Chapter 1
On my birthday, my daughter Nicole George sent me a tiny digital gift via Messenger in our family group chat.
As soon as I tapped to accept it, she immediately started throwing shade in the group.
She said, "Mom, I've noticed you're pretty money-hungry. You snatch up gifts the second they're sent.
"You're not like my mother-in-law, Willa, at all. She never accepts gifts and always turns around to ask if we need any cash."
As soon as she said that, the once lively group chat went dead silent.
Seeing I didn't respond, Nicole sent two more snarky voice messages.
She said, "It was just a joke, Mom. You're not really going to get all huffy about it, are you?
"Besides, I'm not wrong. Willa didn't accept any gifts on her birthday last month. The whole family got together, all warm and loving. That's what family should be like."
So, the 11 thousand dollars gold bracelet and the 10 thousand dollars ten-day trip to Eryndor she gave Willa don't count as real money, right?
But me, her own mom, just for accepting a tiny digital gift on my 55th birthday, suddenly I was the greedy one.
Alright then, if that was how she sees me, I wasn't going to let her think I was leeching off her anymore.
I turned off the gas, packed my bags, removed my retirement card from her mortgage payments, and walked out, heading straight for home.
From the moment I made up my mind to leave to getting everything sorted for my flight, it took less than two hours.
I didn't feel as weighed down as I thought I would. Instead, it was like a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders, and I let out a long, relieved breath.
I traveled all this way to help my only daughter, playing nanny and doing chores, and I did it all out of love.
But I wasn't some unpaid servant. Even I deserve a little respect.
If she was so into Willa's way of doing things, then I might as well take a page from Willa's book and just kick back from now on.
It wasn't until I was sitting in the airport lounge that I finally felt up to checking my messages.
Turns out, Nicole had been tagging me nonstop in the group chat during those two hours.
She said, "Mom, why are you just ignoring me? You're leaving me hanging here, it's so awkward."
"Mom, you're not actually mad, are you?"
"Ella, look at your grandma. Even at her age, she's still so petty. Just a little joke and she won't even reply."
Maybe realizing I wasn't going to respond, some of the relatives jumped in to play peacemaker.
One of them said, "Nicole, your mom's probably just busy with housework. She's never been the type to care about money. As long as her kids remember her birthday, that's all she needs to feel loved. Cut her some slack, okay?"
But instead of calming down, Nicole just got even more fired up.
She said, "I didn't even say anything! What did I say, really? My mom doesn't care about money? Please, you guys have no idea what she's really like.
"She keeps track of every single dollar. That 500 dollars I give her every month? She never lets a single cent slide.
"Just the other day, Ella wanted a snack after school, and my mom made her use her own smartwatch to pay for it. Seriously, our grandma is tighter with money than anyone I've ever seen."
Everyone was floored.
Someone chimed in: [Seriously, Giselle, you only have one daughter, and you're living with her now, but you still take 500 dollars a month from her?]
Another relative added: [Come on, at our age, if your granddaughter wants a snack, just buy it for her. It's not like it costs much. No matter how much you save, you can't take it with you when you're gone.]
I was so angry I couldn't even get a word out. Tears just came pouring down my face.
I couldn't believe this was my own flesh and blood, the daughter I poured my soul into raising.
She was badmouthing me right in front of the whole family, like it was nothing.
That 500 dollars she called a "subsidy" wasn't for me at all. It was supposed to cover the whole family's groceries for a month.
But Nicole was super picky about food. Every meal had to have high-quality meat, organic eggs, fresh fruits and veggies, and imported milk.
Anyone with real-life experience knew that 15 dollars a day for groceries was nowhere near enough. I had to chip in at least 1,000 dollars of my own money every month just to keep the fridge stocked.
Don't even ask why I still let her give me that 500 dollars.
Honestly, it was because she kept complaining about how stressed she was, always asking me to chip in another 1,000 dollars every month for her mortgage.
My whole retirement check was just 2,000 dollars a month, and pretty much all of it went to supporting her family.
As for that snack incident, Ella was already dealing with cavities, so I purposely didn't pay for her candy, hoping she'd skip it. But when I wasn't looking, she snuck off and used her smartwatch to buy it herself.
Who would've thought that in Nicole's eyes, I was just the penny-pinching grandma who even keeps track of every single dollar.
Feeling numb, I scrolled all the way to the bottom of the chat. I was about to type out a reply, but then Nicole's latest message popped up on the screen.
She said, "What's the point? I remembered her birthday, sent her a gift, and she still can't even crack a smile.
"Forget it. My mom's always been like this. She never shows any real warmth. She's my own mom, what am I supposed to do, hold it against her?"