I answered on the fourth ring, letting her wait just long enough to wonder if I’d pick up at all. «Dennis.» Isabella’s voice dripped with false sweetness, the same tone she used when asking me to cover their water bill or property taxes. «I heard about the little misunderstanding with Michael.»
«Misunderstanding?» I leaned against my kitchen counter, still wearing my coat. «I don’t think there’s any misunderstanding, Isabella. You made your position quite clear.» «Look, I know this seems harsh, but you have to understand my parents’ perspective. They’re very traditional people. They expect a certain atmosphere during the holidays.»
«A certain atmosphere,» I repeated. «And what atmosphere is that?» A pause.
I could hear shopping bags rustling in the background, probably from spending money that should have gone to their mortgage payment. Money that was my responsibility, apparently. «Well, they’re not used to your kind of cooking. All that spicy Mexican food and loud music. And frankly, Dennis, they’re educated people. They expect conversations about current events. Literature, art, you know.» The words hit harder than a physical blow.
Eight years of biting my tongue, of swallowing insults for Michael’s sake, of pretending not to notice the way she looked at me like I was some kind of hired help. «My kind of cooking.» My voice stayed level, controlled. «You mean the food you ate every Sunday for three years when money was tight? The tamales you said reminded you of your grandmother?» «That was different. We were appreciative then, but now with my parents…»
«Now with your parents, you can’t have the Mexican peasant embarrassing you at your fancy dinner table.» The false sweetness evaporated. «Don’t be dramatic, Dennis. This isn’t about race. It’s about class. My father graduated summa cum laude from Washington State. My mother speaks four languages. They summer in the Hamptons. What exactly would you contribute to the dinner conversation? Stories about laying tile?» Heat flooded my chest, but I kept my voice steady.
«I built a business from nothing after your husband’s grandfather died. I’ve employed over fifty people. I’ve paid more in taxes than your father made in his best year.» «Money isn’t everything, Dennis. Breeding matters. Education matters. And frankly, Maria understood her place better than you understand yours.» The line went dead silent.
She’d crossed it. The line I didn’t even know existed until she’d stomped across it in her designer heels. «What did you say about my wife?» «I’m just saying she knew how to blend in better. She didn’t make waves. She understood that some spaces weren’t meant for her.» My hand tightened around the phone until my knuckles went white.
«Maria had more class in her little finger than your entire bloodline will ever possess.» «Oh, please. She was a house cleaner who got lucky. At least she had the good sense to stay quiet about it.»
«Isabella?» My voice dropped to something I didn’t recognize. «I want you to listen very carefully. This conversation is over. We’re done pretending to be family.» «You can’t just…» «We’re done,» I repeated, and ended the call.
I set the phone down carefully on the counter, my hands surprisingly steady. Around me, the kitchen felt different, smaller but somehow cleaner, like a weight had been lifted from the air itself. I walked to my desk in the corner and pulled out the manila folder I’d been avoiding for months. Bank statements. Mortgage papers. Five years of automatic transfers that had bled me dry while they lived like royalty.
Time to stop the bleeding. The documents spread across my kitchen table like evidence at a crime scene. Five years of bank statements, each one showing the same automatic transfer: $2,800 on the 15th of every month, vanishing from my account into theirs. A paper trail of my own stupidity.
I pulled out my calculator and started adding. The first year, $33,600. The second year, another $33,600. By the third year, I’d stopped buying myself new clothes. The fourth year, I’d started shopping at discount grocery stores. This year, the fifth year, I’d been eating peanut butter sandwiches for lunch to make ends meet.
One hundred and sixty-eight thousand dollars. Not counting the down payment, not counting the times I’d covered their utilities when Isabella’s shopping addiction got out of hand. Not counting the new roof, the landscaping, the furniture that was «essential» for their lifestyle.
I sat back in my chair, looking at the numbers until they blurred. Maria’s life insurance money, my retirement savings, the college fund we’d started for grandchildren I’d apparently never be allowed to see—all of it gone, poured into a house where I wasn’t welcome for Christmas dinner. I reached for my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found the number for my bank.
The automated system offered me options in English and Spanish. How thoughtful, how accommodating to «people like me.» «Customer service. This is Jennifer. How can I help you today?» «I need to cancel an automatic transfer,» I said, my voice steadier than it had been in years.
«Certainly, sir. I’ll need your account number and some verification information.» I rattled off the numbers, listening to her type in the background. Professional. Efficient. No judgment about why a 62-year-old man was canceling payments on what was probably his son’s mortgage.
«I see the transfer you’re referring to, Mr. Flores. $2,800 monthly to Wells Fargo, account ending in 7423. How long have you been making this transfer?» «Five years,» the words tasted bitter. «And you want to cancel it effective immediately?» I looked around my kitchen, at the outdated appliances I couldn’t afford to replace, at the walls that needed painting, at the windows that leaked cold air because I’d spent my home improvement money on someone else’s castle.
«Effective immediately,» I confirmed. «Done. The transfer has been canceled. Is there anything else I can help you with today?» «No,» I said, surprising myself with how good the word felt. «No, that’s everything.»
I hung up and sat in the sudden quiet of my house. Outside, the December darkness was settling over Spokane, Christmas lights twinkling in windows where families gathered without conditions, without judgment, without the need to hide who they were. For the first time in five years, next month’s budget would balance. For the first time since Maria died, I could afford to fix my porch light, buy decent groceries, and maybe even take a vacation.
I gathered up the bank statements, the mortgage papers, all the evidence of my generosity. Then I walked to my fireplace, struck a match, and watched five years of martyrdom turn to ash. The fire felt warm on my face, warmer than I’d felt in years.
My phone buzzed with a text message, probably Michael wanting to apologize or Isabella needing money for something essential like new throw pillows. I didn’t check it. Instead, I poured myself a glass of the good whiskey, the bottle I’d been saving for a special occasion that never seemed to come.
Tonight felt special enough. I raised my glass to the empty room, to Maria’s photo on the mantle, to the man I used to be and the man I was becoming. «Merry Christmas to me,» I said and meant it.
The next morning arrived crisp and clear, December sunlight streaming through my kitchen windows as I nursed my second cup of coffee. For the first time in years, I wasn’t calculating how much money would disappear from my account in three days. The freedom tasted better than the Colombian blend I’d finally allowed myself to buy. My phone rang at exactly 10:47 AM. Isabella’s name flashed on the screen like a warning label.
«Dennis!» Her voice carried that familiar tone of barely concealed impatience. «I need you to pick up my parents from Spokane Airport. Their flight from Portland arrives at two o’clock.»
I set down my mug carefully, watching the steam curl toward the ceiling. «Isabella, did you forget about our conversation yesterday?» «Look, whatever that was about, we need to focus on practical matters now. My parents need transportation, and you’re the only one with time during the day.»
The audacity was breathtaking. Less than 24 hours after telling me I wasn’t worthy of sharing Christmas dinner with her family, she expected me to serve as their personal chauffeur. «And you’re asking me because…» «Because that’s what family does, Dennis. They help each other.» Her voice sharpened with irritation. «Besides, let’s be honest here. You’re not my rival. You’re too weak to be my rival. So just get in your truck and pick them up.»
There it was, the final insult wrapped in a command. «What airline?» I asked quietly. «Alaska Air, flight 447. They’ll be at baggage claim carousel three. And Dennis? They’re expecting someone who can handle their luggage properly. Don’t embarrass us.»
I could hear her nails tapping against something hard, probably her granite countertop, the one I’d paid for when she decided laminate wasn’t suitable for her dinner parties. «Of course,» I said. «I’ll take care of everything.» «Good. And wear something decent. Maybe that blue shirt you wore to Michael’s graduation. They notice things like that.» The line went dead.
She hadn’t even said thank you. I sat back in my chair, looking at my phone’s blank screen. Two o’clock. Flight 447. Baggage claim carousel three. I glanced at the wall clock above my sink. 10:52 AM. Plenty of time.
I poured myself another cup of coffee, added an extra spoonful of sugar, and opened yesterday’s newspaper to the crossword puzzle I hadn’t finished. 7 across: ‘Delayed gratification.’ 12 letters. The answer would come to me eventually.
At 2:15 PM, I was settling into my favorite armchair with a fresh cup of Earl Grey and the Spokane Review’s Sunday edition. The crossword from yesterday lay completed on my coffee table. ‘Delayed gratification’ had been ‘postponement’. My phone buzzed against the wooden surface. Isabella’s name again.
I let it ring. The December sun slanted through my living room windows, warming the space where I’d spent so many lonely evenings counting the cost of my generosity. Today, the silence felt different. Earned. Intentional.
2:47 PM. The phone buzzed again. This time I could see the preview of her text: ‘Dad, where are you? My parents are…’ I turned the phone face down and returned to the sports section. The Seahawks had lost again. Some things never changed.
