he froze at the sight of his missing recliner and then bolted to the bathroom, clutching his stomach. From inside the bathroom, he yelled, “Where’s the toilet paper?”We couldn’t hold it in anymore. “We took that along with the recliner!” I shouted, laughing. Mom then told Jeff she was leaving him and had taken what was hers, including her dignity. As Jeff groaned from behind the bathroom door,
we left, knowing he’d have a long night ahead.The next day, Jeff left desperate voicemails, but Mom didn’t respond. Instead, for his birthday, we sent him a jumbo pack of toilet paper with a note that read, “For a real man.”Mom moved in with my sister Lily, and Jeff’s complaints are still going strong. But for the first time, Mom is living her life without Jeff’s control, and we’re all proud of her.