One Digit Short

It was true that Susan called me to give me the budget for the New Year’s Eve party.

However, when the money came, it was only four hundred dollars.

It was Susan’s go-to MO.

She’d play dumb so long as I kept quiet. The moment I spoke up, she’d blame her eyesight for being off by a digit.

Then came the guilt trip.

“So I fell short on the funds? Do you need to go out of your way to point that out? After all the years I’ve cared for you, must you get upset over a bit of money?

“You’re nothing like your sister. You are a thankless brat.”

Sitting next to me, Tania glanced at my phone before looking up and uttering, “Oh, it is just four hundred dollars, Susan.”

Susan let out a strained chuckle in embarrassment. “My eyesight isn’t what it used to be. I must have missed a zero.”

She glared at me. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Susan reluctantly transferred me the rest of the funds, her voice stiff when she said, “There you go. You have the money. Now, get us a decent spread. Don’t keep everybody waiting.”

Before I could get a word in, Summer beat me to it. “What are you doing, Mom?”

She sneered at me and said out loud, “I’m sure you’ve skimmed a fortune off Mom by now.

“So what if she’s short one time? Can’t you just cover the difference for once?

“Are you shaming Mom in front of family because you didn’t get anything out of her?”

Susan gave her a pouting look. “Don’t say such things when we have family around.”

Her supposed criticism was simply confirmation that I was a thief.

I paused for a moment before refunding her the money. I uttered callously, “In that case, you can have the money back. You can fix this with catering, so I don’t get blamed for taking a cut.”

The look on Susan’s face froze.

She knew that the bill for the usual feast would cost over ten thousand dollars.

Susan was one to keep up with appearances before the family.

Since her marriage didn’t work out, she sought fulfillment elsewhere.

Every year, Susan would host a lavish New Year’s Eve party to show the family that she was thriving.

In the past, I’d cover the extra costs out of my own pocket to stroke Susan’s ego, but I was done now.

Summer rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. “Oh, don’t act like you’re the saint.

“Since you’re talking about returning the money, don’t stop at today’s. You should pay Mom back every penny you stole from her.

“There’s no better time than today with the family here. Let’s do the math and see how much you’ve taken so far.”

Susan pulled a face.

She grabbed Summer’s hand. “We shouldn’t be talking about money at a family get-together. This is a matter behind closed doors.”

“No, I want to settle this right now.” Summer jerked her arm away from Susan violently.

She yelled, her eyes welling up, “I know what’s going on! You asked Macie to run errands to sneak her money!

“I’m your daughter too. Why are you playing favorites?

“We should put everything on the table in front of everyone. Exactly how much have you given her? I expect the same, down to the last penny.”

Everything became clear to me when I saw the begrudging look on Summer’s face.

She wasn’t blowing the whole thing out of proportion to stand up for Susan.

It was all jealousy on her part as she believed Susan had been secretly giving me financial support.

Summer was kicking up a fuss to claim back what was rightfully hers.

Sam came to Summer’s defense. “Susan, you always claim to be fair to both your daughters. Why are you favoring Macie?

“You have my support, Summer. You should fight for your rights!”

The rest of the family sided with Summer as well.

Her well-being was the last thing on their minds, but they weren’t about to miss a front-row seat to the family drama.

Color drained from Susan’s face.