Chapter 6 - The Unwelcome Homecoming
When Carol, George, and Janelle finally returned from Cancun, their vacation high had completely worn off. They had been forced to downgrade to a cheap, off-resort motel for the remainder of their trip, paying out of Janelle’s meager savings. They arrived back in the city angry, bitter, and looking for a fight.
One rainy Tuesday evening, loud knocking echoed at our front door.
I looked through the peephole to see Carol and Janelle standing on the porch, drenched and furious. Brian stepped up behind me, gently guiding me back. "I've got this," he said.
He opened the door just wide enough to block the entryway.
"Brian!" Carol hissed, trying to push her way past him. "You have completely ruined our lives! Do you know my phone line is completely disconnected? Janelle’s car payment bounced today! How dare you treat your family like trash over a silly misunderstanding!"
"It wasn't a misunderstanding, Carol. It was malice," Brian said, using her first name for the first time in his life. Carol recoiled as if struck.
Janelle stepped forward, her face red. "Brian, I can't get to work if my car gets repossessed! You promised you'd help me this year!"
"I promised to help you when you were trying to find a job, Janelle. That was three years ago," Brian replied calmly. "You are thirty-two years old. If you want a car, pay for it. If Mom wants her condo, she can downsize. My financial obligation to this family ended the moment you all stood by and enjoyed watching my daughter cry at the airport check-in counter."
"We are your family!" Carol screamed, tears of rage in her eyes. "We raised you!"
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"And I paid that debt back tenfold," Brian said. "But my priority now is the family I chose. The daughter I love. You are no longer welcome in our home."
Before they could scream another word, Brian firmly shut the heavy wooden door and locked it.
