Mom quickly tried to soothe both children, but Lily persisted, “Grandma, tell me! This is my house, not Timmy’s, right?”
Timmy looked at Mom with hopeful eyes.
Mom hesitated, at a loss for words, only continuing to comfort Lily, telling her not to cry.
Lily became frantic, wailing, “Grandma’s lying! Grandma doesn’t love me anymore!”
Seeing Lily upset, Mila began to blame Mom. “Mom, can’t you just say something? Do you really have to let Lily be this sad?”
Feeling cornered, Mom finally replied, “Yes, Grandma’s house is Lily’s. Grandma belongs to Lily.”
Lily calmed down a bit after hearing that, her teary eyes now defiantly on Timmy, who couldn’t hold back his tears any longer. I couldn’t take it anymore. “Mom! What are you doing? You don’t want Lily to be sad, but it’s okay for Timmy to be sad? Just say it’s their house!”
Mom started to avoid my gaze, and I was filled with questions.
At that moment, Mila pulled Lily close and said softly, “You might not know this, but when I married Brian, we had an agreement.”
“I know, Mom told me,” I replied.
But then my brother interrupted, “Enough! Stop it! Look what you’ve turned this holiday into!”