Piece by Piece

57. Family Members

Millie had never been more miserable in her life. Even when her father had died, it hadn't fundamentally changed her as a person. The hardship had fallen on her mother, who was now forced to live the rest of her life alone.

But now, it was all about her. So many things had happened over the past few weeks, it had turned her world upside down.

First, Freider had decided to keep his little brother in rehab for another few months, so the hope of having someone else to talk to fizzled and died. Instead, she got to meet her future mother-in-law. Used to her own youthful mother, it was shocking to meet Grace Grant. She was a tall, frail woman, her completely white hair wrapped in a tight bun. Millie guessed she had been beautiful in her youth, but her mouth was now set in a constant frown, as if everyone in the world had wronged her.

She guessed everyone had. Freider mentioned that she'd been away for her health for most of the year, trying to cope with the death of her husband. Once she finally returned, Grace seemed to reek of death. It gave Millie the creeps. What was even worse, she didn't seem to like Millie at all.

"Where did you find this one?" she'd asked the moment she saw her.

"Mother, I didn't bring you here to be critical," Freider chided.

"Then again, just seeing you with the woman is shocking enough. Where are your brothers?"

"We've talked about this, Mother." Freider got so easily exhausted by the woman and Millie couldn't blame him.

Her moods were all over the place. Sometimes, she was mellow and nostalgic, telling Millie stories about her late husband. During those times, she seemed to like her, even if Millie suspected he would've been just as nice to a telephone poll. Other times, she was angry and didn't wish to speak to anyone. Most times, she was stern and critical, looking for something she could attack. Millie was right there for the picking. If it wasn't her clothes, then it was her lack of a job. Millie didn't dare mention that she was a high school drop-out. She'd lied to Freider that she was twenty anyway and had no idea where to go from there.

"I don't know just where he found you," Grace said under her breath. "You are beautiful, I'll give you that, but what else?"

"I like to paint," Millie stuttered. "And play the piano."

"All droll but useless skills."

The woman's words hurt. "I want to be an artist."

"That's very cute."

Millie gritted her teeth. She wished she could leave, but once Max went to Texas, she'd moved out of the shared flat filled with strangers and in with Freider. At least she trusted him not to hurt her even if things were often awkward. He did spend most of his time at work, which, before Grace showed up, meant that she had the house to herself. She'd enjoyed those few days , but now she tried to occupy most of her time with wedding planning.

There weren't many people from her side. Just her mother and Max. Her father had been an only child, and her mother's relatives were all in France without any money to fly over. She'd already chosen a wedding gown, picked the flowers and the venue, so there was really not much for her to do except panic about her pregnancy. Her future mother-in-law definitely didn't help, so she found herself roaming around the house like a ghost, wondering just what she was supposed to do.

Her lost future and horrid past kept flashing before her eyes until she felt she was suffocating. She spent her time cleaning around the house and trying to learn how to cook. She wasn't very good at it, but nothing she whipped up was worse than Freider's sandwiches. While his mother scoffed, he seemed to really appreciate her efforts to be more domestic.