A Fine Line...

My best friend and her fiance are both visiting for a week, and so far I've had a great time. I really, really missed having her around, and I don't feel so...friendless. And they brought two fourteen-week-old shih tzu puppies to boot! Too cute...
All the same, my mom decides she wants to invite them over for dinner tonight, puppies and all. No problem, right? It was very nice idea. Yet, after dinner, she lays into me, telling me I am rude and a bitch, and in short, just plain nasty. Why? Because I wouldn't let her read my email. The email is question was from her sister, letting me know she didn't want me to visit her this year. I'll blog about that bullsh*t later. I told her what the email said, in a nutshell, but because I wouldn't read it to her, word for word, she says I'm a bitch. All of this with my friends within earshot. I clammed up. I figured it would be better not to say anything at all rather than be truly disrespectful to her, especially not in front of others. Usually she doesn't start picking on me until my friends leave. That didn't really change either, because as soon as the door shut after I showed them out, she started again, telling me I "have a real problem" and that she just doesn't understand what is wrong with me. So after I ironed my father's shirts for the week, I went to bed, with her making remarks as I am walking up the stairs. She even accused me of being upset because she invited my friends over, as if I were jealous or something. I could care less who asked them over; I was glad to have them there. I just knew that if I said anything I would only make it worse.
So it's a Catch-22 then?