“You never visit. You never bring my grandchildren to see me. I didn’t raise you to be so uncaring.”
Josh had put the phone on speaker, but muted their end, thankfully. Although it might have been fun to hear their mother’s reaction to Stephen’s snorted. “She didn’t raise us at all.”
Josh made a shushing gesture and unmuted to respond. “I live 3 hours away and last time I brought the kids over, you screamed at both of them for being ‘nasty, ungrateful, gold-digging brats’ when they didn’t thank you effusively enough for the out-of-date chocolate bar you gave them. They don’t want to see you.”
The voice on the other end got shriller. “It’s not up to them. You need to teach them proper discipline. Children are supposed to be obedient. You will bring them to see me tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’s Monday. I’m at work, the kids are at school.”
“I’m more important.”
This time it was Genevieve who snorted, quietly enough that it didn’t register over their mother’s tirade.
It continued. “You will bring them here, and they will be properly behaved, and show proper respect to their granny or I’ll cut you from the will.”
As if Josh cared. As if any of them cared. It was her favourite threat and lost its teeth years ago.
She wound up with, “Gennie and Stevie are better children to me than you’ll ever be.”
Stephen spoke up. “Funny, that’s not what you said to me last night, Ma.”
Genevieve added. “Or me last weekend. Face it, Mum, we’re all horrible, ungrateful disappointments and you’ll just have to bequeath your mortgage to the cat.”
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