Chapter 2 - The SetupTwo weeks later, Mom called while I was working on a major website project for a client in Austin. The deadline fell immediately after Christmas, and I had carefully scheduled every day.
“Jason and Stephanie are exhausted,” she began.
“Yeah. Three kids will do that.”
“They need time together.”
“Probably.”
“I thought it would be nice if they went away to a cabin for a few days.”
“That sounds nice.”
My fingers stopped typing. I knew exactly what was coming.
“You can take the kids from the twenty-third through the twenty-sixth.”
Not Could you? Not Would you mind?
You can.
“No.”
Silence. Then Mom laughed. “Riley.”
“I’m working.”
“You work from home.”
“Yes. Notice the second word.”
“They won’t bother you.”
I looked around my one-bedroom apartment. “There are three children.”
“Emma is practically independent.”
“She’s six.”
“Oliver can use his tablet.”
“He’s four.”
“And Sky mostly sleeps.”
“Sky is nine months old.”
“She naps.”
“So do house cats, Mom. That doesn’t make them self-supervising.”
Her tone hardened. “Don’t be dramatic.”
“I have a deadline.”
“Family matters too.”
“My clients pay my mortgage.”
“You rent.”
“My rent, then. Congratulations on the technicality.”
Then she began listing every reason Jason and Stephanie deserved a break. Jason worked long hours. Stephanie barely slept. Holiday childcare was expensive. A few days alone might help their marriage. Every one of those things could be true without automatically making me the solution.
“No,” I repeated. This time, slowly. “I am not babysitting the kids over Christmas.”
Mom sighed as though I were deliberately creating trouble. “Fine.”
I should have understood that her definition of fine was different from mine.
Nine days later, we gathered for dinner at my parents’ house. Jason and Stephanie came with the children. My aunt was there. Two cousins had stopped by. I was pouring sparkling water in the kitchen when Mom tapped her fork against her glass.
“I’m just so happy Jason and Stephanie are getting a few days away after Christmas,” she announced. Stephanie smiled. Jason lifted his beer. Then Mom turned toward me. “And thank goodness Riley volunteered to keep the kids.”
I froze. Everyone looked at me.
“I didn’t volunteer.”
Mom maintained her smile. “Riley.”
“I told you no.”
Aunt Carol glanced between us. Mom laughed lightly. “She’s joking.”
“I’m not.”
Stephanie stopped smiling. Jason frowned. “Wait. What?”
“I am not babysitting your kids.”
Mom stood. The moment she realized I wasn’t going to help cover her lie, her expression changed. The entire room fell silent. For half a second, I genuinely wondered whether I had somehow forgotten agreeing to it. That was what years of being volunteered for things could do. Then I remembered both conversations clearly.
“No, Mom. I said no twice.”
Jason looked annoyed. “We already booked the cabin.”
“I didn’t tell you to.”
“Mom said it was handled.”
“Then Mom should handle it.”
Mom stared at me. “You’re really going to ruin Christmas over this?”
Something settled inside me. Apparently, everyone could dismiss my work, assign my time, and rewrite my answer in front of the family. But if I refused to cooperate afterward, somehow I was ruining Christmas.
I put down my glass. “I won’t be available December twenty-third through the twenty-sixth.”
Mom crossed her arms. “You’re working the whole time?”
“No.”
Somehow, that bothered her even more. “What could possibly be more important?”
May you like
I smiled. “I’ll let you know.”
Then I left.
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