No.
Not this time.
I searched for community centers.
I found one twenty minutes from Rosalind’s home.
Small upstairs event room.
Basic folding tables.
Thirty-five chairs.
Electric outlets.
Small prep counter.
Rental fee.
Sixty-five dollars.
I booked it.
Then I drove to a warehouse store.
Thirty cups of instant noodles.
Two large multipacks.
Plastic forks.
Paper napkins.
A disposable tablecloth.
One case of bottled water.
Then I stopped at a discount store.
I bought a small paper banner.
Happy 70th Birthday.
Total spent.
One hundred ninety-four dollars and twelve cents.
I rounded the remaining money mentally.
Five dollars and eighty-eight cents.
Almost six dollars.
I photographed every receipt.
Then I placed the originals inside my blue folder.
I also printed the bank transfer.
Two hundred dollars.
From Brandon.
Memo.
Mom’s birthday.
For the first time, I felt calm.
Not angry.
Calm.
Because I had finally stopped rescuing him from his own choices.
PART 6
The night before the party, Brandon came home at 11:47.
He carried his golf clubs through the garage.
I was reading on the couch.
He dropped his keys on the counter.
“Everything ready?”
“Yes.”
“Cake?”
“Handled.”
“Food?”
“Handled.”
“Venue?”
“Handled.”
“Mom happy?”
“I’m sure she’ll be surprised.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
Then he opened the refrigerator.
“Anything to eat?”
“There’s pasta.”
He looked disappointed.
“I thought you’d cook.”
“I was busy organizing your mother’s party.”
He laughed.
“Fair.”
Then he kissed the top of my head.
“You always come through.”
That sentence almost made me smile.
“Sleep well, Brandon.”
He did.
I barely slept.
Not because I was nervous about the party.
Because I knew what would happen after.
Once you stop protecting people from the consequences of their behavior, they often become furious at the person who removed the cushion.
I expected anger.
What I did not know was how much truth would come out with it.
PART 7
At ten-thirty the next morning, I arrived at the community center.
I covered the long folding table.
Then I arranged thirty ramen cups in two straight rows.
Chicken flavor.
Beef flavor.
Shrimp flavor.
