1. Mother-in-law

Jason took the apples out of the refrigerator with a long sigh. Balancing two apples in one hand, he made his way to the slab and placed them on the fruit platter and his phone by the side.

He took the knife from the rack and proceeded to skilfully slice the apples just the way she liked it, but he had barely gone halfway when his attention was drawn by the vibrations of his phone on the slab.

Looking at the name on the screen, Jason didn't hesitate to pick up the call.

“Hello Grace?” he uttered, balancing the phone in between his ear and shoulder to avoid putting it on a loudspeaker.

“Hello sir,” Grace retorted from the other side of the phone

“I called to congratulate you on behalf of your wife,” She exclaimed with pleasure, giving Jason a hint on what the good news might be about.

“From what I see, she will be awarded the best actress of the year at the Fishford Awards, it's incredible to see that she has gotten global recognition.”

“Well deserved, don't you think?” Jason asked, his eyes still fixed on the apples he was slicing for his mother-in-law. It warmed his heart to hear of his wife's success, afterall, not many people get the chance to have a celebrity partner.

“Yes sir,” Grace replied,

“This will make her new role stand out in the upcoming production, although I fear that Amy Thomson will not give her a chance.”

Placing the knife in the sink, Jason took the phone in his hand,

“This is not about Jennifer Thomson,” He said,

“I don't want to know how the industry will do it, but I want Amy Thomson to be removed from the cast. My wife should take on the lead role without a co-star, they should rewrite the script if they must.”

His tone carried a hint of authority, and he appeared to be certain that his instructions would be obeyed, but just before Grace could respond, the voice of an angry lady was heard from the living room, putting a stop to their discussion.

“I'll call you back.”

Jason quickly disconnected the call and sighed in frustration. With a hint of displeasure in his facial expression, he picked up the fruit platter and made his way out of the kitchen to serve those apples to his mother-in-law.

As he approached from behind, Jason stole a glance at the lady seated on the couch, with both legs balanced on the glass center table. It appeared that she had moved a few antiques to the edge of the table to make room for her legs.

Ignoring this well-known behavior, Jason averted his gaze and looked up at the television. He was drawn by the voice of a popular actor on the screen and it occurred to him that his mother-in-law had turned to the Fishford Awards, the same award show that his wife was nominated for.

“Your apples,” He mumbled under his breath and placed the platter on the side of the table that her legs didn't occupy.

“Well, that took you several hours!” The lady snapped, casting a furious look upon the man whom her daughter was married to.

“Hand it over to me,” she ordered him, without taking her eyes off the television screen.

Jason sighed, picked up the apple from the table and handed it over to the lady who was totally immersed in the show.

“Here you go.” He uttered, in an attempt to draw her attention, but her next reaction took Jason by surprise.

In a fit of rage, the lady flung the platter off Jason's hand, letting the apple fall off and scatter across the living room.

“You fool!” She snapped,

“Can't you see that I'm watching something here? What will it take you to hold down the platter until I can take it from you?”

“But that's not a good enough reason to throw the whole thing away…

“Shut up!” She interjected before Jason could finish his statement,

“Just get out of my sight, and clean up this mess you made, useless fool!”

Without responding, Jason begrudgingly walked out of the living room. He had put up with the old lady’s behavior for a long time, and it didn't seem to end.

He returned to the living room with a broom and dustpan, to clean up the apples that were scattered across the room, only to be insulted each time he walked past the television screen.

“Are you blind!” She yelled,

“Can't you see that I am watching this? Why do you poor people behave so stupid and daft!”

Jason ignored her and continued with what he was doing, sweeping the apple slices into the dustpan one after another. He took his time despite his mother-in-law's rain of insults only because he didn't want to miss a moment of the award show.

He wanted to see his wife walk up the stage to win the award that he had worked so hard to make sure she got.

It didn't take so long before his wife's category was announced, at this time, he was headed back for the kitchen, but paused and turned back to the television, staying far away from the old woman to avoid her troubles.

A smile crept upon Jason's face as the winner was announced,

“Melissa Blackwood!” The announcer exclaimed with excitement and Jason watched as his wife confidently walked up to the stage to claim her prize.

Once received, the microphone was handed over to her for her award speech, and now Jason was more interested to see.

“Where is this fool!” His mother-in-law snapped, leaving Jason to wonder what he had done this time.

“Didn't you see the stains it left behind on the floor?” She yelled, thinking that Jason had gone into the kitchen.

Jason on the other hand, walked into the kitchen swiftly and returned to the living room with a mop, he truly didn't want to miss a moment of his wife's speech.

“Uhm… wow this was unexpected,” she began, wiping off the tears of joy from the corner of her eyes.

“I sincerely want to thank my mom, for her support and love, she encouraged me throughout the process. She's not here right now, but I know she's watching me, I love you Mom.” she added and blew kisses to the camera.

“That's my girl, I love you too.”

Jason rolled back his eyes in disdain, the lady seated on the couch had done nothing but dish out orders and make his life a living hell. Her contributions to Melissa's success were merely words of encouragement, whereas he had worked in the shadows to make sure his wife became the star she is.

He watched her thank the director, fellow actors and others, and Jason believed that she was saving the best for last. He was certain that she wouldn't forget to appreciate him, and couldn't wait to hear how she would portray him to the audience.

“Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank someone very special to me,” she began, and Jason's lips curved into a smile, certain that he was the one.

“He had been by my side throughout the production, a very loving person. I can not describe how grateful I am to him, because I don't know how far I would have gone without him. Someone I love, and someone who has shown me so much love and care throughout all of this. Thank you so much.” Without calling names, her eyes were fixed on a certain man in the audience, and although the camera did not show his face, most people knew who she was talking about.

But Jason, whose attention was constantly divided by the mopping he was doing, did not notice any of this, rather with what he had heard alone, he believed that no one else mattered to Melissa's but him. Even though she hadn't mentioned his name, Jason was convinced, because who else could she have portrayed in such manner and kind words? Little did he know that none of Melissa's words were directed at him.