He had twenty minutes left before the doorbell rang.
When the bell finally rang, Jenna stayed behind the bedroom door, listening to the entire disaster unfold.
This time, she was not planning to step in and save him.
PART 3
Scott opened the front door to greet his family with tomato sauce stains on his shirt and sweat dripping down his forehead.
Pamela walked in first, carrying her trusty tote bag for leftovers as usual.
“I hope you actually made something edible today,” she said without bothering to say hello.
Scott just stood there, completely unable to find the words to respond.
In the middle of the table sat a pot of clumped spaghetti stuck to the bottom, surrounded by paper plates and a warm soda bottle. He had desperately tried to boil two boxes of dry pasta with barely any water, leaving a thick mass that was burnt on the bottom and hard in the middle.
The kids ran over to the table, but they stopped cold the moment they saw the food.
“Is that supposed to be our lunch?” the eldest kid asked, squinting at the pot.
Alicia gave her husband an awkward glance, while Greg crossed his arms over his chest.
“Where is Jenna?” Greg asked gently.
“She went out,” Scott lied in a faint whisper.
Pamela stuck a fork into the middle of the pot, and the entire block of pasta lifted up in one single piece.
“This is completely raw and burnt!” Pamela yelled, dropping the fork. “Are you seriously asking us to eat this junk?”
Right then, the bedroom door opened, and Jenna stepped out wearing nice black pants and a burgundy top.
She had been home the whole time, staying quiet so nobody could pin the blamed disaster on her.
“Hope you guys enjoy your lunch,” Jenna said with a calm smile.
Pamela gasped loudly, looking like she was about to explode.
“You were in there the whole time while your husband embarrassed himself like this?” Pamela shouted.
“I did not make him do anything,” Jenna replied evenly. “He chose a system where every adult is responsible for themselves.”
Scott lowered his head, completely unable to defend himself.
Jenna walked over to the table and took a look at the ruined pasta pot.
“How much money did you have left after paying for that restaurant order?” she asked Scott directly.
“Nine dollars,” Scott admitted in a low voice.
“And when the restaurant canceled, you had to feed seven people on nine dollars without knowing how to boil pasta,” Jenna noted calmly.
Nobody in the room said a single word.
“I did this every single Saturday for three years,” Jenna continued, looking at Pamela. “I spent over two hundred dollars every week, woke up early, cooked for six hours, cleaned up the mess, and watched you guys pack every last piece into your bags.”
Pamela pressed her lips together, trying to stand her ground.
“Well, nobody forced you to cook those big meals for us!” Pamela argued defensively.
“No, you guys just took advantage of the fact that I did it out of love,” Jenna replied smoothly. “And the worst part was that you never viewed it as real work, as if the food just magically cooked itself.”
Jenna walked over to a shelf, pulled out a clear folder, and placed several bank statements on the table.
“Thirteen thousand dollars for Saturday lunches last year,” Jenna stated clearly. “Eight thousand for groceries, two thousand for house expenses, plus all the gifts and vacations.”
She then slid a separate summary sheet right in front of Scott’s face.
“Do you know how much you put into our joint account during that same time?” she asked him.
Scott knew the number, but he was far too ashamed to say it out loud.
“Less than fifteen hundred dollars total,” Jenna revealed to everyone. “Barely a hundred bucks a month, while the rest of your salary went to gadgets, beer nights, and sending money to your mom.”
Pamela immediately got defensive again upon hearing that.
“I am his mother!” Pamela snapped loudly. “It is completely normal for a son to help his mother!”
“Sure he can help you,” Jenna answered calmly. “With his own money. But it is not normal for him to fund his luxuries while I pay for his house, his food, and his entire family’s visits, only for him to tell me he is tired of supporting me.”
Alicia covered her mouth, looking completely shocked by the numbers.
Greg turned to his brother with total disappointment in his eyes.
“Did you seriously tell her that, Scott?” Greg asked incredulously.
Scott nodded his head, looking completely crushed.
“A guy at work got divorced and got into my head,” Scott confessed in a broken voice. “He made me think wives take advantage of husbands, and Mom kept sending me articles, so I got scared Jenna would take my savings if we ever split up.”
Greg let out a dry laugh at his brother’s explanation.
“What savings are you talking about, man?” Greg asked bluntly. “She was literally paying for your life!”
Pamela glared at Greg, trying to shut him down.
“Stay out of this, Greg!” she ordered angrily.
“No, I am not staying out of it, Mom,” Greg fired back firmly. “We took advantage of her too, coming over every week, eating like kings, and taking food home while you sat there complaining about her cooking.”
Alicia stepped up closer to Jenna with an apologetic look on her face.
“I knew it was wrong,” Alicia admitted softly. “I told Greg a bunch of times that we shouldn’t take so many containers, but Pamela insisted you loved cooking and had tons of cash to spare.”
Jenna looked at her mother in law with a steady gaze.
“That was the whole problem,” Jenna said. “You guys thought that because I made good money, my hard work didn’t matter, as if my time and my energy had no value at all.”
Pamela opened her mouth to argue, but she could not find a single word to defend herself.
The kids sat quietly on the couch, until the youngest one whispered if they could just order some tacos.
Jenna took a deep breath, letting her strict posture soften a bit.
“The kids didn’t do anything wrong,” Jenna said gently. “There is fresh bread, fruit, and cheese in my pantry, and they can eat that.”
She unlocked her private cabinet and quickly pulled out some fresh berries, sliced cheese, and milk for the children, though she did not make anything for the adults.
Pamela watched the kids eat quietly without saying a word.
“You are being really harsh on us,” Pamela murmured in a low voice.
“No, I am just setting a boundary,” Jenna answered clearly.
The room went completely silent as those words settled in.
Scott slowly got up from his chair, his eyes red and full of tears.
“Jenna, I am so sorry,” he stammered out, wiping his face. “Not just for these past few days, but for all the years I took everything you did for granted while walking into a clean apartment with hot food on the table without ever thinking about your sacrifices.”
Jenna stood perfectly still, watching him break down.
“I really miss my wife,” Scott begged, taking a step toward her. “I don’t want a cook back, I just want the woman who loved me back, and I know I messed up big time.”
“That sounds a lot better than saying you miss hot breakfasts,” Jenna noted softly.
