“This is perfect for me,” I replied calmly.
Then the check arrived.
Aunt Linda stared at it dramatically. “Ohhhh wow… that’s… something.”
Uncle Joe suddenly remembered his two-summer timeshare payments. Katie mentioned “unexpected expenses.”
Finally, they all turned to me.
“Jade, we assumed you’d cover this,” Katie said sweetly. “You’ve almost paid off your house. You have the best job among us.”
“We’ll provide emotional support,” Mark added with a grin.
And then Aunt Linda delivered the guilt line: “Come on. For Grandma. We may not have many more of these.”
I stood up slowly. “Let me take care of something real quick,” I said, “and we’ll get back to this.”
I knew they wouldn’t pay. But abandoning Grandma on her birthday? That was cruel.
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