My mother-in-law suddenly called me while I was driving on the freeway. It wasn't safe to answer, but she refused to hang up, interfering with my navigation. I managed to put on my Bluetooth headset. As soon as I connected, she started yelling: "Sarah, what are you doing? Why did it take you so long to answer?" I frowned. "Mom, didn't I tell you yesterday I was going on a business trip? I'm on the road right now." My mother-in-law was frantic. "Come back immediately! The TV is broken, and Liam is screaming to watch his cartoons. Nothing I do will calm him down." She wouldn't stop shouting. I couldn't focus on driving. I had to slow down to 60 and move to the slow lane. "Mom, I'm driving. I can't talk right now." "If the TV is broken, take Liam downstairs for a walk. He shouldn't be watching TV all day anyway, it's bad for his eyes." My mother-in-law retorted: "But he hasn't eaten yet! He says he won't eat until he watches his show." She deliberately put me on speaker. From the other end came Liam's piercing screams: "I won't eat! I want to watch my show!" Then he started screaming incoherently. The sharp noise gave me a headache. My mother-in-law continued: "See? He won't eat without his cartoons." "Look at the time! How can he not eat?" "Think of something, quickly!" I felt helpless. The child was right next to her, yet she insisted I solve the problem. I controlled my emotions and said calmly: "Mom, why don't you find a TV repairman to come take a look?" "It's only 5:30, they shouldn't be off work yet." She paused. "I don't know any repairmen!" "Then ask Liam's dad. Ken should be home by now." "Ken definitely doesn't know any either." I kept my patience. "We're young people. Ken will figure it out." My mother-in-law got impatient. "What can he do? Why trouble two people for such a small thing? Just pull over and make a call." I explained: "Mom, you can't stop on the freeway. It's dangerous." "Finding a repairman isn't hard. There's a computer and internet at home. Just tell Ken to look one up online." "I need to focus on driving. I'm hanging up." I ended the call. Just then, a truck drove parallel to me. The hazardous materials sign on its side was terrifying. The truck driver noticed I was a woman. He glanced at me contemptuously and honked repeatedly, signaling me to move and not block the way. I felt uncomfortable. I accelerated, preparing to overtake. Before I could pass, my mother-in-law called again. "Ken can't find a repairman either. He said for you to contact one." I sighed. "There are tons of appliance repair services online. Just call and make an appointment. They can be there in ten minutes." Without thinking, she said: "Ken just can't find one!" I started getting angry. "Is it that he can't find one, or he didn't even look?" She stammered for a while. "Ken said he's very busy tonight and told me not to disturb him." I frowned. "What is he busy with?" She said: "Something about 'raiding' or 'leveling up,' I don't understand. Probably work." I scoffed. So he was busy playing video games. My mother-in-law continued: "Sarah, you bought the TV. You should just handle it." "Ken is tired from work every day too. You can't just demand him to do this and that." I laughed in anger. Yes, yes, her precious son is the most delicate flower. Don't I work? I pick up the kid after work, cook for the whole family, clean up, and do laundry. Everyone treats me like a beast of burden. Am I not tired? I didn't want to say anything more. I threw out a final sentence: "Mom, stop talking." "I need to drive. I don't have time for this." "If Liam wants to cry, let him cry in Ken's room. Let him cry at his dad." With that, I hung up. Soon, it started to rain. Raindrops covered the windshield, visibility was poor. I turned on the wipers, gripping the steering wheel tightly, not daring to relax for a second. Traffic was congested. A beat-up sedan kept trying to cut in, very annoying. My mother-in-law kept calling. She called over a dozen times; I didn't answer a single one. After a while, she stopped. Then Ken called. I picked up. "What?" Ken asked angrily: "Why aren't you answering Mom's calls?" "Where are you?" I rolled my eyes. "I said at dinner yesterday, I'm on a business trip today." He said "Oh," then added: "The TV is broken." "Your son keeps screaming to watch cartoons. It's noisy." "So?" Ken clicked his tongue, sounding very dissatisfied. "Are you playing dumb?" "Find someone to fix it." "Liam is so noisy, I can't focus on my stuff." I asked back: "Why do I have to find someone?" "I'm driving on the freeway. Why can't you find someone?" Ken didn't answer directly. It was like he didn't even hear me. He continued talking to himself: "The neighbors in the group chat are complaining. They say Liam is too loud and disturbing their rest." I was speechless. "Since you know Liam is disturbing others, why don't you do something?" "Just let him scream and disturb others?" Ken: "That's why you need to find someone to fix the TV quickly. Once it's fixed, he'll be quiet." A sense of powerlessness instantly washed over me. Furious, I hung up and threw the headset onto the passenger seat. The rain fell harder. The wipers were on max speed. For safety, I found the nearest rest area to stop and wait out the rain. I checked my phone. The building group chat was full of curses. Everyone was complaining about a child screaming in the building. Obviously, they were talking about Liam. His dad didn't care, but I couldn't let our relationship with the neighbors crumble. I quickly found an appliance repair shop near home online. The guy on the other end was rude. He quoted $200. Take it or leave it. Looking at the terrible weather outside, I knew he was price gouging. But I had no choice. If this wasn't resolved, my mother-in-law would call again. I had to agree and asked him to go asap. Then I called my mother-in-law, telling her I had booked a repairman. I told her to calm Liam down and stop him from screaming. She sounded smug: "Why didn't you just do this earlier? Look how upset you made my grandson." Hanging up, I sighed, leaning back and rubbing my throbbing temples. A moment later, my boss called. "Sarah, where are you?" I pulled myself together. "At a rest stop. The rain makes driving difficult, but I'll arrive by tomorrow morning. I won't delay the client's schedule." My boss sighed. "Sarah, bad news. The client's schedule changed. You probably need to meet him tonight." This put me in a tough spot. The destination was about 200 miles away. Driving fast in the rain was dangerous. Seeing my silence, the boss comforted me: "It's okay. This is a sudden change. Don't force yourself. I'll send a sales rep from the branch office." This deal was my big chance for a promotion. I couldn't just hand it over. I gritted my teeth. "It's fine, boss. Don't worry about me. I'll be there on time tonight." ... Hanging up, I rallied my spirits and set off again. The road was slippery. I watched the traffic carefully, controlling my speed and lane changes. The GPS kept announcing: "Speed limit 65 ahead..." "Accident-prone area, please maintain distance..." Occasionally, semi-trucks would speed past me. The splashed water instantly blurred my windshield. My heart tightened, but I dared not brake. Just then, my mother-in-law called again. I didn't hesitate. Hung up. Seconds later, she called again. I hung up again. She kept calling. After five or six times, the GPS froze. I surrendered and put on the headset. "Why don't you answer the phone?" "What kind of repairman did you find? Why does fixing a broken TV cost $200?" My heart sank. Yes, I had anticipated her reaction. She was from the countryside and would never accept paying $200 to fix a TV. So I had told the repairman in advance to just fix it and not mention money. I would transfer the money to him separately. She must have tricked the price out of him. I tried hard to explain: "Mom, that's the standard price now. Plus it's storming, it's good enough he's willing to come." "Don't worry about the money, I'll pay for it." She wasn't having it. "What do you mean I don't worry? Isn't your money the family's money?" "Ken works so hard, day and night. Does your heart not ache when you spend it?" My chest started to hurt. Her son works a factory job. He works day and night but earns less than my base salary. Without my support every month, he'd starve. I held back my emotions. "Mom, stop talking. Let the man fix the TV, then let Liam eat, okay?" "I'm driving. Hanging up now." But she started yelling: "Fix what? I told him to get lost long ago." "Trying to scam my family's money? No way." Hearing this, my heart went cold. Because I had already prepaid the service fee. $50 gone, just like that. My brain started to shut down. My mother-in-law kept chattering: "Oh no, Liam is starting to fuss again." "Find another place quickly. If the TV isn't fixed tonight, he won't even sleep." I wanted to say something, but a Toyota SUV sped past me honking. I panicked and instinctively swerved. The car lost control, skidding towards the guardrail. I tapped the brakes rapidly, gripping the steering wheel, trying to regain control. The car skid for hundreds of meters before stopping. Luckily, there were few cars because of the rain. Otherwise, it would have been a horrific crash. I stopped in the emergency lane, shaken to the core. My mother-in-law was still yelling: "What's that rumbling noise over there?" "Say something." "Can the TV be fixed or not?" I didn't speak. I was trembling all over from fear, unable to utter a word. I tried to reach up to turn off the Bluetooth headset. But my hand wouldn't obey. After fumbling for a while, I couldn't even touch the headset. I got even more agitated. She kept yelling: "What do you mean by not talking?" "Do you think an old woman like me is annoying?" "I came all the way from the countryside to help you with the kid. What did I do wrong?" "I ask you to do one thing, and you're so impatient?" I said tremblingly: "Mom, please stop. I almost got into a car accident." There was a pause on the other end. "Car accident?" "Then how are you talking to me?" I forced myself to explain: "Not got into an accident, almost got into one..." She asked tentatively: "But you're okay, right?" I said: "I'm not hurt. Just scared. My heart is racing..." She sighed in relief. "As long as you're okay." "Then hurry up and find someone for the TV." "I finally coaxed Liam to eat, but I still need to listen to some opera later." "I've loved opera all my life. If I don't listen to a couple of pieces, I really can't sleep." My heart, which had just relaxed, tightened again instantly. At this moment, I couldn't control my emotions anymore. I screamed at her: "Fix the TV! Fix the TV!" "Must the TV be fixed tonight?" "Can't live without a TV?" "Why do you adults and the kid all have to make it hard for me?" "Won't eat without cartoons? I never spoiled him with such bad habits!" "Is the kid's dad disabled? No hands or feet? Is he useless?" "I'm telling you, I have my own things to do. Fix the TV or not, watch it or not, I don't care anymore." "Stop calling me!" Since getting married, I've always been gentle. My mother-in-law never dreamed I would talk to her like this. But I just brushed past death. Even a gentle rabbit bites when cornered. She yelled into the phone angrily: "Sarah, what do you mean by that?" "Rebelling are you! Is this how your parents taught you to speak?!" Before she could continue, I slammed the phone down. She called back instantly. I blocked her. Ten seconds later, Ken called. "How dare you talk to my mom like that? Do you know you scared her..." Blocked him too. The world was quiet. Only the sound of rain filled the universe. I rested my head on the steering wheel, taking deep breaths. I don't know how long it took for my body to slowly recover. Then, the phone rang again. It was my boss. "Sarah, are you okay? Are you driving? You didn't reply to my message, I was worried." My usually calm boss sounded a bit panicked because of the rain. I rallied my spirits to respond: "I'm fine, boss. I'm still on the road. Should be there by 10 PM." He sighed. "I'm not calling to rush you." "The rain is getting heavier. I'm doing my best to communicate with the client, asking him to stay longer, buying time." "It's okay if you're a bit late." "Safety first." The sincerity in his voice wasn't fake, nor was it an attempt to absolve responsibility. My vision blurred. I touched my face; it was tears. How laughable. The first person to care about my safety was an outsider. After hanging up, I calmed down a bit more. Brain rational again, I decided to continue. I wasn't moved by the boss to sell my life for him. But I had made a promise, and I had to keep it. Not hoping for others to pay for my mistakes is the greatest respect and courtesy. Back on the road. The rain showed no sign of letting up. My mother-in-law and Ken were blocked. No one would disturb me again. I could maintain absolute focus. But facts proved I was too naive. A call from an unknown number shattered my luck. At first, I thought it was spam and ignored it. A few seconds later, it rang again. I hesitated, then put on the headset. As soon as it connected, I heard my mother-in-law screaming: "Bad news! Bad news!" "What do we do! The TV exploded!" My heart skipped a beat. How could a TV explode? A chill ran down my back. I asked: "What happened?" "Speak slowly." Her wailing was mixed with blame: "It's all your fault!" "I told you to find someone else, but you wouldn't answer!" "I had to ask my dance partner, old man Lee. To see if he could fix it." "Who knew, halfway through, something wasn't connected right, and the TV blew up!" I asked hurriedly: "Is anyone hurt?" She paused, voice dropping significantly: "Ken and I were far away, we're fine. Old Lee got his arm burned." "It's just Liam..." I panicked: "What happened to Liam?!"
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