I Had To Pay The Balance
My mother-in-law, Mabel Grath, always liked me to arrange family trips.
But she only transferred a small fraction of the cost. She called it a “deposit.”
“I’m just following what you young people do with deposits. It’s not like I’m going to skip out on the rest.”
After the trip, however, she never mentioned the rest of the payment again.
I did not really mind. I quietly paid out of my own pocket for five-star hotels and luxury meals every time.
Then one day, my husband’s sister, Marlene Grath, dropped a sarcastic comment in the family group chat.
“Noelle Frost loves playing travel agent with my mom’s retirement money.
“For all we know, she’s signing us up for cut-rate shopping tours and skimming the kickbacks.”
Mabel replied with a smirking emoji. It seemed she was silently agreeing with her daughter.
My heart sank.
Over the years, I had taken them on trips all over the country and abroad. I had covered at least 100,000 dollars out of my own pocket.
Yet, I still ended up looking like the one taking advantage of them.
Mabel transferred four hundred dollars to me again and asked me to arrange a seven-day tour to Erope.
So, I went ahead and booked them a one-day farm stay just outside the city.