Chapter 2
Margaret was carrying a bunch of wilted greens she'd picked up from the market.
Without even glancing at what I carried, she launched right in.
"What have you wasted money on now?" she snapped.
"Why spend money at the market? Look what I got for free," she said, waving her bundle of wilted greens.
"You never listen to me, always gotta buy meat," she grumbled.
"Since when does a birthday need meat? In my day, if you had food on the table, you were grateful," she sniped.
"Meat every day? Who do you think we are?" She scoffed.
Carl couldn't hide his embarrassment.
"Mom, that's enough," he said.
Margaret shot him a glare. "You're way too soft."
"What, do you think money grows on trees? How else are we supposed to keep up with her spending?" she snapped.
"Henry's just a kid. If he gets used to luxury now, what will he expect later?" she grumbled.
"A birthday without meat is just fine. Vegetables are plenty." She scoffed.
Carl looked even more uncomfortable and instinctively glanced at me.
I smiled and said, "Yeah, honey. You really don't understand."
"Margaret said no meat, so no meat it is," I added.
My answer totally threw Margaret for a loop.
She paused, glanced at me, and when she saw I was just holding a cabbage, she looked puzzled.
Sher blinked. "You didn't get any meat?"
Inside, I was sneering, but on the outside, I stayed calm, even acting a little hurt. "Margaret, didn't you tell me not to buy any meat before you left this morning?"
"I thought you had a point, so I didn't. I just grabbed some cheap cabbage," I said.
Margaret stared at me, totally stunned. "But tomorrow's Henry's birthday."
I gave her my best innocent look. "I know. Didn't you just say it yourself?
"That we shouldn't spoil him?"
She hesitated for a long moment before finally mumbling, "I just didn't want you to overspend."
I nodded.
"Don't worry, Margaret. I swear I won't waste another penny," I said.
"You're totally right. From now on, we'll make do with whatever you bring home. That's more than enough," I added.
"Guess I figured it out a little late. I already got this cabbage today, and I can't exactly take it back now. Such a shame," I said, shaking my head.
I kept my eyes on Margaret as I spoke.
Her face went pale, and she looked really flustered.
After all, her game was clear. She wanted to paint me as the wasteful one, not actually deny Henry anything.
She always counted on me caring too much to let him go without, so she could nag all she wanted and still play the loving grandmother.
But now, with me refusing to play along, her tune changed. She started muttering, trying to drop hints.
"But... but tomorrow's Henry's birthday. It only comes once a year," she mumbled, almost pleading.
"He's been counting down the days, and he said he's inviting his friends over," she added.
Carl chimed in, "Yeah, Henry's having his friends over tomorrow."
"We should at least have a proper spread," he suggested.
They both stared at me, obviously hoping I would be the one to break and say we needed meat after all.
I just played dumb and turned to Margaret.
"Oh, of course. Margaret, you'll need to pick up a lot more vegetables tomorrow then, or there won't be enough to go around," I said.
"Want me to set an alarm for you? You can get up extra early and hit a few more markets," I added, my tone dripping with sarcasm.