I froze, stunned. My mother-in-law had always been stern, yes, but mean? Before I could ask more, the line went dead.

Panic surged. I called back immediately, but no one answered. I called again, and again, until finally, after the fourth try, my mother-in-law picked up. Her tone was clipped, defensive.

“He’s fine,” she said. “He’s just being dramatic. He’s not used to rules, clearly. You coddle him too much.”

“Put him back on the phone,” I demanded.

“No,” she snapped. “He’s already causing a scene, and I won’t have him disturbing the other children. You need to give him time to adjust. He’ll be fine.”