Mom Was Bent on Spoiling Her Brother, So I Exposed My Uncle

At midnight, I got a call from the management office of my mother's apartment complex.

Ms. Summers, the cardboard and plastic bottles your mother's been collecting have completely blocked the stairwell, and the neighbors are all up in arms about it.

And, well, she's been dumping filthy waste water everywhere too. We're really out of options here, so I'm afraid we have to ask you to come over.

By the time I rushed over to my mother's place, I found her standing with her hands on her hips, screaming back and forth with a dozen or so neighbors.

"The stairwell is common property! Why shouldn't I be able to use it?!"

"Let me tell you, the cardboard I've collected these past few days is worth at least a hundred bucks. If anybody dares touch my stuff, I'll camp out in their home and never leave!"

Days of overtime and too little sleep had my emotions right at the breaking point, and the stench of filth in the air made me want to gag.

I lost control and screamed at my mother.

"Didn't I just clear out all this garbage of yours last week? How is there this much piled up again?!"

"I give you five thousand a monthisn't that enough? What is it you actually want?"

At my shouting, my mother's eyes turned red in an instant, and her voice shook as she spoke.

"You... I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you, and now you're ganging up on me with outsiders too?"

"Your uncle was right. Daughters can't be counted on. He's the only real family I have."

With a heavy bang, the door slammed shut in my face.

Ha. That uncle who only cares about money?

I dialed Uncle Gerald's number right away.

"Uncle Gerald, I need you to come over here. Mom's causing trouble again."

Section 1

After I hung up, I turned around and apologized to the neighbors.

They were all old neighbors who'd lived in this complex their whole lives, and a lot of them had watched me grow up.

Seeing me apologize, they were still unhappy, but at least they didn't say anything more cutting.

"Jessie, honey, you really do need to talk some sense into your mother. All this cardboard and plastic piled up in the stairwellnever mind the stink and how hard it makes it to get in and out, it's a real safety hazard too."

"That's right. This is an old building. If there's ever a fire or something, all that cardboard of your mom's is nothing but tinder."

"We don't want to give her a hard time, but this really isn't a small matter. You need to work on your mother."

I nodded again and again, said every soothing thing I could, and finally saw the neighbors off.

Once they'd gone, I worked with the management staff, making trip after trip up and down before we finally got all the junk my mother had piled up cleared away.

When it was all finally done, the property manager was breathing hard and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Miss Summers, thank you for cooperating with us."

"But the root of the problem is still your mother. Please have a real talk with her."

I nodded and went back to my mother's door.

From the moment she'd slammed it, her door hadn't opened again.

I took a deep breath and knocked.

The second I knocked, my mother hurled something against the door.

After a huge bang, her furious voice reached my ears.

"Get out of here! You ungrateful traitor, all you do is stand there and watch your own mother get bullied!"

I knew she was in the heat of her temper and wouldn't take in a word I said, so I switched tactics.

"Uncle Gerald will be here any minute. Let me in first."

Sure enough, the instant I mentioned him, my mother opened the door.

But she still didn't say a single word to me. Once the door was open, she went back and sat down on the sofa with a dark look on her face.

I ignored her expression and went straight to the question I most wanted answered.

"Ever since I switched to this job, I've given you five thousand every single month."

"Do you have any idea how many young people only make five thousand a month? Is that really not enough for you?"

Under my questioning, my mother's grim expression wavered a little, but she still steeled herself to come up with excuses.

"Last month your cousin's daughter was starting preschool. Do you know how expensive tuition is these days?"

"She's my grandniece too. Was I supposed to just stand by and watch the child have nowhere to go to school?"

To keep from making things worse, I forced down my anger and kept pressing.

"Then what about the money from the months before that? Don't tell me you're living paycheck to paycheck."

This time, she clearly had far less to stand on.

"The month before last, your aunt took a fall and had to be hospitalizedthat cost money."

"And the month before that, your uncle said he had to catch up on his Social Security payments, so I lent it to him..."

My mother's voice grew softer and softer as she went on, until at the end I couldn't even make out what she was saying.

Then, a moment later, her voice suddenly rose, as if she'd found her nerve again.

"What right do you have to interrogate me? The money you give me is mine, isn't it? I'll spend it however I want."

"Besides, what does an old woman like me need all that money for? I've got enough to get by. I won't starve!"

This time I couldn't be bothered to argue with her. I marched straight into the kitchen and pulled open her refrigerator door.

I'd braced myself for something bad, but the moment the door swung open, the sight in front of me still gave me a jolt.

The refrigerator was crammed with vegetables whose leaves had already yellowed.

Many of the ones at the bottom had already rotted, some even oozing sour, foul-smelling liquid.

My mother came rushing into the kitchen after me.

Seeing this, even though I hadn't said a word, she'd already stiffened her neck and started defending herself.

"What are you looking at? I pick these up at the wholesale market first thing every morning. What's wrong with saving money?"

"Besides, aren't I doing perfectly fine here? Eating this stuff never made me sick!"

My hand was trembling a little as I pointed at the fridge.

"I give you five thousand dollars a month just so you can eat this kind of thing?"

"Is this what you meant when you said you had enough money?"

My mother was about to say something more, but right then came a knock at the door.

It had to be Uncle Gerald.

At the sound of the knock, my mother seemed to find her anchor, and she trotted over to open the door.

The next second, I heard her tattling.

"Gerald, you're finally here. I've been utterly humiliated today. Jessica actually took an outsider's side instead of her own mother's."

"You and your wife were right. A daughter is an ingrate who'll never care for me."

I walked out of the kitchen and met the eyes of my uncle, sitting on the couch.

The instant our eyes met, Uncle Gerald was already gearing up to lecture me.

My mother's face filled with smugness, and she turned to go make him some tea.

"Jessica, it's not that I'm criticizing you as your uncle, but that's your own mother. How can you side with an outsider?"

"Don't take it to heart when your uncle says this. I know you've got grievances against our family, but think about it. You're a daughter, and sooner or later you'll get married. Once you marry into another family, you'll belong to them."

"Who will your mother rely on then? She'll still have to rely on me, her own brother."

I'd asked my uncle to come over today because I wanted to settle this matter for good.

And if I was going to settle it, I'd start with the money.

I sat down on the other side of the coffee table, took a sheet of paper out of my bag, and pushed it in front of him.

"Since I'll be an outsider in the future, then it's time we settled this account properly. My mom is your sister, she can do whatever she wants, but my money can't be put off any longer, can it?"

"Five years ago, after working four years and scrimping and saving, I'd put aside three hundred thousand for a down payment on a place of my own. Then you borrowed that money, saying Kevin needed it to get married and buy a house."

"It's been five years now. Forget the interest, but your family should pay back the principal by now, shouldn't they?"

My uncle froze, and stood up before he could even drink the tea my mother had just poured.

"All right, Susan, I just came to check that you were okay. Since you're fine, I'll head back now, it's so late."

"You two are mother and daughter, so talk it out nicely."

With that, my uncle didn't wait for either of us to answer and walked straight out of my mother's place.

My mother's face went from pale to flushed and back.

Stupid as she was, even she could tell my uncle had no intention of paying the money back.

But instinctively she still wanted to protect her own brother.

"Why are you pushing so hard? That's your uncle, he's my brother, we're all family."

"Once they've got money, don't you think they'll pay you back? They're not strangers."

I'd long known what kind of person my mother was, but hearing her say that, I still couldn't hold back my disappointment in her.

"They're not outsiders, so does that make me the outsider?"

My mother choked, her lips working for a long moment, but in the end she said nothing more.

I didn't want to say anything more either, so I stood up to leave.

"Starting next month, I'm only giving you one thousand dollars a month."

"As for food, I'll bring it over to you every day after work."

From that day on, I stopped by the supermarket every day after work to buy fresh vegetables, meat, and eggs for my mother.

Mom wasn't happy about it, but at least she didn't say anything more.

More than two weeks went by. Today, after work, I brought the vegetables and meat over to Mom's place as usual, but the sight that met me when I opened the door left me stunned.

Mom was lying unconscious on the living room floor, and no matter how I called out to her, she didn't respond.

I called 911 and got her to the hospital, where she went through a whole series of tests.

The doctor looked over the results.

"Nothing serious. It's just anemia from long-term malnutrition."

"She probably fainted today because of the anemia and low blood sugar. Make sure she eats on time from now on."

"Once people get older, they need to eat more nutritious food so their bodies stay strong."

I was taken aback.

For the past two weeks or so, I'd been buying the freshest vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy every single day. I'd even bought shrimp and cod, high-quality protein, several times.

How could she be malnourished?

By the time I got back to the room, Mom was already awake.

Before I could even open my mouth, she started explaining herself, looking guilty.

"Last time, when you told your uncle to pay back the money, he got a little upset. I was afraid he'd hold it against you later, so I gave him the things you'd been bringing over."

"My grandniece is still young, and she's at the age where she needs the extra nutrition too."

"I know you make good money now and you buy nice things, so I just..."

Before she could finish, I was already so angry I was about to call Uncle Gerald, but Mom grabbed my hand.

"Don't call him, don't call him!"

"What am I supposed to do if we really wreck the relationship? Your uncle is the only family I have."

"Your father's relatives don't even acknowledge us. If I die someday, and even your uncle won't look after you, what will you do?"

Watching Mom's eyes turn red in an instant, my heart clenched hard.

I lost my father when I was five. Mom raised me all on her own, and it broke my heart, so I always did everything I could to give her what she wanted.

After my father died, his relatives cut off contact with us almost completely, afraid of being tainted by Mom and me.

Only Uncle Gerald's family still spoke to Mom now and then, so she went all out to be good to them.

After I graduated from college, I worked day and night, hoping to give Mom a good life.

I knew how much she valued family, so I'd always turned a blind eye to her helping out her own kin.

As for the three hundred thousand I'd lent them five years ago, it was only a few months' salary for me now, so I'd never asked them to pay it back.

I'd always thought Mom did it for herself.

It never occurred to me that part of the reason she helped Uncle Gerald's family was me.

I let out a soft sigh and, in the end, made the call anyway.

But that didn't mean I could keep tolerating their family bleeding us dry.

My job now was good, but the hours were brutal, and I had to travel for work from time to time, so there was no way I could take care of Mom myself.

If I hired a caregiver or a nurse at home, I was afraid Mom would just give all the supplements and food away to Uncle Gerald again.

After going back and forth on it, I booked Mom into the best senior care home in all of Riverside State.

Whether it was the environment, the food, or the daily activities for the residents, that place was as close to top-tier as it got.

The price, of course, wasn't cheap either; a month there ran over five figures.

But if it meant Mom could get her health back and stop supporting Uncle Gerald's family, the money was worth it.

Mom fussed about the cost, but I gave her a flat ultimatum.

"Instead of leaving me to someone else, the best thing you can do is take good care of your health and stay with me for a long, long time."

"Don't you know what kind of shape you're in? I happened to catch it today. What if I hadn't?"

"That's enough. I've already paid for a full year up front. Whether you stay or not, the money's nonrefundable."

Maybe this fainting spell finally scared her.

In the end, she moved into the senior care home.

The place wasn't far from my office, and I went to see her there almost every day.

When she was in a good mood, I'd bring her back to stay with me for a couple of days, and life was actually pretty easy.

Until the company had another big project that required me to travel.

I never expected that after being away for just one week, something would happen to Mom again.

After I got the call from the hospital, I rushed back to Rivertown.

The moment I walked into the doctor's office, his tone was less than friendly.

"I already made it very clear to you last time. Your mother's health is fragile, and she's severely malnourished."

"It hasn't even been that long. How has her anemia gotten this much worse?"

His words left me unable to lift my head, drained to the bone in body and mind.

The second I pushed open the door to her room, I couldn't hold my emotions back anymore.

"Why on earth do you have to keep making so much trouble for me? Do you have any idea how important this project is to me?"

"If I'd landed this project, my promotion at the end of the year would've been a sure thing! My salary would've at least doubled!"

"But now, because of your nonsense, I've had to hand over a project I've spent half a year on to someone else!"

"Mom! Can't you give me a little peace of mind?"

Faced with my anger and my questions, my sixty-year-old mother looked like a child who'd done something wrong.

"Your uncle heard from somewhere that I'd gone into the senior care home. After you left on your business trip, he called me."

"You know they're still living in that same two-bedroom, one-living-room place they bought five years ago. Now that your niece has grown up, there's no room for everyone in that house."

"So your uncle wants to move into the senior care home..."

I was so furious I could have coughed up blood.

The whole reason I'd arranged the senior care home for my mother was so Uncle Gerald's family couldn't leech off her.

And now I never imagined his family would fight over the senior care home spot too.

Seeing my face darken, my mother hurried to explain.

"I just gave my spot to your uncle. Don't worry, your aunt didn't go, so I won't have to spend any extra money."

"Your niece is still young and needs your aunt to take her back and forth, so right now your aunt and your niece are sharing a room."

"Your cousin has had it hard. Now that your uncle's gone into the senior care home, Kevin's family can breathe a little easier..."

The more I listened, the more absurd it sounded.

"He's had it hard? He's a grown man in his thirties. How many days has he ever honestly held down a job?"

"He bought that house with money he borrowed from me. You've been subsidizing their family for years, tens of thousands a year at the very least, on top of what your uncle and aunt give them."

"Look at Kevin's social media. It's nothing but drinking and traveling, day in and day out. How can you only see everyone else's hardships and never see your own daughter's?"

My mother kept twisting the blanket in both hands, her eyes going red.

"I just want, I just want... they're still your uncle and your cousin, after all."

"They say a mother's brother is the closest of kin. You're a woman on your own, and this way you'll have someone to lean on when the time comes."

I knew a few words wouldn't be enough to change my mother's mind.

After thinking it over for a while, I gave her an ultimatum.

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

"If they truly care about you, then no matter what happens down the road, I won't stop you from continuing to support their family."

"But if they really are heartless, ungrateful people, then from now on you stop helping them, all right?"

My mother still hesitated.

But after staring at me for a long moment, she finally nodded.

Once I had that yes from my mother, I let out a heavy breath and dialed Uncle Gerald's number right away.

"Uncle, my mom's in the hospital. Leukemia. It's very serious."

"You and Aunt Brenda should come over."