Family dinners at my in-laws always came with side dishes of subtle jabs, but this one took the cake. “I went shopping just for you,” my MIL announced, pushing a gift box across the table. The XS sweater inside might have fit one of my arms. “They say clothes make the woman,” she added with a smirk. I opened my mouth but no words came out – just waves of humiliation.
Enter my brilliant spouse. “Babe, look!” he cried, dramatically stretching the sweater over our sleeping cat Whiskers. “Mom got Whiskers a holiday onesie! Though I think she prefers her fur coat.” The eruption of giggles around the table was worth every uncomfortable second, especially watching my MIL realize her backhanded gift had just become the evening’s entertainment.
