My cousin couldn’t hold it in anymore. He cursed under his breath and lashed out at Lisa, “If you want to keep sucking up to Jane and her family, that’s your problem. Don’t drag me into it.”
Lisa, flustered, smacked him on his shoulder several times, whispering furiously, “I’m only doing this so you can get a job through Jane’s rich husband. Do you think I’d be humbling myself like this for fun?”
As she spoke, Jane approached, holding her baby.
“Thank you all for coming to my son’s baby shower,” she announced, smiling.
She then handed the baby over to me, saying, “Come on, godmother, hold the baby. I’m sure you’ve brought a generous gift for him.”
Her husband, John, followed her closely, pretending to scold Jane.
“She’s still working on her PhD. It’s not easy to save up. Don’t make her spend more than she can afford.”
“That’s right, I’ve been barely scraping by lately,” I jumped in, handing Jane the toy I had prepared.
The smile vanished from her face as she questioned me, “Weren’t you going to give my son a solid gold rattle?”
I sneered, “You’re so rich, and you still expect me to give your son a gold rattle? Doesn’t seem right.”