My Mom “Forgot” To Save Dessert For My Son At The Christmas Party And Said, “We Didn’t Set Any Aside.”

There was a long pause and then he said something I did not expect. Okay, tell me what you want me to do.

And that was the moment this stopped being about dessert and started being about their precious legacy.

When I blocked my mom’s number, I honestly thought I might get a day or two of peace before the next wave of drama. But I forgot one important thing about my parents.

They love an audience.

A few hours after I talked to Chris, I was scrolling through Facebook while Noah played video games in the living room.

And there it was, a brand new post from my mom at the top of my feed. A picture of my parents’ living room, the Christmas tree glowing, the table full of food, my sister standing there with her kids in their matching pajamas, everyone smiling like an advertisement for the perfect suburban holiday.

The caption said, “Feeling so blessed for family this year. Nothing matters more.”

My stomach turned.

I zoomed in on the photo out of habit.

Looking for myself, looking for Noah, even though I already knew we were not there.

The angle made it obvious that the picture had been taken after we left, like they had literally framed us out of their narrative. I stared at the words so blessed for family and heard her voice from the night before.

Only family gets to eat.

My notifications pinged again. This time a text from my sister.

Why did you bail last night?

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