Chapter 3 - THE PARTY CRASHES
Saturday arrived with a bright, clear autumn sky.
While my mother’s grand party was scheduled to start at 2:00 PM, Ben, Sienna, and I spent the morning at a local park. We bought gelato, walked by the river, and laughed. For the first time in years, a thick, suffocating weight felt like it had been lifted from my shoulders. Sienna’s eyes were bright again. She was dynamic, talkative, and completely free of the quiet anxiety that usually plagued her around my parents.
At 2:30 PM, my phone was sitting on the kitchen counter at home. I had placed it on silent, but I kept the screen face up.
At 2:42 PM, the screen lit up.
Incoming Call: Mom.
I let it ring until it missed. Two seconds later, it started buzzing again. Then came a barrage of text messages from Katie, followed by three missed calls from Dad.
I picked up the phone, walked out to the quiet patio, and pressed answer on the fourth call from Mom.
I didn't say hello. I just held the receiver to my ear.
My mother’s voice didn't just come through the speaker—it erupted. It was a high-pitched, screeching wall of unhinged fury.
“HOW DARE YOU!” she screamed, her breath hitching wildly. “HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME ON MY BIRTHDAY? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR INSANE MIND, NORA?!”
In the background, I could hear the distinct ambient echo of a large room filled with people—clinking glassware, low chatter, and background classical music. She was calling me right from the venue floor.
“Hello, Mom,” I said, my tone as calm and flat as a frozen lake.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” she raged, her voice trembling with embarrassment and anger. “I opened your box in front of your Aunt Clara and the Henderson family! I thought it was a necklace! I read it out loud before I realized what it was! You absolute monster!”
I smiled slightly into the cool afternoon air. “You opened a private card in front of an audience, Mom. That was your choice.”
“You are spiteful! You are a bitter, jealous little bitch!” she spat out, completely dropping her polite suburban mask. “Just because I wanted an adult atmosphere, you ruin my entire life?! You write this disgusting trash to your own mother?!”
Before I could answer, I heard a rustle on the line, followed by the deep, panicked voice of my father in the background.
“Nora?” Dad took the phone, his voice shaking. “Nora, what is going on? The caterer just came up to the main table. They said the payment card was declined! The venue manager says the hall rental balance of two thousand Euros didn't clear! They’re threatening to shut down the bar and clear the food tables in ten minutes!”
Mom snatched the phone back, her loud rage instantly dissolving into sheer, desperate panic.
“Nora, the card isn't working!” she snapped, her tone shifting from aggressive to demanding. “The card is empty! The manager said there’s only six hundred Euros in the account! Fix it right now! Put the money back! The vendors are calling me in front of sixty people!”
I leaned my back against the brick counter, taking a slow sip of my tea.
“I didn't steal anything, Mom. I simply removed my money,” I said clearly. “The six hundred Euros left in that account belongs to you and Dad. That’s what you contributed. So that’s what you have to pay the vendors.”
“You put four thousand Euros in that account for my birthday!” she shrieked.
“And then you told me my daughter wasn't worth having in the room,” I replied quietly. “My money doesn't go where my child isn't welcome. You wanted an exclusive event, Mom. Now you get to figure out how to pay for it.”
“Nora, listen to me!” she wailed, sound genuinely terrified now as I heard a manager’s voice speaking loudly near her phone. “We don't have four thousand Euros in liquid cash right now! You know your father’s accounts are locked in fixed bonds! If you don't transfer the money this second, they are going to lock the doors and kick everyone out into the parking lot!”
“Sounds like a family problem,” I said. “Ask Katie. She’s the one with the 'special' family.”
“Nora, stop this right now—”
“Oh, and Mom?” I interrupted smoothly. “I also cancelled the monthly mortgage transfer. And the utility allowances. You’ll need to find nine hundred and fifty Euros by the first of next month, or the bank will issue a late default notice. Happy Birthday.”
I ended the call.
May you like
I immediately tapped the screen, selected her contact, and pressed Block. I did the same for Katie and my father.
Then I walked back inside, sat down with my daughter, and helped her finish her math homework.
