I didn’t even look at him. I just took my mom’s arm. “Mom, let’s go back to the room and rest,” I said softly.
"What about the fireworks?" Liam asked, impatient.
“Watch them yourself.”
Without looking back, I led my mom straight toward the elevator. Behind us, I could still hear his mom grumbling under her breath, “Your wife… she’s good at ruining the mood.”
Back in the hotel room, my mom still looked uneasy. She kept turning the cheap comb over in her hands again and again.
“Anne,” she said quietly, “at least they gave me a gift. It’s nice. Don’t be mad at Liam over something like this.”
I looked at my mom, the woman who had endured everything all her life, always thinking of others, always swallowing her pain.
And for what?
For being abandoned on a highway. For getting this rough, splintered comb. For carrying endless hurt and humiliation.
“Mom.”
I took the comb from her hands and tossed it straight into the trash bin. “This cheap thing doesn’t deserve you. You deserve something much better.”
She glanced at the trash bin and sighed again. “But…”
“Let’s not talk about them anymore, Mom.”
I knelt down beside her, holding her rough hand. “Tell me, where do you want to go most? The seaside? Or somewhere with mountains and rivers?”
My question caught her off guard. She blinked, startled. “Anne, we’ve already spent so much on this trip. We can’t just waste more money going somewhere else. No, that’s too much!”
I smiled, squeezing her hand gently. “Don’t worry about the money, Mom. Your daughter has a house, a car, a job and some savings too. I can take care of you.”
I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and flashed her a confident and mysterious look. “Besides, I have a way to pay for it. Just tell me, do you want to go?"
My mom looked at me, unsure if she should believe me or not. After a long pause, she said softly, “I used to see the beaches on TV. The sand looked so fine. It’s just that…”
“Alright.”
I stood up, my decision already made. “Then let’s go to the beach.”
That night, I barely slept. When dawn was about to break, I quietly got out of bed.
My mom had been sleeping restlessly and when I moved, she woke up, “Anne, why are you up so early?”
“Mm. Go back to sleep, Mom. I just need to take care of something. I’ll be back soon.”