When I asked about the Hawaii summer vacation I had spent $22,000 funding for the entire family, my parents replied: “We already went last week. Only for family.” A month later, they asked me: “The rent is overdue! Did you send the money yet?” I answered: “Only for family, remember?”
I paid twenty-two thousand dollars for a family trip to Hawaii—and was cut out of it through a text message.
Not before booking. Not during the planning stage. Not even after some explosive argument that would have at least made the cruelty feel honest. I mean I covered the flights, the beachside rental, the airport transfers, the luau package my mother insisted was “non-negotiable,” and the upgraded ocean-view rooms because my father said, If we’re doing this as a family, let’s do it right.
