My Mother-in-Law Took Care of Our Dirty Laundry at Her Home While I Was Sick — I Couldn’t Believe What She Did With It, But Karma Took Care of ItV

Clothes in a Basket | Source: Midjourney

Linda pouted. “Oh, Evelyn. You shouldn’t have to deal with all this in your condition.”

Then she turned to David. “Why don’t I take some home? I’ll wash it and bring it back fresh and folded.”

I stiffened. Since when does she do favors?

“There’s really no need,” I said quickly. “I can take care of it this weekend.”

But Linda shook my head. “Oh, that’s absurd. It’s no problem at all. I’d be happy to help.”

Linda? Happy to help? What’s going on?

A Woman Smiling | Source: Midjourney

Something was wrong. But before I could think of a polite way to refuse, David spoke up.

“That would be great, Mom. Thanks.”

I turned to him in disbelief. Seriously?

“See?” Linda turned to me. “It’s all taken care of. I’ll take care of everything.”

She grabbed a basket and started dragging it toward the door before I could say another word. David even helped her load it into the trunk of her car.

Empty car trunk | Source: Pexels

I stood there, feeling uncomfortable, but what could I say? She was doing something right, right?

Or so I thought.

Two days passed and I had almost forgotten about the laundry situation until David got a text from his mother.

I was in the kitchen, trying to coax Lucas into eating something other than crackers, when David came in with his phone. He looked very confused.

“You’re not going to believe this,” he said, pointing to his screen.

I wiped my hands on a towel and took the phone from him.

It was a text from Linda. A long text.

Woman reading text message | Source: Pexels

David, I can’t believe what your wife did. I was sick all night. Fever, chills, and the worst headache ever! And you know why? Because Evelyn didn’t bother to tell me she was contagious when she gave me her dirty clothes! I tried on a few clothes before washing them, just to see if I wanted to keep them since she mentioned she was getting rid of some of them. And now I’m sick! I can’t believe how irresponsible she is. She should have warned me!

I stared at the screen, my mouth hanging open.

“She…she tried on my clothes?” I asked.

A woman talking to her husband | Source: Midjourney

“Yeah,” David said. “It looks like it.”

I almost retched. “My dirty clothes. The ones I wore when I was sick?”

David nodded.

“Oh my God.” I slammed the phone down on the counter like it was contaminated. “That’s disgusting!”

“I don’t even know what to say,” David sighed.

“Oh, I know,” I said, grabbing my phone and unlocking it. “She’s out of her mind if she thinks this is my fault.”

Before I could answer, my phone rang. Another message from Linda.

A phone on a wooden table | Source: Pexels

Medical bills aren’t cheap, you know. Since your little blow made me sick, I think it’s only fair that you pay for my treatment. I’ll mail you the bill. Don’t think you can ignore it!

“Okay…” I said. “She’s lost her mind. She’s completely lost her mind.”

When I showed the message to David, he told me not to pay her anything.

“I’ll call her,” he said. “She needs to stop with this.”

I crossed my arms and watched as he walked into the living room, called Linda, and put the phone on speaker.

She picked up after two rings.

Man Using Phone | Source: Pexels

“I was just going to call you!” she snapped. “Did you read my message? I hope you understand how serious this is.”

“Mom,” David said, his tone already firm, “let me get this straight. You took dirty clothes, tried them on, got sick, and now you want Evelyn to pay for your treatment?”

“She should have told me!” Linda snapped. “How could she be so careless? You have no idea how miserable I feel right now.”

Woman talking on phone | Source: Midjourney

David pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, Mom. You were negligent. You offered to wash the clothes, not wear them. It was YOUR decision.”

Linda scoffed. “Oh, so now you’re taking her side, like always?”

“No, I’m using basic logic,” David said. “You have no one to blame but yourself. And if you keep accusing Evelyn wrongly, we’re going to have a real problem.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. A long silence.

“So that’s it?” she finally said. “You’re going to let her treat me like that?”

Close-up of a tear rolling down a woman’s cheek | Source: Pexels

David rolled his eyes. “You took her clothes, wore half of them, made yourself sick, and now you’re trying to scam her for money. If anyone treats anyone badly here, it’s you.”

Another silence. Then Linda mumbled something under her breath.

“What did you say?” David asked.

“I said some of these clothes were really nice.”

“Excuse me?” I blurted out. “What do you mean?”

David just shook his head. “Mom, give back everything you took that belongs to Evelyn. You can’t keep anything.”

A man talking to his mother on the phone | Source: Midjourney

A Man Smiling at His Wife | Source: Midjourney

A few days later, a package arrived. Inside were a few of my shirts, some pants, and a sweater. They were all a pale pink.

Linda had ruined my clothes.

For some reason, I didn’t feel angry. I guess I was too tired to argue with her about it.

“I guess I should have expected that,” I sighed, holding up a faded sweater.

David glanced over my shoulder. “You’re not going to wear that again, are you?”

“Are you kidding me? After what they’ve become? Burn the pile.”

A pile of clothes | Source: Midjourney

David laughed, shaking his head. “At least we learned something from this.”

“Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow.

He smiled. “If your mom offers to do laundry, say yes. If mine offers? Run.”

I burst out laughing. “Deal.”

A woman laughing | Source: Midjourney