[It’s not like you’re losing anything.]
[That’s right,] added another relative. [Damien, we have no right to criticize you here, but try to be honest with yourself. When you’re old, won’t you still depend on Daniel and his wife?]
[If you upset them now, how will you live later? Just apologize and get back to work. We’re family, Damien, why make such a big deal out of it?]
The messages kept coming, one after another. They all blamed me, called me petty, unreasonable and ungrateful for my children’s so-called kindness.
None of them knew what it felt like to wake up at five every morning, to cook for nearly a hundred people alone, day after day.
Then my older nephew, who had had conflicts with me before, added with mockery, [Honestly, Danies is too kind. He should’ve hired a real chef instead of asking his dad. Look how that turned out. It’s easier to invite an expert than to send a useless person away.]
[Sure, twenty cents isn’t much, but it shows his character. Today it’s twenty cents, tomorrow who knows how much? Maybe the rumor about him pocketing grocery money is true.]
[That’s right,] that distant cousin added again. [Look how fast he’s trying to leave. Maybe his kids are right. If he has nothing to hide, why is he running away?]
Finally, Daniel sent another message.
[Dad, see? Everyone agrees. Stop being so stubborn, okay? Just come back to work tomorrow. I’ll talk to Wanda and give you a 30-dollar raise.]
I stared at the screen for a while, then opened the group settings and quietly left the chat.
At last, the world felt quiet again.
But an hour later, someone knocked on my door.
I sat still, not moving an inch. Then I heard Daniel’s voice outside the door. “Dad, please open the door. Let’s talk.”
I didn’t answer.
He knocked a few more times, then finally used his key to open the door himself. When he came in, his face was full of apology, completely different from how he looked earlier at the office.
“Dad, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “Wanda and her mom were too blunt. They didn’t think about your feelings.”
“They know they crossed the line, so they asked me to apologize for them.”
I looked up at him. “Really?”
“Really,” he nodded quickly. “Wanda works in finance, so she’s strict about money. That’s why she cares so much about twenty cents. Please don’t take it personally.”