[How can he be so petty at his age? My business is struggling right now, but he doesn’t even try to understand our situation.]
That message was like a rock thrown into calm water, stirring up waves instantly. The first to reply was one of Daniel’s aunts, one of my sisters.
[Damien, seriously? Why are you getting upset over something like this?]
[Your daughter-in-law only said what needed to be said. She’s young and you’re their father, so you should be more understanding.]
[Business is hard these days. Daniel works day and night to keep his factory running. Do you think it’s easy for him?]
[If you, his father, don’t help him, then who will?]
Soon after, my cousin joined in. [Damien, I have to say, what you did wasn’t right. It’s just a small misunderstanding. You shouldn’t take it so seriously.]
[At a time like this, when your son is struggling, it’s only natural for a father to help with both money and effort. Why would you quit now?]
[You’re just breaking his heart.]
Then my other sister sent a long voice message. I clicked on it and her usual lecturing tone filled the room. [Hey, listen to me, stop being so stubborn. There’s no real grudge between family, right?]
[You’re retired now and don’t have much to do, so it’s only right to help your son and he’s even paying you. That’s already generous.]
[If you leave like this, what will people say about the Sanders Family?]
[They’ll think we can’t even get along. People will laugh at us.]
As I read all those messages, seeing that each one blamed me without knowing the full story, my fingers went cold.
Then a distant cousin, the kind who rarely spoke to us but loved to gossip, sent a sarcastic message. [Oh wow, Daniel’s dad really has it good.]
[His son owns a factory and he gets to work there as a cook, earning easy money. Not like my useless son.]
[But really, you’re making such a big deal out of something so small. Maybe you just can’t get used to city life and want to go back home to act like a boring old man again?]
Another niece, who wasn’t very close to our family, chimed in too. [Uncle, Daniel is paying you just to keep you busy and give you a bit of income. Isn’t that better than doing nothing at home? Why can’t you just appreciate that?]
[The money is handled by your daughter-in-law. She’s just being careful for the sake of the factory. You did take the twenty cents, didn’t you? What’s wrong with them mentioning it?]