It’s Time To Leave… For Good

(I have asked my partner to try to keep the peace when visiting my parents. To their credit, they have managed to be completely neutral this entire week. We’re supposed to be heading to dinner. My partner is already in the car, but my parents keep me in the house to lecture me. They go on for a while about how worthless I am, until my partner comes in to check on me.)

Partner: “[My Name]?! Why are you crying?”

Dad: “It’s nothing.”

Mom: “See, she’s coming in to help you now, but how can you expect her to do that forever? You can’t do anything on your own! Eventually, she’s going to leave you and—”

Partner: “F*** YOU!”

Parents: *startled*

Partner: “How dare you say I would leave? How dare you say [My Name] isn’t worth the whole world?! F*** YOU!”

Dad: “Don’t you dare curse at my wife!”

Partner: “Don’t you dare treat [My Name] like this!”

(There’s a staredown, and things are tense. My partner breaks the tension by taking me out of the house. We call a cab and leave. A week later, my grandmother calls me.)

Grandma: “I heard she cursed at your mother! I cannot believe you would be with someone like that!”

Me: “Mom told me I was useless and that [Partner] would leave me!”

Grandma: *pause* “Well, it was still rude of her to curse. That girl has no manners.”

(Joke’s on them. We’ve moved away, and are financially stable and happy together. Despite their claims, I don’t need them anymore.)