Chapter 3
I'd been running around all day, grabbing nothing but a plain bun and some pickles for lunch. In the middle of the chaos, I saw that Nicole had sent me a gift in the family group chat. Without thinking much, I just tapped it open.
The moment I saw it was just a tiny digital gift, I couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.
After all, just last month, Willa had her birthday. She and I were the same age, but Nicole and Talon had spent nearly 30 thousand dollars on her gifts.
And that money? They'd borrowed it from me.
They said they wanted to throw Willa a big milestone birthday bash. Right then, a retirement fund I'd set aside five years ago had just matured. After Ella sweet-talked me for a couple of days, I finally caved and lent her the whole amount.
Nicole spent an entire month getting ready for the party, picking out the restaurant, tasting dishes, finalizing the menu, sending invitations, and decorating the place. She went all out, making sure everything was just right.
Who would've thought that when it was my turn, all I'd get for my 55th birthday from my own daughter was just a tiny digital gift?
As I thought about all this, tears streamed down my face.
Before boarding the plane, I took one last look at the family group chat.
Nicole was still in there, showing off how devoted she was as a daughter, making me look like a cranky old mom who couldn't keep it together.
My relatives tried to smooth things over for a while, and when I stopped arguing, they just figured I'd let it go and went back to their own business, like cooking dinner.
No one cared how I felt, and no one took what I said seriously.
After all, what mom who's spent her whole life giving would really blow up her relationship with her daughter over a few words?
Even I never thought I'd act on impulse and take things this far.
But I didn't regret it.
Not feeling a shred of attachment, I shut off my phone and got on the plane.
Three hours later, I landed safely.
As soon as I turned my phone back on, just like I'd guessed, my screen blew up with over a hundred notifications.
There were dozens of missed calls, and my inbox was drowning in private and group messages. I couldn't even begin to catch up.
Judging from the string of furious one-minute voice messages Nicole sent, I could pretty much piece together the chaos on their end.
When Nicole realized her free maid wasn't home and hadn't even bothered to make dinner, with a house full of hungry relatives, she completely flipped out.
Since she couldn't reach me no matter what, she started blasting me in the family group chat, trying to guilt-trip me.
She messaged: [Mom, you're so selfish! You just stormed off over a joke and dumped this whole mess on me.]
[Talon's family and friends came over to celebrate your birthday out of kindness, and now you're acting like they're the bad guys? With that attitude, do you even care about anyone?]
[How am I supposed to face Talon's family after this? Thank god Willa isn't as petty and uptight as you.]
Talon wasn't exactly polite either.
He said, "Mom, if you've got issues with my family, just tell me. You didn't have to ghost us at the last minute and embarrass us in front of everyone."
Even my granddaughter was calling me out in the group chat.
Ella wrote: [Grandma, you're so stingy! Go drink cold water! You made Mom cry, and I don't want you as my grandma anymore!]
My relatives started piling on too.
One of them said, "Giselle, you're really out of line here. No matter what, you can't just walk out like that."
Another chimed in, "It was just a harmless joke from the kids. Why do you always have to take everything so personally? Can't you ever just let things slide?"
I couldn't take it anymore. The calm I'd finally found on the plane vanished, and my anger boiled right back up.
Not even bothering to leave the airport, I just started typing out everything I'd been holding back in the group chat.
I said: [I already told you I was heading back to my hometown. If you didn't see it, that's your problem. Don't blame me.]
[The groceries are all on the table. If you're hungry, make your own food. So many people here, and all you do is wait for someone else to serve you?]
[And by the way, I never asked for this so-called birthday bash! Don't use my birthday as an excuse for a Jackson family reunion. The only one running around from start to finish is me! I'm a person, not your free maid!]
After I sent my messages, the group chat went dead silent.
A moment later, my phone started blowing up with calls.
I kept hanging up, but whoever it was just wouldn't quit, calling over and over.
Finally, fed up, I picked up. Nicole didn't even give me a chance to speak before she started laying into me, her voice coming through in a nonstop tirade.
Nicole said, "Mom, come on, haven't you made enough drama for one night? We've already eaten, so just get back here. The house is a mess, I can't stand it."
She added, "Oh, and I saved you a piece of cake, so you can't say I don't think about you.
"You just say whatever pops into your head in the group chat. It's just dinner. Haven't you been cooking forever? Why are you suddenly making such a big deal out of it today?"
I heard Talon clear his throat in the background, and Nicole paused for a moment before continuing.
She went on, "I mean, I'm not wrong. You're just not as generous as Willa. You left us with this mess, but she just handled it and took everyone out to eat."
I just scoffed to myself.
Ever since Nicole got married, she had always been going on about Willa. How she played the princess, pretended to be sick whenever help was needed, and never wanted to spend any money.
With Willa being no help at all, I had no choice but to move back just to help Nicole out with the kids.