My Husband Traded Grandma's Ashes for a Girlfriend Upgrade Chapter 1

A few weeks before Memorial Day, the cemetery office called to say my mother-in-law's plot needed to be relocated.

I tried calling my husband, David, dozens of times before he finally picked up.

"All I'm doing is taking Brittany out for a hike; do you have to be so dramatic?"

Before I could explain, he hung up.

With no other choice, I brought my mother-in-law's ashes home.

Three days later, David showed up with Brittany in tow.

By the time I got back from work, they'd stuffed a dead stray cat into Mom's urn.

I rushed to stop them, but David just gave me an annoyed look.

"You're a pet cremation specialist, Ashley. You've got urns coming out of your ears. I just grabbed the oldest one we had lying around."

"Don't be so uptight, okay?"

I could be chill about it, sure.

But when we went to move her and David saw there were barely any ashes left he was ready to collapse.

1

David grabbed Brittany's hand and stormed out the door, not even looking back.

The sky, which had been bright and sunny just a minute ago, instantly turned dark and gloomy.

I ran after them.

"Didn't you even notice there was something in the urn?"

David just rolled his eyes, like I was trying to pick a fight on purpose. "What are you talking about?

"I told you, it was an old one. There was nothing in it but dust."

Brittany, flaunting the hand David was holding, chimed in with fake sweetness. "Seriously, that urn was ancient. It took us forever just to clean out all the dust and stuff."

"But David and I took care of it all, tossed the garbage. All done."

I was shocked, felt like I couldn't breathe.

I remembered how Mom had always looked out for me, treated me like her own daughter.

And now, her ashes were being treated like garbage by her own son, thrown in the dumpster downstairs.

No matter what was going on with him and Brittany, I just had to clear this up.

"That urn contained Mom's ashes!"

David blinked, the expression on his face shifting through a dozen changes.

He tried to say something, but nothing came out.

Finally, he gave me a hard look.

"You're making this up, right?"

"Mom's ashes are buried in the cemetery. How could they possibly be here?"

"She was always so good to you, and now you're using her to start drama?"

Before I could answer, Brittany's voice piped up, all sweet and teary.

"Ashley, I know you're upset that I touched your stuff, but you can't just say stuff like that.

"I'll Venmo you the money for the urn, okay? The kitty was just so sweet…"

"Please don't fight over this; it's just silly. You and David should not fight."

She said it with a smile, but there was something smug in her eyes, like she knew she had me beat.

Rain started pouring down, and I couldn't waste any more time arguing.

When I got to the dumpster, the rain had scattered Mom's ashes.

I managed to salvage what I could.

I was trying to scoop the remaining ashes into a Mason jar when David and Brittany came back.

David was soaked to the bone.

I glanced at Brittany. Aside from a few fake tears, she was bone dry.

I guessed David had kept her pretty well protected.

Brittany fussed over David, dabbing his face with her sleeve.

David tossed his wet jacket at me and frowned when he saw my hands.

"What's all this gunk on your hands?"

"Go wash up and get Brittany a hot bath. Or a foot soak."

"She gets cold easily."

He didn't even bother to look at me, just barked out the orders like always.

When I didn't move, his voice got a little harder.

"You're still mad about the urn?

"It's not a big deal, right?"

"How much do you want for it? Brittany will Venmo you."

"Consider it done."

I couldn't help myself; I snapped at him.

"That urn was Mom's, David. It's priceless."

"You can never repay it. Ever."

David didn't bother to listen, didn't believe me anyway, and started lecturing me again.

"Ashley, can't you ever just be normal?"

I felt so sick.

To make Brittany happy, David had thrown away everything – his common sense, his decency.

I didn't say anything, but Brittany seemed to think she'd won.

She rubbed her eyes, looking pitiful.

"Maybe this urn was meant for one of Ashley's clients. We shouldn't have just taken it without asking."

Hearing that, David's eyebrows furrowed.

I shook my head quickly.

Because if anyone had a right to be upset, it was my mother in law.