Chapter 2 - The Confrontation at the Table
I didn't wait another second. I grabbed a clean kitchen towel, soaked it in cool water, and gently pressed it against Jamie’s forehead.
“Evelyn, pack Jamie’s bag,” I commanded, my voice dropping an octave into a cold, lethal register. “Get his diaper bag, your purse, and your clothes. We are going to the urgent care clinic right now.”
“Colin, your mother—”
“Do what I said, Evelyn,” I snapped gently, looking her straight in the eyes. “Now.”
She nodded frantically, wiping her eyes, and ran toward the hallway to gather our son’s things.
I picked up my burning, feverish son, wrapped him in a soft blanket, and walked straight out the sliding glass doors onto the sunlit patio.
The music was still playing. My cousin Marcus was in the middle of telling a joke, holding a bottle of my reserve bourbon, when he noticed me walking out with Jamie in my arms.
“Hey! Look who made it!” Marcus hollered, raising his glass. “The money man is home! Come on over, Colin! Your mom threw one hell of a shindig!”
Judith turned around, her smile faltering for a fraction of a second when she saw the expression on my face. But she recovered instantly, putting on her grand, maternal matriarch persona, walking toward me with her arms open.
“Colin! Oh, darling, you’re early!” Judith beamed, reaching out to hug me. “Look around! I organized a family reunion for Jamie’s birthday! I knew you were too busy working, so I took care of everything—”
“Touch him,” I said softly, stepping back from her outstretched hands.
Judith blinked, her fake smile twitching. “What?”
“Touch his forehead, Mom,” I said, holding Jamie closer so she could see his flushed, sweaty face. “Touch your grandson.”
Judith glanced down at Jamie, dismissively waving her hand. “Oh, he’s just a little warm. Teething babies get flushed all the time, Colin. Don't be dramatic. I gave him a little drop of infant Tylenol earlier—”
“He has a 103-degree fever,” I cut her off, my voice slicing through the background music like a whip. “He is lying in a dark laundry room next to a spinning dryer while twenty people eat catering off my patio tables.”
The backyard grew noticeably quiet. Uncle Brenda stopped chewing. Marcus lowered his bourbon glass. The heavy bass of the Bluetooth speaker suddenly seemed absurdly loud, until I stepped over to the table and ripped the power cable straight out of the wall.
Silence washed over the lawn.
“Colin!” Judith hissed, her cheeks flushing red with anger as her sweet demeanor began to crack. “How dare you embarrass me in front of your family! I have worked myself to the bone running this house for a year while you were off playing inspector!”
“Running this house?” I repeated, laughing harshly—a sound completely devoid of humor. “I send you $3,500 every month, Mom. Three thousand five hundred dollars. Where is the money?”
Judith straightened her posture, pulling her designer dress tight. “It goes to expenses! Food, utilities, maintaining a high-end estate! Do you have any idea how much it costs to keep this family fed?”
At that moment, Evelyn walked out onto the patio carrying a worn canvas duffel bag. She looked pale, her body shaking, but she stood beside me.
Judith glared at Evelyn with pure venom. “Evelyn, did you run and whine to my son the moment he walked through the door? After everything I’ve done for you? You lazy, ungrateful girl!”
“Shut up, Mom,” I snapped.
Judith’s mouth snapped shut in utter shock. “What did you just say to me?”
“I said shut up,” I repeated, staring into my mother’s eyes. “I gave you money to make sure my wife had help and my son had care. Instead, I find my wife scrubbing dishes like a servant, my son locked in a utility room with a dangerous fever, and my cousin sleeping in my son’s nursery.”
Marcus stood up, taking a aggressive step forward. “Hey, man, don't talk to your mother like that. She invited us here. We’re family.”
“Marcus,” I said, turning to him with an icy glare that stopped him in his tracks. “If you don't take your hands out of your pockets, put that bourbon down, and get off my property in five minutes, I will personally throw you over that fence.”
Marcus looked at my six-foot-two frame, evaluated the genuine rage in my eyes, and slowly set the bottle down on the table.
“Evelyn, get in the truck,” I said softly.
Without a word, Evelyn took Jamie, cradling him tightly, and hurried toward the front driveway.
May you like
Judith took a step toward me, her voice dropping into a desperate, furious whisper. “Colin, if you walk out that driveway right now and ruin this day for our family, don't you ever expect me to help you again! You owe me respect!”
“We’ll talk when I get back from the hospital,” I said, turning my back on her. “And by the time I get back, every single person who doesn't live here better be gone.”
