My Mother-In-Law Said She Would Kick Me Out Of The House If I Didn’t Give Birth To A Boy

It felt like ice water down my spine.

Patricia ramped up her comments in front of the kids.

“Girls are cute,” she’d say loudly, “but they don’t carry the name. Boys build the family.”

One night Mason whispered: “Mom, is Daddy mad we’re not boys?”

I swallowed my anger. “Daddy loves you. Being a girl is not something to be sorry for.” It felt thin, even to me.