That was the moment I ended the conversation. I stood up and told them both to leave.
When they got to the door, Diego turned around.
“You’re going to regret this,” he said. “When your perfect little life falls apart, don’t bother coming to us for help.”
My mother looked at me with an expression that was almost serene.
“You’ll both learn what it means to abandon family,” she said.
I didn’t take it as seriously as I should have…..
Two days after their visit, Jessica ended things with Diego by text message. The family rumor network, which functions with the speed and reliability of a small-town telegraph service, reported that she’d told him he was emotionally unstable, financially irresponsible, and that she couldn’t build a life with someone who refused to accept responsibility for anything. Diego, of course, immediately decided that this was entirely my fault. In his version, I had sabotaged his relationship by refusing to help him. The idea that Jessica might have developed her own opinions about him after four months of actual proximity didn’t enter the picture.
That week, my mother went silent. No calls, no texts, no spontaneous visits. No Grandma Tuesday. Ellie kept asking about her and I kept telling her that Grandma was busy, which was technically true, though not in the way I meant.
Diego, meanwhile, had been calling nearly every day to update me on how completely I had destroyed his life. I let most of those go to voicemail.
