“Those are my final exams, Mrs. Higgins,” Cassandra said while reaching out.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” the older woman said while pulling the folder away. “You act as though you are the first person to ever have a child.”
Cassandra stepped forward to grab her belongings, but Edith stepped back quickly.
“Let us be very clear about the situation here,” Edith hissed. “This house is not a resort for lazy girls.”
“My son is gone, and I am finished acting like your personal maid,” she continued. “You only married into this family for the comfort and the money.”
Cassandra felt a rush of heat climb up her neck. “I did not marry him for money, and I have worked since I was a teenager.”
“Your little salary would not even cover the cost of the diapers this baby will need,” Edith laughed.
“I will not allow you to speak to me or my child that way,” Cassandra said firmly.
“And who are you to allow anything in my own home?” Edith shouted back.
The argument exploded like a brush fire in a dry field. Years of swallowed insults and kept silences finally burst forth in a few chaotic minutes.
Cassandra demanded basic respect. Edith responded with a cruel mockery of her voice.