My Neighbor Refused to Pay My 73-Year-Old Mother for Babysitting, Saying She Was ‘Just Sitting at Home Anyway’ – So I Stepped In

Not to anyone.

A few days later, I came home and found my mom back at the kitchen table with her notebook.

She’d glued a small sticky note to one of the pages with the words “PAID IN FULL” in careful block letters.

I smiled. “You keeping that as a trophy?”

She chuckled. “No.

Just a reminder.”

“Of what?”

“That I’m not as invisible as people think.”

We didn’t talk about Claire after that.

Occasionally, I’d see her across the street, dragging the trash bins or getting Lily into the car. She avoided eye contact. I didn’t blame her.

She looked like someone who’d finally realized the world saw through her pretty words and tight smile.

Erin told me that Riley’s video had caught the attention of a parenting blog. Then, a morning show called and asked if my mom wanted to appear live. She declined.

She said she wasn’t interested in 15 minutes of fame.

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