clean freak. But he didn't hesitate. "Don't even start with me! Brittany doesn't care, so why should you?" I smiled weakly. "Why bother? Just let Brittany take a shower." Chapter 3 "What? You're letting someone else use our shower?" David looked confused, like he couldn't believe I'd suddenly changed my mind. Because of David's crush on Brittany, she'd been over to our house three or four times. Sometimes she'd get there early, when no one was home. David even gave her a spare key. I used to fight with David about it all the time. Despite his confusion, David did what I said. He grabbed his pajamas from the bedroom and led Brittany to the bathroom. Afraid she'd be uncomfortable, David stood guard outside the door. I couldn't stand it. "Why don't you just go in there? You're soaked anyway." David turned bright red, like a kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Ashley, what…what are you saying?" "I can't just shower with Brittany!" "She's a girl! She's got her reputation at stake!" Seeing the look on my face, David realized I was just messing with him. His face went from pink to black. "You just can't stand that Brittany and I are friends!" "You always have to butt in and cause trouble!" "This time, you used Mom's urn. I'm letting that slide, but what are you going to do next?" Next? There wouldn't be a next time. The deepest connection between David and me had just been destroyed. He stood by the bathroom door, listening to Brittany call out requests. But he still kept nagging at me. "You should probably quit your job. It's bad luck." "I want to start a family soon." "After you quit, focus on your health, and don't touch anything spooky." Just then, Brittany's voice floated out of the bathroom. "David, the water's too hot. I can't figure it out…" "Which one's the shampoo?" "Can I use Ashley's body wash?" David forgot all about me, only focusing on answering Brittany's questions. I rolled my eyes and went back to the bedroom. Seeing me leave, David lost all restraint and strode into the bathroom. I heard the door click shut, and I felt sick. I called my lawyer friend and asked him to draw up divorce papers. I finished talking with my friend an hour later, and there was finally some noise outside. "David, is Ashley still mad? Maybe I should go apologize." After a while, the bedroom door opened. Brittany stood there wearing David's pajamas, and of course the top buttons were undone. "Ashley, don't be mad. I'll leave as soon as my hair's dry…" "But David got rained on today; remember to make him some ginger tea." She wanted me to clean up her messes? No way. David stepped in front of her, like he was afraid I was going to hurt her. I sat on the bed, not saying a word. Breaking the silence was a phone call. It was the cemetery. I accidentally hit the speaker. "Mrs. Davis, we need to discuss the cemetery plot…" David ran at me. "Whose plot?"
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