My husband Peter asked his mother Melissa to come over today and watch our 3-month-old daughter Emily so I could nap.

Melissa and I didn’t have the warmest relationship. It wasn’t that she was mean or anything, but she had this way of making me feel like I was constantly on trial. Still, the thought of an uninterrupted, glorious nap was too tempting.

Lately, the baby hasn’t been sleeping at all, and I’m just exhausted.

After my husband’s phone call, my mil agreed to come over for a few hours and even offered to make dinner, which I appreciated so much.

I got the baby down for a nap and then went to take a nap myself. Well, I woke up to my daughter screaming.

I scrambled for my phone to check the time, but it wasn’t on the nightstand where I’d left it. The baby monitor’s screen was black, too.

I immediately rushed out of bed. Emily was in her crib, crying because she’d been left unattended.

I tried to soothe her. At that point, I realized Melissa hadn’t even changed Emily’s diaper.

I immediately grabbed the diaper bag from the corner and changed her. I carried her with me as I searched the house. The living room was empty. The kitchen was, too.

Then I saw Melissa standing outside, laughing with the phone pressed to her ear.

I put Emily back in the crib, and stormed to the backdoor before throwing it open.

Melissa jumped, nearly dropping the phone. “Oh, Alicia. You’re awake.”

“Why was my daughter crying while you’re out here on the phone?” I demanded. “And why do you have my phone?”

“I was talking to Peter,” she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He called your phone, so I answered it. I didn’t want to wake you, so I brought it outside.”

“You unplugged the baby monitor too, didn’t you?” I snapped. “That’s why I didn’t hear her crying.”

Melissa sighed, “Yes, I unplugged it. You needed your rest, and I thought if she cried, it might wake you. But she wasn’t crying when I stepped outside.”

“How long have you been on the phone?” I demanded.

“Thirty-seven minutes,” she said as if it were nothing.

“You left her alone for thirty-seven minutes? Do you know what you’ve done? She was crying when I picked her up.”

“She wasn’t crying the whole time,” Melissa retorted, her tone defensive now. “And crying doesn’t hurt babies. Honestly, Alicia, you’re overreacting. You should be grateful I’m here at all.”

I was sh0cked at what I was hearing.

“Grateful? You were supposed to be helping me, Melissa. Instead, you ignored my daughter and took my phone—”

“Well, Peter wanted to check in on you,” she interrupted. “And I was doing you a favor by letting you sleep!”

“That wasn’t a favor,” I shot back. “You stole my phone, unplugged the monitor, and left Emily in there. If I hadn’t woken up, who knows how long you would’ve been on the phone!”

“You’re being dramatic, Alicia. Calm down.”

“I’m not,” I said. “You know what, Melissa? You need to leave. Now.”

Melissa’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Go. I don’t trust you to look after Emily.”

“You can’t be serious. After everything I’ve done for you—”

“Leave,” I repeated, cutting her off. “And don’t come back unless Peter is home.”

Melissa grabbed her purse and stormed out.

Back inside, I went to Emily’s room and picked her up. She was still playing with the toy.

Had I overreacted? I thought. What would Peter say when he found out?

Peter came home the next evening.

“Hey, babe,” he said, leaning down to kiss me on the cheek. “How are my girls?”

I managed a weak smile. “We’re okay. Emily’s been a little fussy, but we’re fine.”

He took her from my arms. “Hey, princess,” he said softly. “Daddy’s home.”

“Peter,” I began. “We need to talk about your mom. She came over yesterday to help, but things didn’t go well.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. “She said she was going to watch Emily and make dinner so you could rest.”

“But she unplugged the baby monitor, took my phone outside, and left Emily in her crib for over thirty minutes while she talked to you.”, I said.

“She told me she answered your phone because you were asleep and didn’t want to disturb you.”

“She didn’t just answer it, Peter. She took it outside and left our daughter completely unattended. I woke up to Emily crying while your mom was laughing on the phone.”

He sighed. “She didn’t mean any harm, Alicia. She was trying to help you get some rest.”

“And you think this helped?” I interrupted. “She unplugged the monitor and took my phone. How do you think this helped?”

“But you didn’t have to kick her out!” he argued.

“How can you defend her, Peter? After knowing what she did?”

“She came to help us, Alicia,” he said. “She didn’t have to come over at all, but she did it because she cares about you and Emily. And now, thanks to you, she feels like she’s not welcome here anymore.”

“Are you serious? You’re more worried about her feelings than about what she did?”

“I’m just saying you could’ve handled it better,” he said. “She already feels stupid enough about the whole thing. Don’t be surprised if she never offers to help again.”

“Fine,” I said quietly, turning away from him.

Peter sighed again and sat down with Emily, gently rocking her in his arms. I watched him for a moment, feeling the distance between us grow.

That night, as I lay in bed, I couldn’t stop replaying our argument in my head. Maybe I could’ve handled things differently. Maybe I shouldn’t have told Melissa to leave.

But every time I pictured Melissa laughing on the phone after leaving my daughter inside, my resolve hardened.

I wasn’t sure if I’d done the right thing or burned a bridge I’d one day regret. All I knew was that my daughter deserved better.

Was I wrong?