Mom Thinks 10K Is Too Little

Mom seemed momentarily thrown off by my string of questions, although her confusion quickly curdled into defensive rage.

"Regina, what is wrong with you today? Have you lost your mind? We're living just fine, and you just have to stir things up, huh?"

My chest tightened, and I struggled to breathe as a wave of dizziness hit me.

"Yeah," I said. "Maybe I have. I've been through so much these past years, and all you have to say is that it was to toughen me up?"

I turned to leave, but Mom grabbed me.

"Alright, that's enough!" she said. "Sending you into the real world earlier was an opportunity. You've been working years longer than your sister, and aren't you doing fine now?"

Dad stepped forward as well. "That's enough. It's the holidays. Why are you making a scene? Don't get so worked up. Come sit down and eat. Your mom and I even have some good news for you."

…

At dinner, Mom placed two drumsticks onto Sabrina's plate, one after the other.

"Rina, eat more," she said. "You've gotten thinner again. Is work too stressful? If something's bothering you, just tell me, alright?"

Sabrina merely coughed once, and Mom was already on her feet, heading to the fridge to grab her a chilled bottle of juice.

Ever since we were kids, Sabrina always had a glass of juice with her meals, while I never did.

I ate in silence, the food tasting like nothing. I couldn't even tell what I was doing here anymore.

Mom noticed my expression and tried to soften her tone. "That's enough. Don't act like you've had it so hard. Back when your sister was working out of town with us, she didn't even have a birthday cake on her birthday.

"Now that things are finally better, why do you have to keep bringing up all these dusty, old grievances? Be honest with yourself. Ever since you moved in with us, haven't we treated you well enough?"

I didn't respond, merely lowering my head to hide my eyes.

Back when I stayed with my grandparents, I had never celebrated a birthday either.

Mom and Dad only went back every few years. To me, they felt no different from family members who came to visit during the holidays.

Moreover, the first time I ever tasted cake was at Sabrina's birthday.

Dad took a sip of his wine and added, "You've been working all these years, and it's not like you were sending any money back. How hard could it have really been?"

"Dad, how can you say that?" I asked quietly as an exasperated laugh slipped out of me. "Haven't I been sending half my paycheck home every single month?"

"What paycheck? I've never seen a cent of it," Dad shot back.

I pulled out my phone and pulled up my bank statements.

"I've been transferring money to Mom's account every single month, and I never missed a single time. In the last five years, those transfers total 150,000 dollars. How could you not know?"