A man asks his wife to give up her job to look after his elderly father who had a stroke, then he accuses her of living off him. Later he gets what he deserves.Gemma Newton was a successful graphic designer and happily married to John for 12 years and it seemed as if the pattern of her life was set. She didn\u2019t realize a change was coming, one that would transform her and everything she knew about herself and her husband.<\/p>\n
The phone rang in the middle of the night and by her husband\u2019s anxious replies Gemma knew something bad had happened. She was right. John\u2019s elderly father who lived in Idaho had a stroke.The next morning, John flew to Boise to be with his father. The next few weeks were anxious ones for Gemma, but finally, John phoned with good news. His father was recovering but John had something important to discuss with Gemma\u2026Two days later John was home and he carefully initiated the discussion with Gemma: \u201cDarling, my father needs a lot of help and support right now, at least for the next six months or so. I was wondering if you\u2019d mind if he stayed with us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not,\u201d said Gemma immediately, \u201cYou know I\u2019m fond of your dad. Anything to help!\u201d\u201dI\u2019m so glad you said that Gemma, darling!\u201d John gasped, \u201cThe doctors suggested full-time care for a while and I was wondering if you\u2019d considered taking an extended leave\u2026\u201d\u201dJohn, you know I have a high-pressure job at the agency. They won\u2019t let me take that kind of leave. I\u2019d have to resign!\u201d\u201dHun, please, you know you\u2019re the best at what you do, they\u2019ll take you back anytime! Talk to your boss.\u201d\u201dJohn, why don\u2019t we just hire someone to look after Harold?\u201d\u201dTwo reasons, Gemma. First: I don\u2019t want a stranger in our house, and second, the cost of a caregiver\u2019s salary plus the extra expenses\u2026 It will cost us more than you\u2019re earning,\u201d Jon added. \u201cAnd since I\u2019m earning more than you at the moment, it seems sensible.\u201d\u201dJohn, that\u2019s a big step\u2026I don\u2019t know! I\u2019d be dependent on you, and I\u2019ve earned my living since I was 18. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d be comfortable with that.\u201dRespect other people\u2019s efforts, especially if they\u2019re doing their best to help you.\u201dHun, I\u2019m your husband, I love you. You\u2019d be looking after my father! And besides, you could freelance from home!\u201dGemma reluctantly agreed and when her father-in-law Harold was released from the hospital a week later, John brought him home and Gemma transformed her ground-floor office into a bedroom for Harold so he wouldn\u2019t have to climb stairs.At first, everything ran smoothly. John\u2019s father was a sweet courtly man who was grateful to Gemma for her help and support. Thankfully, the stroke hadn\u2019t affected his speech and he was cheerful company.Every day Gemma would take Harold to his physiotherapy sessions, they would go shopping together. In the afternoon, they would go swimming in their heated pool which the therapist considered would be a big help to speed Harold\u2019s recovery.One afternoon, after their swim, Harold started telling Gemma how glad he was he\u2019d given in to John and accepted his invitation to move in. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to give up my independence, I was going to hire a professional caregiver, but John insisted\u2026\u201d\u201dYou were? But I thought\u2026I mean, John said your health insurance didn\u2019t cover that.\u201d Gemma commented.Harold grinned at her mischievously. \u201cGemma, I\u2019m a rich man. I can afford to pay for a caregiver, and anything else I need.\u201d\u201dOh!\u201d Gemma said, \u201cJohn said you were retired and I assumed\u2026.\u201d\u201dI\u2019m not destitute, Gemma,\u201d Harold laughed. \u201cFar from it! Now, why don\u2019t we take another dip in the pool before dinner time?\u201dThat afternoon, when John came home dinner was understandably late. He found his father and his wife sitting by the pool having ice tea and laughing happily. \u201cGemma, dad\u2026\u201d he said, \u201cYou two look like you\u2019re having fun\u2026\u201d\u201dJohn,\u201d Harold said, \u201cyour wife is a treasure!\u201d\u201dYes\u2026\u201d John smiled coldly. \u201cIsn\u2019t she? Gemma darling what are we having for dinner?\u201d\u201dOh John, I\u2019m sorry! Time got away from me! How about we order take out?\u201d Gemma suggested.\u201dTakeout?\u201d John sneered, \u201cI hate takeout! Not to mention the expense. I\u2019m not made of money, Gemma, and you\u2019re hardly pulling your weight!\u201dGemma\u2019s face drained of color. \u201cPulling my weight? What do you mean, John?\u201d\u201dYou were supposed to get freelance work, not start living off me!\u201d John cried. \u201cBut I don\u2019t see you doing that!\u201d\u201dI haven\u2019t found any. People are cutting back\u2026\u201d Gemma exclaimed. \u201cAnd you said\u2026\u201d\u201dDon\u2019t tell me what I said,\u201d John sneered. \u201cYou were pretty eager to give up your job and stay home and laze around!\u201d\u201dWait a minute, John!\u201d cried Harold. \u201cGemma works very hard, she\u2019s a huge support to me\u2026\u201d\u201dRight, dad! Swimming and sun tanning and drinking ice tea\u2026Hard work! I can see that!\u201d John said sarcastically.Harold was starting to look very angry and Gemma put a gentle hand on his arm. \u201cPlease Harold, it\u2019s all right. You mustn\u2019t get upset.\u201dHarold looked at his son sadly. \u201cGemma swims with me every afternoon as part of my therapy. My therapist says I\u2019m exceeding expectations, and it\u2019s all thanks to Gemma. I think you should be grateful to your wife, John, not berate her.\u201d\u201dDad,\u201d said John crossly, \u201cI love you, but where my marriage is concerned, I\u2019ll as you to butt out!\u201d\u201dJohn,\u201d said Gemma angrily, \u201cThat\u2019s enough! You begged me to give up my job so you could save money on a caregiver, now you complain I\u2019m not earning? And don\u2019t you dare speak to your father like that!\u201dHarold took Gemma\u2019s hand in his shaky right hand and patted it gently. \u201cIt\u2019s alright Gemma, I\u2019ll handle it.\u201d he turned to his son and said, \u201cI know why you insisted I come here for my recovery and why you forced your wife to give up her job.\u201dYou knew I could afford it, John, but you wanted to earn my gratitude and get your hands on my money, and for that you used Gemma. But guess what? Since Gemma has been doing the hard work, she\u2019ll be getting the reward.\u201dHarold changed his will and left everything to Gemma. Gemma left John and moved to Idaho with Harold whom she cherished as she had her own long-deceased father. With Gemma\u2019s loving care, Harold made a full recovery and led a full and happy life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A man asks his wife to give up her job to look after his elderly father who had a stroke, then he accuses her of living off… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":502,"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aboutlife.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}