The Cost of Loving a Leech

To host my husband's widowed sister-in-law and his mother, who had come into town to stay with us, I spent the entire afternoon sweating over a hot stove.

Just as I set down the final dish—a platter of garlic butter shrimp—my husband, Michael, eagerly peeled one and placed it straight onto Amanda’s plate.

Right at that moment, our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Chloe, tripped in the living room and burst into tears. My hands were covered in cooking oil, so I frantically yelled to Michael, "My hands are messy! Go pick up Chloe, hurry!"