[At a time like this, when your son is struggling, it’s only natural for a father to help with both money and effort. Why would you quit now?]
[You’re just breaking his heart.]
Then my other sister sent a long voice message. I clicked on it and her usual lecturing tone filled the room. [Hey, listen to me, stop being so stubborn. There’s no real grudge between family, right?]
[You’re retired now and don’t have much to do, so it’s only right to help your son and he’s even paying you. That’s already generous.]
[If you leave like this, what will people say about the Sanders Family?]
[They’ll think we can’t even get along. People will laugh at us.]
As I read all those messages, seeing that each one blamed me without knowing the full story, my fingers went cold.
Then a distant cousin, the kind who rarely spoke to us but loved to gossip, sent a sarcastic message. [Oh wow, Daniel’s dad really has it good.]
[His son owns a factory and he gets to work there as a cook, earning easy money. Not like my useless son.]
[But really, you’re making such a big deal out of something so small. Maybe you just can’t get used to city life and want to go back home to act like a boring old man again?]