Chapter 5
My daughter opened the door.
When she saw my mom standing there, her little face just dropped.
“Grandma? What are you doing here?” she asked.
Mom rolled her eyes. “What, I need permission to visit now?” Then she shoved my daughter aside and planted her butt on our couch like she owned the damn place.
My baby girl looked ready to burst into tears, giving me this heartbroken look. Her little chin was trembling when she choked out, “I’m sorry, Mommy…”
I scooped her up and put her at the table, telling her to eat her dinner. I ruffled her hair and whispered, “Not your fault, sweetie. If Grandma wants to barge in, there’s not much I can do. She is your grandma, after all.”
Mom heard that and got this smug–ass look on her face.
When she realized I wasn’t asking her to join us for dinner, she gave me the stink eye. “You haven’t sent me my money this month.”
I knew exactly what “money” she meant, but I played dumb anyway. “What money?”
She snapped back, “My allowance, obviously. Two thousand bucks.”
I couldn’t help laughing in her face. “Do my big sis and little sis pay you an ‘allowance‘ too?”
Mom started hemming and hawing, couldn’t get her story straight. Finally she doubled down: “Of course they do! Think they’re ungrateful brats like you? I don’t have to hunt them down for it.”
I nodded real slow. “That right? Show me the transfers then. And just so we’re clear–even if they are paying you, which I seriously doubt, it’s got nothing to do with me. I’m done. Not giving you another penny.”
“Go ahead and sue me if you want. Court won’t give you much, and I can always ghost on paying anyway. Not a damn thing you can do about it.”
Mom’s face turned straight–up purple. Her whole body started shaking as she jabbed her finger at me, sputtering “You… you…” before letting out this dramatic sigh. Cue the waterworks as she dragged up ancient history.
“How’d I end up with such a worthless daughter? When you had your baby with no in–laws around, who dropped everything to take care of you? Who made sure you weren’t starving?”
“Since we’re talking receipts, let’s go there,” I fired back. “Forget everything else–hiring a baby nurse costs money, right? If you’re so hung up on your ‘allowance, maybe you should pay me for the days you supposedly ‘helped‘ after I gave birth.”
I just stared her down, not saying another word.
20.4%
Innad It All Down!
Chapter 5
Back in my past life, yeah, she did come over for a few days since my in–laws weren’t around.
But “taking care of me” my ass–I was the one babysitting her.
From day one, all I heard was how her back was killing her. She claimed she was “helping” with the baby, but every time Zoe made a peep, she’d holler for me.
She even made formula with boiling water despite me telling her a million times not to. If I hadn’t been watching her like a hawk, she probably would’ve burned my baby’s mouth.
When I called her out, she played the victim card: “Guess I’m just too old and useless to do anything right.”
On top of that, she couldn’t even handle basic stuff like laundry or cooking–always with the “I can’t do it” excuses.
For seven straight days, I was taking care of her while I was supposed to be recovering from childbirth. I finally hit my breaking point and had Mark take time off to look after me, and we shipped her back to my sister’s.
Just thinking about it made my blood boil.
I wiped away a tear and snapped back: “Were you really taking care of me? Who was bitching about her back non–stop, who kept saying she couldn’t handle the baby, who couldn’t even cook a damn meal?”
“Your memory going in your old age, Mom? Want me to give you the blow–by–blow of what actually went down?”
“And for five whole years, I’ve handed you two grand every month, bought you clothes, jewelry, and had you over just so I could wait on you hand and foot. If I ever owed you for raising me, that tab is beyond paid off.”
Mom’s face fell as she realized she was losing this fight. She glanced between me and Mark, then muttered, “Fine, keep your money. Why you gotta dig up old dirt? Always been so petty–no wonder nobody likes you.”
“Let me tell you something,” she pushed on, “I’m still your mother, period. I came to crash here for a while because I miss my grandbaby.”
I shot her the deadest look and said flatly, “Whatever.”
Missing my daughter? Yeah right. I’d believe that when pigs fly.
So my mom just set up camp in our house, shameless enough to sleep on the floor when we had no bed for her.
I let it slide, didn’t make a big deal out of it.
To make sure history didn’t repeat itself, I slapped up some hidden cameras around the house.
After all that, we pretty much stuck to our normal routine, except for one big change–the three of us made damn sure to grab dinner out every single night.
Until we came home one day and found yet another uninvited asshole in our house.
