“Can’t you be a little more understanding? Don’t blow this out of proportion.”
Ivy covered her face and sobbed. "I know, you just want to set rules for me. You used whatever excuses to teach me a lesson, so you can be the boss of this house.”
“I shouldn't be too kind-hearted by taking you in to take care of you in your old age.”
“Fine, you're the elder. From now on, whatever you say goes, okay?”
My son sighed repeatedly and shifted weight uneasily. “Mom, look at what you've done. You were the one who turned on the AC in the first place. Now you're using this as an excuse to say you won't sell the house.”
“This family was doing fine, but now you're making up all this conflict.”
“Anyway, I think you should apologize to Ivy.”
I stared straight at him. “Are you sure you think I should apologize to her?”
Seeing my stern expression, Frank lost his courage.
But then, he gritted his teeth and said, “Mom, right is right, wrong is wrong. I'm judging the situation, not the person. I'll stand by what's right, not just family ties. So, I think you should apologize."
I raised my arm and slapped him hard across the face.
Stunned, he clutched his face and stammered, “M-mom, why did you hit me?”
Meanwhile, Ivy was crying and making a ruckus. She then lunged at me, ready to claw me.
Without paying any attention to them, I opened the door and left. I refused to stay here any longer.
Sitting alone on a bench at the train station, tears silently streamed down my face.
Did Frank and Ivy really take me in to care for me in my old age?
Clearly, they just want me to be their free servant.
Every day, I cooked three meals, took my grandson to and from school and still went out at night to collect cardboard. But in their eyes, I was just a jobless woman who lived off them.
Were they really frugal and hardworking people?
Well, they went shopping every few days. Once, when I wanted to buy a pair of pants, they refused to take me, saying I was too old and shopping would tire me out.
Every weekend, they went out for lavish dinners. But Frank had never invited me. Not only that, he said my diet was too bland and eating oily food would be bad for my health.
However, weren't Frank's computer games, Ivy's cosmetics and Tom Wright, my grandson's tutoring classes, all paid by me?
And now, just because I turned on the air conditioner for a few hours, I had turned into the family’s biggest burden.