Returning the Favor II

"So, that's it..."

After hearing Carolyn's guess that Margaret had a second job, several of the inconsistencies that Mila had noticed became clear. Mila and Margaret worked the same length in shifts, and there was no drastic difference in their workload. Additionally, despite Margaret's higher age, Mila didn't think she could beat her in stamina, so it made no sense for her to be overworked while Mila was doing fine, but if she was doing a second job, then that would explain it.

Mila didn't know if Margaret was really leaving the house at night, but she had been regularly leaving the inn in the afternoon. Mila hadn't thought much of it, but these trips had grown in frequency shortly after the first tax hike was announced and two days before Mila noticed that their groceries costs remained unchanged despite the rise in the market price. Margaret was in charge of grocery shopping so Mila had asked her about it, but she didn't provide much of a response, which was nothing strange for her. Margaret was close friends with both food merchants and farmers, so Mila assumed she was getting a discount, but if she thought about it properly, then that couldn't be the case since her mother would never take advantage of her relationships like that.

With that being the case, the simplest way for Margaret to supplement the difference would be to pay for it using her personal funds.

"So this entire time, Ma was working behind the scenes to keep this inn running, and I didn't notice. No! I stopped myself from noticing! I talk a big game, but I always leave the final decision to her. If I had only thought about it a little harder, it would have been obvious! But I-!"

Tears fell from her eyes as she tightly clenched her fists, frustrated by herself more than anything else. As she had also failed to investigate the early symptoms that she noticed, Carolyn strongly empathized with Mila, but she held back her tears and hugged Mila's shoulders. She couldn't help by crying and she didn't know the right words to say, so this was the only comfort she could provide.

Seeing the two of them like this, the doctor shook his head and sighed.

"To be honest, it's a miracle that she's not in worse condition. This girl has always been one to push herself too hard, but her age is finally catching up to her. Fortunately, she didn't fall in an awful way so she'll be fine with some rest, but I'll prescribe a few things to help with her fever and weakened immune system."

Mila roughly wiped away her tears and thanked the old man.

"Thank you, Doc."

"I'm just doing my job."

"How much do we owe you?"

"Don't worry about that for now. I can wait until this stubborn gal has recovered."

Once he wrote the prescription along with a couple of instructions and handed it to Mila, the doctor left the room. After he left, Mila went to her mother's bedside. She seemed to snoring in peace, but she was still sweating at a fast pace so Mila wiped off the sweat on her upper body with Carolyn's help, and placed a wet rag on her forehead. However, even after placing the rag, Mila stood still and stared at Margaret with guilt and concern in her eyes.

"Ms. Mila-"

"Carol, could you stay with Ma? I won't ask how, but it looks like you know medicine."

"I would be glad to help, but are you-?"

"Thanks. I'm sure Marco and Uncle Ron are doing their best, but it'll be hard to keep the order out there by 'emselves, so I need to go help 'em."

Mila turned around and tried to leave the room, but Carolyn grabbed her wrist.

"Ms. Mila, are you okay?"

There were no tears in Mila's eyes, but it was clear that she was holding much back.

"I just watched my mum collapse from overwork, how could I be okay? But, if I let that affect our sales, I'll be wasting all the effort she put in behind our backs."

"Ms. Mila..."

"Don't get me wrong. I'm definitely not gonna let Ma get away with this, but just as much as she does, I don't want the inn to go down either."

Sensing the conviction in her tone, Carolyn released Mila's wrist and watched her leave the room. She then moved her gaze to Margaret's sleeping face.

"Why is it, that mothers are always so quick to sacrifice themselves? Even though their daughters would be happy to share the burden with them."

News quickly spread among the patrons regarding Margaret's collapse and although the family and doctor were quiet, the rumour that she had overworked herself still emerged. There were even eyewitness accounts of Margaret doing odd jobs during the day and selling handmade trinkets, so there was little that could be done to dismiss the rumour. The patrons were willing to donate to the inn on account of their various debts to Margaret, but Mila declined those donations. She refused to maintain the status quo, but she would solve their issues using the methods she saw fit.

That night, after the tavern had closed, a family meeting was convened. Margaret had woken up shortly before the start of the meeting and insisted on participating. Marco tried to convince her to stay in bed, but Mila supported her decision to join. Marco didn't understand why they were so stubborn, but no amount of weight lifting could help him sway them.

As usual, they sat around a table inside the tavern with a single lamp to see each other. As the head of the family, Margaret usually took charge at these meetings, but this time Mila made the first move.

"Before we move on to anything else, Ma, I think you have some explaining to do."

Marco silently gulped upon hearing Mila, and turned to look at Margaret. She didn't appear sick, but her brows were furrowed and she had to wipe off her sweat frequently. For a couple of moments after Mila's statement, there was no response, but then Margaret lowered her head.

"Sorry, I made a mess of things tonight. It won't happen again."

"That's right, it won't. Because you won't be working until you've recovered."

Margaret slowly lifted her head and matched her eyes with Mila, "Mila, you know we won't be able to reach our usual sales without me. If we want to make ends meet, then I have to-"

"No. I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself like Dad."

"Mila."

"I agree with Sis. I don't ever want to see you collapse like that again, Ma."

"Kids..."

Hearing the concern in their tones, guilt rose in Margaret's heart, but if she was soft enough to be swayed by this, Mila wouldn't have had so much trouble trying to change her mind so many times before.

"I'm happy that you're worried about me, but if we're gonna keep the inn running, then sacrifices can't be avoided. I'll be more careful, so just believe in me."

"Believe in you? Ma, when was the last time you had a good sleep?"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

"The doctor said that you hadn't slept for at least two days. What have you been doing at night?"

"That's... You don't need to worry about that."

"See. You ask us to believe in you, and yet you're still keeping secrets. Ma, have you been working outside the inn to help pay for the stock?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

There was no obvious sign in her tone, but she looked away and took a deep breath, which was a habit of hers when she felt guilty about lying. Mila's frustration built up, but she knew that pressing her mother further wouldn't lead to any answers.

"Fine. Then we'll move on to the next topic. On account of her being sick, I want us to vote on whether I can take over for Ma as manager of the inn until she recovers."

"!"

Shocked, Margaret looked at Mila again. These family meetings were held for various discussions and if a disagreement appeared that could not be resolved through words, then it was settled through a majority vote. They had voted on many topics before, but this was the first time a motion was made to replace Margaret as manager, even if only temporarily. Legally, Margaret was the sole owner of the inn, but according to the rules that she had set, if the vote passed then Mila would take over as manager.

"All those who agree for me to take over, raise your right hand."

Mila was the first to raise her hand, followed by a hesitant Marco. Margaret had expected this much, but what she saw next shook her to the core.

"Rod!"

Sitting across from Margaret, the middle-aged man with a scar over his left eye raised his right hand. This man, Rod, was the younger brother of Margaret's late husband and the uncle of Mila and Marco. Rod would usually either stay quiet or support Margaret, but this time, even he felt the need to go against her.

"S'rry, Marg. If you'd tell me in advance, I'd have been on your side, but I can't face my brother if I let you faint again."

With three votes in favour of her proposal, there was no room for uncertainty.

"Thank you, Uncle Rod. Now, as the acting manager, I have a plan for what we'll do going forward. Ma, I know you won't agree with some of my ideas, but I want you to watch and see how it goes. If it doesn't work, then you can always change it once you've recovered."

"...Alright, rules are rules. I'll sit back and let you do your thing."