Birthdays are special to Janisse. She therefore wishes to throw a lavish dinner party at home for her husband’s birthday, complete with relatives and friends. However, when her mother-in-law shows up and assumes command, things quickly get out of hand.

My birthdays have always held special meaning for me. After I got married, I started looking forward to my husband Carl’s birthday celebrations. I therefore wanted to plan something at home for Carl’s birthday this year with all of our family and friends. All I wanted to do was congratulate him with a formal dinner.

Sally, Carl’s mother, however, had other plans for the evening.

The day before, my mother-in-law dropped by so she could assist me with all the cooking. I got along well with Carl’s family and they had always been kind to me, so I didn’t mind.

Or at least that was my belief.

In any case, that day Sally and I were cooking like crazy. Later that afternoon, she began torummage through the refrigerator and let out a sigh every few minutes. I asked her what was wrong, of course.

The ingredients for the cookies I wanted to prepare are nowhere to be found. Sally added, “I told you I would make Carl the cookies I make every year.”

“We have a ton of desserts, including cake. In my opinion, it’s fine. I said to her, “We can do it for him another day.

“Janisse,” Sally croaked out. I mean, it’s very essential to me. I began Carl on this ritual when he was just three years old. Could you please get the ingredients outside?

See, normally, I would have declined. I needed to finish arranging the table, take a shower, and get ready because there was still a lot of work to be done. To be fair, the food shop wasn’t far away, so I reasoned that she probably valued it greatly.

I replied, “Okay, I’ll go outside and get everything.”

I want to get home in time for Sally to bake it on time and organize everything else, so I dash throughout the grocery store shoving stuff into the basket. Feeling like a superhero, I suppose I was a part of this birthday custom as I make my way home.

That was only a fleeting high.

The moment I opened the car door, Carl burst out of the house like I’d committed a crime and he wanted to catch me in the act. He starts shouting at me, accusations flying all over our yard. He accuses me of betraying his mom and ruining his birthday bash because I left his mom alone to do everything.

I go into the house and unpack all the groceries. Sally is nowhere to be found. I continue setting the table and clearing up the kitchen when the guests arrive.

I knew I looked like a mess, so I ran to my bedroom to shower and change. I stood in the shower, and felt like I had gotten hit by a wrecking ball of confusion. I had so many questions.

What did I do? Why was I getting blamed for something that felt like a soap opera plot? And what on earth did I miss while I was at the store?

After changing quickly, I went back to our patio to greet the guests and re-heat the food. Carl avoided me for most of the evening and only shot dirty looks my way. Sally ignored my existence entirely.

Turns out that Mrs. Sally Hudson had a whole master plan. She sent me out for groceries just to start some drama. There was no tradition. She just wanted the guests to show up and for her to be the host —The one who saved the day because her daughter-in-law was out shopping instead of caring about her husband’s birthday.

Even when it came to the birthday cake, my mother-in-law brought it out, singing to Carl.

After the guests had left and Sally went to bed, I tried to explain everything to Carl, but he didn’t want to listen. He refused to believe that his mother would have done something like that. And he thought that I was stupid to believe the ‘cookie tradition.’

But then, the next day, karma decided to join the party. In her quest to brag about her mastermind plan, Sally accidentally sent the entire message to Carl.

He entered our bedroom, where I was hiding from them, and held his phone up.

“You were right,” he said quietly.

“About what?” I asked.

Carl handed me the phone, which was all the proof we needed.

After that, Carl went to the living room to talk to her. Turns out that she didn’t like me because of my views on religion and family, and this whole drama was her way of playing puppet master.

It took a while, but Carl and I eventually forgave her.

“We’re going to Bali to celebrate your birthday next year,” I told him. “No friends, no family, and absolutely no drama!”

I’m still not convinced she likes me or is over everything. But I’ve promised Carl I’ll try my hardest to keep things civil.

And that was Carl’s birthday drama.

What drama has your in-laws given you?