Part 1The Cost of Charity: My Mother's Betrayal

Three months after giving birth, I suffered a severe bone fracture. My husband, heartbroken to see me in pain, spent a fortune to hire the most highly-rated, impossible-to-book maternity nurse in the city. He even paid a five-thousand-dollar deposit upfront.

My mother was raving about the nurse’s resume and was just about to call her to confirm she was starting tomorrow.

I reached out and pressed the end-call button on her phone.

"Don't bother," I said. "Aunt Sarah is going to be here any minute to steal her."

For as long as I can remember, my mother has played the role of the neighborhood "Mother Teresa." Whenever Aunt Sarah's family cried poverty or played the victim, my family’s best resources were immediately handed over to them.

My mom prided herself on being "helpful and generous," completely oblivious to the fact that Aunt Sarah secretly laughed at her behind her back, calling her a "gullible idiot."

But my mom always thought I was just being cynical. She insisted Aunt Sarah wasn't like that and picked up her phone to redial.

Right at that moment, the front door swung open. Aunt Sarah walked in, grabbed my mother’s hand, and immediately started wiping away fake tears. She sobbed about how her daughter-in-law wasn't producing enough breastmilk and begged her sister-in-law to let them have the maternity nurse.

My mom stood there, phone in hand, her face a mask of utter embarrassment.

I crossed my arms and let out a cold laugh.

"Well, Mom? Are you going to say yes this time, or no?"

* * *

Aunt Sarah kept wiping her non-existent tears while shooting sideways glances at my mother’s face.

"Liz, you know my new grandson was born premature. He’s so frail, and my daughter-in-law’s milk hasn't come in. If we don't have a professional looking after him, I'm terrified the baby might..."

She trailed off, swallowing the word "die," expertly tossing the panic straight into my mother's lap.

My mother, predictably, took the bait.

She glanced at my leg, suspended high in a heavy cast, and then at my newborn daughter sleeping soundly in the bassinet next to me.

My mom gritted her teeth, turned to me, and said:

"Harper, you heard her. Your aunt is talking about a life-or-death situation."

"Your leg is already broken anyway. You just need to rest. If that baby doesn't make it, it would be a sin."

I laughed, a sharp, angry sound.

I pointed to my casted leg, then to the bassinet.

"Mom, I am your biological daughter. I also just gave birth. My leg is broken, and I literally cannot take care of myself."

"Mark paid a five-thousand-dollar deposit specifically for this nurse because she has physical rehabilitation certification to help me heal while taking care of the baby."

"And you want me to just give her away? What am I supposed to do? What is your granddaughter supposed to do?"

My mother frowned, looking at me as if I were being completely unreasonable.

"Why are you being so selfish?"

"You guys have money. Worst case, you just hire someone else. Your aunt’s family is struggling; they can't afford this."

"Saving a life is the greatest good deed you can do. Don't you understand that?"

Seeing my mother cave, Aunt Sarah immediately seized the opportunity.

"Exactly, Harper. Auntie knows you’re successful, not dirt poor like us."

"As for the nurse’s salary... we can chip in a few hundred bucks as a token of appreciation, and you can cover the rest..."

Wow. Not only did she want to steal the nurse, but she also expected me to subsidize her salary.

She expected me to pay out of my own pocket for someone to go serve her grandson?

And my mother was actually standing there nodding. "A few hundred is a nice gesture. Harper doesn't care about the money."

The anger in my chest ignited into a blazing inferno.

This wasn't a mother. This was an unpaid employee of Aunt Sarah's family.

I grabbed the ceramic mug off my nightstand and hurled it violently at the floor.

CRASH!

Hot tea splattered everywhere, and jagged shards of ceramic exploded right at Aunt Sarah’s feet.

Aunt Sarah shrieked, jumping backward in terror. "Oh my god! Are you trying to kill someone?!"

My mom jumped too, her face instantly darkening. "Harper Evans! What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you have no manners?!"

"You want to talk about manners? Fine."

"This nurse is under an exclusive contract. The cancellation fee is ten thousand dollars."

"Whoever wants to take her can slap ten thousand dollars down on this table right now."

"Also, this nurse was arranged through a corporate wellness program at Mark's company. Transferring her privately is considered fraud. Let's call the cops right now and see what the judge has to say."

The moment Aunt Sarah heard "ten thousand dollars" and "call the cops," all the color drained from her face.

People like her are terrified of spending money, and even more terrified of going to jail.

Her eyes darted around shiftily before she resorted to her usual tactic of throwing a tantrum. "Oh, listen to this, Liz! Look at your Harper. The richer she gets, the cheaper she gets. Who is she trying to scare..."

"If you won't lend her to us, just say so! Don't act like a psycho! Get a little money and suddenly you're too good for your poor relatives!"

Aunt Sarah stomped toward the door, cursing loudly. Right before she left, she turned and spat venomously on the floor.

I thought my mom might check on me, ask if I was okay, or if the anger had hurt my injury.

Instead, she stood there with a face like thunder, pointing her finger at my nose, and started lecturing me.

"You chased your aunt away over something so petty! How am I supposed to face the rest of the family now?"

"Everyone praises me for being a saint, and here you are, completely humiliating me!"