My mother-in-law has not lived with us for a long time, but she drops by occasionally to babysit her grandson when my wife and I are at work. I guessed long ago that she was asking him how the family was doing, how my wife and I were doing. The leading questions brought an unexpected result – our son told his grandmother that in the evenings he and his mother sit and watch TV, while I “go out on dates.
My mother-in-law, of course, brought it up at the holiday table on my daughter’s birthday, trying to present my cheating as a gift.
– My grandson told me all about Robert’s adventures. Told me all about date nights! – the woman got excited.
– Mom, what dates are we talking about? – My wife didn’t understand.
– About those on which he goes out, while you are with your son.
My wife guessed faster than me what she meant, and laughed resoundingly.
– Mama, Robert’s not cheating. My son said that because we jokingly call it going out for a smoke break. You can’t tell a kid that his father’s always going out for a smoke, so Robert says, “Now I’m going out for a quick date.”
My mother-in-law was so confused… she apologized to me the whole evening later, saying that she was angry for no reason, because her ex-husband was a cheater, and she was blinded by rage when she thought that I was cheating too. I think I need to be careful what I say in front of my five-year-old now, or he might misunderstand something again and accidentally denounce me or my wife to someone.
