Chapter 3
I switched my phone to silent mode and shut my eyes.
Taking care of Amy and everyone at home meant waking up at 5 AM and not sleeping until midnight every single day.
Running on too little sleep had become my normal.
During that hour in the cab, I drifted off to sleep almost instantly.
When I opened my eyes, I was already at the airport.
With an airport staff's help, I got my boarding pass and made it to the gate, where I sat down to wait.
Only then did I finally have a moment to pull out my phone.
As soon as I turned on the screen, notifications flooded in. There were 99+ unread WhatsApp messages and dozens of missed calls.
Turns out, Henry had let everyone know I was gone in the family group chat.
He even sent a voice message talking about the whole thing.
He said, "Everyone, can you guys weigh in? Isn't my mom just losing it? Things are already crazy at home."
Plenty of self-righteous commentators jumped in to have their say.
One relative texted: [Livia, no matter how Amy acts, she's still your elder. How can you, as her daughter-in-law, pick a fight with her? And now you walk out like that? What about everyone at home? That's irresponsible!]
Another texted: [Livia, you're someone not even part of the family, and you got 10 bucks. That's already more than you deserve. Amy is giving her own kids and grandkids their share, and you're still jealous?
[Who do you think you're scaring with your 'I'm done' act? Where do you think a woman like you can go, running away from home?]
More people started chiming in.
One texted: [If she were my wife, I would've divorced her a long time ago. James must have the patience of a saint.]
Another texted: [If it were me, I would've smacked her silly. Women only know their place when you hit them hard.]
Henry jumped in right after. He texted: [My mom's just being stubborn and having a tantrum. It might be menopause. I bet she feels stuck and embarrassed right now.
[Grandma only gave her ten bucks. She's still family, and it's not safe for a woman in her fifties to wander alone when she's never traveled far. Could you guys help talk her down?]
Most people in the group started taking Henry's side, and some thought I was being foolish.
Unfazed, I took a pic and dropped it in the chat, then replied: [Sorry, I'm at the airport and about to fly to Velmare. From today on, I'm living for myself.]
The group chat went dead silent for a few seconds, then totally blew up.
Every random relative started chiming in.
One texted: [For real, Livia? You actually went to Velmare?
[Livia must be totally pissed this time. She's even using someone else's photo to fool Henry.
[A fifty-year-old lady who doesn't even know how to take the train, and you think she's flying? Don't make me laugh.
[Henry, go make peace with your mom and bring her back from the convenience store already.]
They wouldn't believe I was really at the airport.
It wasn't until I dropped a quick video of the airport into the group chat that things finally went quiet.
A few seconds later, Kate texted: [Mom, you really didn't have to go all the way to the airport to get back at us. Isn't this just making a fuss for nothing?]
Maggie jumped in right after. She texted: [Livia, you're something else. To put on airs, you took a cab to the airport, blowing a few hundred to make a point. How selfish can you get?]
James texted: [She can come back or not, whatever. If she likes hanging out at the airport so much, let her stay there.]
Right on cue, the boarding call echoed through the terminal.
I snapped a photo of my boarding pass and sent it. I replied: [Believe it or not, I am off to do my own thing.]
Once that was done, I exited WhatsApp and shut off my phone in one smooth move.