“I was lucky in my marriage. My husband and his mother
always treated me with kindness. We raised two sons and saw both of them
married while we lived together contentedly for forty years. But after my
husband died, my elder son informed me that I could live anywhere I wanted—in
fact he was telling me to leave the house. His wife disliked me and wanted me
out of the way. I understood I had become a burden to my son and it was best to
go. I left at once, taking nothing with me, aware that I might never see any of
them again. I did go back, a few months later, but they asked me what I was
doing there and the message was clear: I should stay away.