At home, I had just started heating soup when Daniel called.
“Mom… what happened?” His voice was tight.
“I was humiliated,” I said simply.
“She said it was a joke. That you overreacted.”
“A joke?” I repeated. “Did she tell you she handed me a mop and told me to earn my meal because I clean for a living?”
Silence.
“Did she tell you she planned it in front of everyone?”
More silence.
Then he said, “Mom… are you sure that’s what she meant?”
That hurt more than anything else.
“I know the difference between humor and disrespect,” I said quietly.
The next morning, someone knocked on my door—hard.
It was Lauren.
No soft voice this time. No smile.
“You embarrassed me,” she said, stepping inside uninvited.
“I embarrassed you?” I almost laughed.
“You brought up that condo just to take it back. That was cruel.”
“Cruel?” I repeated.
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