“I’m not saying we can’t be friends,” he continued after a while. “I just want you to know how I feel.”
“Okay,” Samira said after another long pause.
“Okay?”
“Okay I’ll come for your mom’s birthday. But only if I can help.”
“I’ll never refuse a helping hand,” Andy said with a smile.
Andy focused his attention on the food the server brought out. To go along with the home style theme, the food wasserved family style. The server placed the large platter filled with shrimp, crab legs, potatoes, small ears of corn, and fresh sausage on the table.
Samira appeared to relax as she, too, turned her attention to the food. “That looks amazing.”
“Anything you don’t want?” Andy asked as he picked up the serving spoon.
“Not a chance. Maybe if you’re nice, I’ll share with you.”
“I’m always nice,” Andy said while raising his eyebrows flirtatiously.
He served both their plates, and they ate in silence. It had never been in his plans to invite Samira over for his mother’s birthday. He knew his mother was fond of Samira, but he wasn’t sure how she would feel about Samira being at her small birthday celebration, so it may have been a slight exaggeration when he said his mom would love to see her there. But he wanted her there with him no matter what.
***
Samira wasn’t sure what to expect when she walked into her aunt’s house. She had been putting the conversation off, but if she planned to spend the evening in the same room as her aunt the conversation needed to happen sooner than later. Mary was sitting in her recliner sipping a cup of coffee when she walked in. It felt strange walking right in considering how things had gone the last time she was there.
“Samira!” she exclaimed, standing from her chair. “I can’t believe you’re here. Sit. Let me get you a cup of coffee.”
She intercepted her aunt and reached for her own coffee mug before her aunt could. “Relax, Aunt Mary. I can get my own coffee. How are you?”
Wrapping her bathrobe around herself, Mary returned to her chair and watched as Samira fixed herself a cup of coffee. She took her time, intentionally stalling while she tried to think of what to say. There was no way to do it, other than to just do it.
“Aunt Mary?”
She wrapped her hands around her mug. “Yes, dear? What is it?”
“I know you want me to stay here, but I can’t just drop everything. I have a career.”
Mary sat back in her chair as if waiting for Samira to continue. Her face was impassive, but it was obvious she wasn’t receptive to what was being said. It was hard for Samira to keep going, knowing she was disappointing her aunt. She really hated confrontation in her personal life. She couldn’t just handle personal conflicts the way she could at work. She couldn’t just throw around coupons and room upgrades to make things better.
“Your job should understand. And if they don’t, that’s their problem.”
Her filter was slowly slipping as self-preservation began to take over. After all those years, she couldn’t imagine throwing away her hard work. And how dare her aunt demand she do so?
“I love you, but this isn’t the way to get me to stay. I had my job and my boss when I had no one else. When I didn’t even have you.”
Mary stood and started pacing the kitchen. “Well, you have me now. Your uncle helped come up with the terms of the will. He would be so disappointed if you didn’t return home.”
As was surely by design, that statement hit her like a slap in the face. “I’m not saying I won’t stay here for a little while. I’ll spend time in the house, if that’s what you want. I just can’t quit my job. What if I spend half my time here? Will that work?”
Mary looked at her, her eyes searching as if willing herself to see beyond what Samira was saying. “You’d have to talk to the lawyer about that. I can’t go making legal changes.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it!” Anger flooded Samira’s veins faster than she could contain it. “Aren’t you tired of hiding behind someone else? You didn’t have the courage to tell me about the terms of the will, and now you’re pretending this entire thing isn’t up to you. Talk to me!”
Mary spun around and pinned Samira with a glare. She had never cursed in front of her aunt, let alone at her. The pang of guilt was buried under the anger that was still flowing through her. She stood and walked to the opposite end of the kitchen and matched her aunt’s stare.
“I can’t believe you used that language and that tone of voice with me. It’s not bullshit. The will is a legal document. I don’t have the power to change it. So, are you going to stay, or are you going to ignore your dear uncle’s wishes?”
Samira’s heart pounded. Weaponizing guilt would never be a tactic that worked on her. She felt emotions strongly, and guilt was usually at the top of the list, but only when it came naturally. As soon as someone tried to use it against her, it had the opposite effect.
