I’m not stupid — let them spend their own money!
At the bank the clerk asked, “How can I help you today?”
I handed over my ID and said, “One of my bank cards was lost. Please freeze it temporarily and issue a replacement.”
The clerk smiled. “Of course.” The old card was voided once the new card was made.
With a brand new card in my wallet I stopped by the farmer’s market and bought a pound of the big shrimp I usually can’t afford. When I was helping out at Lily’s house I always saved the shrimp for the evening so they could have it after work. A pound yields about sixteen or seventeen large shrimp; by the time I fed Emily and set the plate down there were only shells left.
Back home, Robert sat on the couch watching TV. Seeing the shrimp, he joked, “Oh? Spent some time in the big city and picked up a taste for luxuries?”
I put on a straight face. “What’s wrong with that?”
Robert hurriedly put down the remote to placate me. “Who says anything’s wrong? I’ve long told you to treat yourself better. You’re finally seeing reason.”
I went into the kitchen and started to cook the shrimp. Just as I turned on the stove Lily called.
“Mom? My card’s not working — I was about to buy David a decent suit. Did you freeze it?”
I turned off the heat, wiped my hands, and calmly replied, “Yes. I ordered a replacement.”
Lily was a bit startled, then tried to probe: “Mom, are you still mad at David? He can be sharp with his tongue, but he’s actually grateful for everything you’ve done for our little family. You don’t understand how tight things are for us young people — expenses everywhere, we have to save a lot. You’re retired now; you don’t get our difficulties. Please don’t be mad at him.”
Don’t I understand their difficulties? Had all my effort been fed to the dogs? When I was struggling to earn a living nobody helped me like this! I clenched my fist, exhaled, my heart pounding. The doctor told me I have high blood pressure and must not get emotional — it raises the risk of a stroke. So I calmed myself and said as evenly as I could, “Get out. I have no daughter like you who’s turned on her own family.”
I hung up, fished the cooked shrimp out of the pot, set it on the table, and Robert and I split them between us.
That afternoon, while dancing with a few old friends in the park, David called again. Because music was playing and my hearing isn’t great, I put the phone on speaker. He immediately started cursing: “You old biddy — you accept the $20,000 and then freeze the card!”
“You’re doing this on purpose just to make Lily and me miserable. You’re senile and making trouble!”
“I’m bringing my parents to Los Angeles to enjoy a better life. I demand you cough up money so Lily and I can move to a bigger apartment, or don’t expect us to ever acknowledge you!”
At that point the music stopped and all my dance girlfriends stared at me in surprise. One of them had once urged me to have more children; I’d told her back then, “Why have many? Raise one well!” Now she was getting the last laugh.
My blood pressure shot up and I blasted back at him: “You’ve got the nerve of two-faced slime — shameless on one side, thick-skinned on the other! Are your brain cells all hibernating? You expect me to contribute to your big apartment — fine, I’ll contribute to your burial plot instead!”
