“We don’t mind speaking with you,” Rose said.
“See, Dad? They want me in their lives.”
Rose’s expression remained calm.
“But we will not pretend.”
May stood beside her.
“You sent us expensive gifts. Grandpa gave us everything else.”
My throat tightened.
“Girls…”
“Let us speak,” June said. “You taught us that the truth matters.”
Lisa pushed her chair backward.
“I’m still your mother.”
Rose nodded.
“You are the woman who gave birth to us.”
“That means something.”
“It does,” May said. “But it does not mean everything.”
Lisa’s eyes hardened.
“I bought those gifts to make up for lost time.”
June folded her arms.
“Then you should have asked what we actually needed.”
“I gave you beautiful things.”
“I don’t like pearls,” Rose said.
“I never wore the coat,” May added.
Lisa looked between them.
“Where are the gifts?”
Rose inhaled slowly.
“We sold them.”
Lisa’s hand froze around her glass.
“You sold my gifts?”
“We sold the things you used to purchase your way into our lives,” June said.
May slid an envelope across the table toward me.
“The money is in an account for Grandpa.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
She swallowed hard.
“He delayed dental treatment, roof repairs, and retirement because he was raising us. We want to return part of what he sacrificed.”
“Girls…”
“You don’t get to argue,” June said, although her voice began to break. “You’ve spent enough years arguing with bills.”
Lisa suddenly stood.
“You ungrateful girls.”
The insult struck the room like a door slamming shut. I rose so quickly that my chair scraped across the floor.
“Do not call them that inside my home.”
Lisa stared at me.
“Your home?”
“Yes. The house where they grew up. The house you finally remembered when your reputation needed repairing.”
She opened her mouth, but I continued.
“You walked away. I stayed.”
My voice remained calm, although my hands were trembling.
“You sent packages. I raised three women. Do not confuse those things.”
June reached into her bag and placed a folder beside my dinner plate. My chest tightened.
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