I stood there, stunned and furious.
The next day, I took Nina to the pet market by myself.
We played with puppies and kittens, fed fluffy rabbits, and saw scary lizards and snakes; we had a great time.
In the end, Nina chose a pair of silly little birds.
One was snow white, and the other was silver gray; she named them "Little White" and "Little Gray."
As soon as we entered the house, Nina shouted excitedly, "Daddy, come look!," carefully cradling the cage, afraid to shake them.
Jeremy also came out, excited.
But he was holding James' hand.
"Daddy, look at my Little White and Little Gray! Aren't they cute? They can even eat sunflower seeds and..."
Nina eagerly introduced her new friends, but Jeremy interrupted her.
"Nina, James did a great job today; he memorized a poem this afternoon. Impressive, right?"
"James, quickly recite it for Auntie and your sister!"
James stuttered through the poem.
"Thousands of mountains, birds fly away, ten thousand paths, no one... trace... that, that..."
"Lonely boat, straw hat man, fishing alone on the cold river. Daddy, this poem is so simple; isn't it just a few readings?"
"You don't know how much fun I had with Mommy today! We saw so many interesting animals, and..."
"Nina, who taught you to be so rude?"
"James is reciting; how can you interrupt someone speaking?"
Nina had never seen her daddy be so stern; her joy faded immediately, leaving her looking shocked at the father who usually doted on her.
Jeremy had insisted we'd never be "killjoy parents" , always careful to protect our daughter's innocence, but now...
"Jeremy, isn't it you who keeps interrupting Nina?"
"Doesn't Nina deserve respect too?"
James' mother, Emma, heard the commotion and came out to mediate, "The kids are here; let's keep it down."
Then she immediately turned to me, "Sister, it's men who educate kids; we women shouldn't interfere. You should soften your stance; he's quick to anger but gets over it fast, and he won't hold grudges..."
I was extremely annoyed and didn't let her finish; I took my daughter and pushed past her, stomping back to my room.
Speaking of which, it was actually my idea to bring Emma and James to live with us.
Emma was the daughter of Jeremy's childhood neighbor, who had moved away over a decade ago.
My mother-in-law met her when she returned to her hometown recently; Emma was being forced out by her sister-in-law.