It wasn't that I didn't want her to stay. It was that this miserable excuse for a home didn't deserve another second of her presence.
After seeing her off, I came back to find the cleaners had already finished their deep sanitization.
Everything connected to my mother had been thrown away. Every last trace.
Cornelia stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the house room by room, then gave a satisfied nod.
"Much better. Now this place actually looks livable."
That night, I held my baby and listened to Seth snoring beside me. I didn't sleep at all.
The next morning, Cornelia knocked on my bedroom door.
I looked up. She stood in the doorway wearing an elaborate dress, barking orders like a queen addressing her servant.
"Prudence, I've been on vacation for a whole month and my skin is a wreck. Seth's going to drive me to a spa appointment. You stay home with the baby, make sure dinner's ready by the time we get back."
"Oh, and my suitcase is full of dirty clothes from the trip. Go through it and hand-wash everything."
"You're done with your postpartum recovery, so no more lounging around."
Seth woke up from the noise. He didn't protest. He just got out of bed, pulled on his clothes, and said without looking at me:
"Mom's right. You've had a whole month of being waited on hand and foot. Time to pull your weight."
I looked at the two of them and nodded.
"Fine."
My quick compliance put a gleam of satisfaction in Cornelia's eyes.
Like a trainer who'd finally broken a wild horse, she straightened her back and swept out the door.
Seth looked at me with an approving smile. "Babe, I knew it. You've always been the sensible one."
He stepped closer, leaning in to kiss my forehead.
I turned my head away. "You'd better go. Your mom's waiting."
Seth blinked, a flicker of confusion crossing his face, but he didn't think much of it. He washed up and left with Cornelia.
The front door clicked shut. I looked down at the baby sleeping in my arms.
Then I dialed a number I hadn't called in a long time.
"I need you to do something for me."
After I finished giving instructions, I got up and packed a quick bag.
Then I took my son and headed home. My real home.
On the train, I saw that Cornelia had posted on social media.
A selfie at the spa, with the caption:
"The good life starts now."
I tapped the like button.
Sure.
Your "good life" was just getting started, all right.