PART 10 – A Simple Question From Shawna Made Me Realize That My Son Had Never Explained Why He Charged His Own Mother

The following Tuesday, I went to the bakery to meet Gaylene.

I hadn't missed our coffee meetings since we had started them.

Even with Seth and his family staying at my house, I wanted to keep that little part of my routine.

Gaylene was already sitting at our usual table.

She had ordered coffee.

There was a small plate between us.

"How's the landlord?"

I laughed.

"Still occupying the property."

She shook her head.

"Some things never change."

I told her about the conversation with Shawna.

Gaylene listened carefully.

Then she asked whether Seth had said anything more about the rent.

I told her he had admitted he hadn't considered how I felt.

Gaylene nodded.

"That's something, I suppose."

I agreed.

It wasn't an apology.

But it was more than I had received before.

We talked about ordinary things for a while.

Then Gaylene asked whether Shawna had ever known about the four payments.

I wasn't sure.

I had never asked.

Gaylene explained that she had never told her daughter about the rent.

She had kept our conversation private because she didn't want to interfere in my relationship with Seth.

I understood.

But now I wondered whether Shawna had even known what her husband had done.

When I returned home, Shawna was in the kitchen.

She was putting groceries away.

I offered to help.

She handed me a bag of vegetables.

We worked quietly for a few minutes.

Then she asked something that surprised me.

"Carla, when you stayed with us, did Seth actually give you a receipt every month?"

I stopped putting the vegetables away.

"Yes."

She looked at me.

"Every month?"

I nodded.

"Four times."

She leaned against the counter.

"I didn't know he was doing that."

I studied her face.

She appeared genuinely surprised.

I didn't know whether she had forgotten or whether she truly hadn't noticed.

I decided not to accuse her of anything.

"He brought me the little paper himself," I said.

She looked toward the living room.

"That insurance pad?"

I nodded.

She sighed.

"I remember seeing those."

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she asked how much I had paid altogether.

I told her.

Eighteen hundred dollars.

She looked down at the grocery bag.

"That's a lot of money."

"It was what he asked for."

She seemed troubled.

I could see her thinking.

Then she asked why I hadn't said anything sooner.

I gave her an honest answer.

"Because I didn't want to create trouble between you and Seth."

She looked at me.

"And because I didn't want him to think I was difficult."

That seemed to affect her.

She put the vegetables away.

Then she came around the counter and sat beside me.

"I'm sorry, Carla."

I thanked her.

She told me that if she had known, she would have asked questions.

I believed she meant it.

But I also knew that the situation had already happened.

An apology couldn't change those four months.

It couldn't erase the evenings I had spent alone in the guest bedroom.

Still, I appreciated hearing it.

That evening, Shawna spoke to Seth.

I didn't hear every word.

They were in the living room.

Their voices were low.

But I heard my name.

Then I heard Seth say something about the arrangement having been fair.

Shawna answered that she didn't think it had been.

I stayed in the kitchen.

I didn't want to listen to a private conversation.

A few minutes later, Seth came in.

He looked annoyed.

"Mom, did you talk to Shawna about the rent?"

I turned off the faucet.

"She asked me."

He shook his head.

"Now this is becoming a family issue."

I looked at him.

"It became a family issue when you charged your mother to stay in your house."

He looked away.

I dried my hands.

I wasn't going to argue.

He stood there for another moment.

Then he returned to the living room.

I went back to my sewing.

The little machine made its familiar sound.

And I thought about how many times I had repaired clothes for that family without asking for a single dollar.

I wasn't sorry I had done those things.

But I was finished pretending that generosity meant I had no right to expect consideration.

Click here to continue reading: PART 11: I Found Myself Counting the Days Until Their New House Was Ready, and I Finally Understood Why Peace Had Become So Important