“Oh, so public humiliation is bad when it happens to you?”
Billy clenched his jaw. He looked like he wanted to yell, but for once, he didn’t have a comeback. I crossed my arms and tilted my head.
“Go on, Billy. Tell me how this is different.”
His jaw tightened. “Shirley, this is—this is just childish.”
I let out a sharp laugh.
“Oh, I see. So your suffering is real, but mine is just me being childish?”
He threw his hands in the air. “You could have just talked to me!”
I stepped forward, fire burning in my chest.
“Talked to you? I did, Billy. I told you I couldn’t go three weeks without a washing machine.
I told you I was exhausted. And you shrugged and told me to do it by hand. Like I was some woman from the 1800s!”
His nostrils flared, but I could see the tiny flicker of guilt creeping in.
He knew I was right. I pointed at his lunchbox. “You thought I’d just take it, huh?
That I’d wash and scrub and break my back while you sat on that couch every night without a care in the world?”
Billy looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. I shook my head. “I’m not a servant, Billy.
And I’m sure as hell not your mother.”
Silence. Then, finally, he muttered, “I get it.”
“Do you?” I asked. He sighed, shoulders slumping.
“Yeah. I do.”
I watched him for a long moment, letting his words settle. Then I turned back to the sink.
“Good,” I said, rinsing off my hands. “Because I meant it, Billy. If you ever put your mother’s vacation over my basic needs again, you’d better learn how to start a fire with those rocks.”
Billy sulked for the rest of the evening.
He barely touched his dinner. He didn’t turn on the TV. He sat on the couch, arms crossed, staring at the wall like it had personally betrayed him.
Every now and then, he sighed loudly, like I was supposed to feel bad for him. I didn’t. For once, he was the one uncomfortable.
He was the one who had to sit with the weight of his own choices. And I was perfectly fine letting him stew in it. The next morning, something strange happened.
Billy’s alarm went off earlier than usual. Instead of hitting snooze five times, he actually got up. He got dressed quickly and left without a word.
I didn’t ask where he was going. I just waited. That evening, when he came home, I heard it before I saw it—the unmistakable sound of a large box being dragged through the doorway.
I turned around and there it was. A brand-new washing machine. Billy didn’t say anything.
He just set it up, plugging in hoses, checking the settings. No complaints. No excuses.
Just quiet determination. When he finished, he finally looked up. His face was sheepish, his voice low.
“I get it now.”
I watched him for a moment, then nodded. “Good.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I, uh… should’ve listened to you sooner.”
“Yeah,” I said, crossing my arms.
“You should have.”
He swallowed, nodded again, then grabbed his phone and walked away without argument or justification. Just acceptance. And honestly?
That was enough. Source: amomama
