“Talia? Is this your expensive shampoo?”
“Just use whatever’s open, please, Becca.”
“Well, I don’t want the cheap one,” she called back. “It dries my hair out.”
Thomas looked over.
“Want me to say something?”
“Not tonight, honey,” I said. “She’ll make it ugly.”
The next morning was worse. I was in the kitchen in an old robe, Spencer tucked against my chest, stirring oatmeal with one hand when Matthew wandered in and looked into the pot.
“That’s breakfast?”
I looked at him. “Yes, that’s breakfast.”
He opened the fridge. “Don’t you have any eggs?
And bacon? And fresh avocado?”
“We have eggs, Matthew.”
“Then why are we eating oatmeal?”
“Because it takes three minutes, and I got forty-two minutes of sleep between midnight and four.”
He nodded, and even he looked embarrassed. “Right.”
Becca walked in, looked at me, and said, “You know what would help you?
A little routine. If you showered and got dressed every morning, you’d probably feel more like yourself.”
I stared at her. Becca’s eyebrows lifted.
“What?”
Thomas muttered, “Becca, stop, please.”
She ignored him. “I’m just saying, motherhood isn’t a free pass to let yourself go.”
I looked down at Spencer, who had milk on his chin. “I had surgery just days ago, Becca.”
“And I had three natural births,” she replied.
“Women bounce back differently, sure. But it helps if you don’t make yourself a victim.”
That line stayed with me all day. Not because it was wise, but because it was so casually cruel.
By afternoon, she was calling from the tub. “Talia? Do you have that eucalyptus bath stuff?
And can you chill me a Chardonnay?”
I was making plain pasta because Matthew had already announced, “And no spicy food this time.”
Thomas reached for the wine bottle. “I’ll do it.”
“No,” I said. “I’ve got it.”
He lowered his voice.
“You need to sit.”
“I will. I’ll rest soon.”
The next day was worse. Becca handed me Jessie’s diaper bag while I was bouncing Spencer and said, “We’re exhausted, sweetie.
Can you make the kids something organic? Liam’s tummy can’t handle dyes.”
Matthew looked up from his phone, saw my face, and then said, “And nothing fried.”
I stared at both of them. Becca smiled.
“You’re already in mom mode, Tals. And you’re better at this stuff than me. You were better with my kids from the time they were babies.”
I should have handed the bag back.
Instead, I took it. I was in the nursery folding onesies when my phone buzzed with a bank alert. “Steakhouse Limiere: $2,000.00”
I opened my banking app.
My hands started shaking so badly that I knocked over the lamp. Thomas came into the doorway. “Tal?
You okay, hon?”
I turned the phone toward him. My husband’s face changed. “Tals, that’s a lot of money.”
“I know, Thomas.
I didn’t do it.”
From the hallway, Becca called out, “Talia? Did the payment go through?”
I walked out before Thomas could stop me. Becca was leaning over my island, flipping through one of my cookbooks.
“I ordered Easter dinner from that steakhouse downtown. The elite one that everyone’s talking about. I’m so excited.”
“You used my credit card?” I asked.
She looked up like I was upset over candles. “You weren’t answering my texts,” she pouted. “I texted you about dinner plans.”
“That money was for my baby’s new crib and stroller, Becca.”
She shrugged.
“You can buy a crib next month. He has one now, doesn’t he? We needed something decent, Talia.
We needed to celebrate with delicious food.”
Thomas stepped in beside me. “Becca, cancel it.”
“Oh, relax, brother,” she said. “This is important.
It’s family.”
I looked at Matthew. “Did you know she used my card?”
His forehead creased. “You said your brother offered.”
“I said he wouldn’t mind,” Becca snapped.
Then she rolled her eyes at me. “Why are you acting like I robbed a bank?”
Spencer fussed from the bassinet. I was standing there in Thomas’s sweatshirt, my stomach aching, while she talked about ‘decent’ food bought with my baby’s money.
Something in me went very still. “You used money I saved for my son,” I said. Becca gave a short laugh.
“Don’t be dramatic.”
I turned to Thomas. “Take Spencer.”
I went back into the nursery and closed the door. The bank representative was kind and efficient.
She froze the card immediately, opened a fraud case, and asked whether anyone with access to my saved payment information might have made other purchases. I checked the recent charges. There it was: an airline charge from two hours earlier, including an upgrade fee for first-class seats.
I stared at it and laughed, tired and disbelieving. “Ma’am?” the bank rep called gently. “Yes,” I said.
“Add the other purchases from today too. In fact, everything from the last forty-eight hours.”
Then I called the steakhouse and confirmed the order. Then the airline.
Then I screenshotted everything. By the time I came out, I felt hollowed out but clear. Becca was slicing strawberries from my fridge.
“All better?” she asked. I smiled at her. “Of course,” I said softly.
“Anything for family.”
Easter dinner arrived in a ridiculous parade of waste. There was steak that no one finished and fancy vegetables that Matthew pushed around like they had offended him. There were two bottles of expensive wine, three desserts, and grease-stained bags all over my counters.
After dinner, I stood at the sink rinsing plates while my son cried in his crib. Becca leaned back in her chair, surveyed the disaster, and then looked at me. “Guests don’t do dishes, honey,” she said lightly.
“It’s bad luck.”
Thomas went still across the room. I dried my hands and turned. “You’re right,” I said.
“Thomas will take over.”
Becca smiled, pleased with herself. That was the moment she decided she’d won. Two days later, I drove them to the airport.
Thomas wanted to come with me, but Spencer had been up most of the night with gas, crying in short, angry bursts that left all of us wrecked by morning. “Are you sure, Tals?” Thomas asked at the front door, Spencer against his shoulder. “I don’t think you should be driving yet.”
“I’m sure,” I said, picking up my keys.
“You stay with our baby. I need to run to the pharmacy after too.”
He studied my face. “Talia.”
That made him snort softly.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
I almost smiled. ‘Then it’s a good thing I’m not asking you to believe me. Just trust me.’
He hesitated, then nodded.
“Call me if she starts anything.”
I looked back at him. “Babe, she already did.”
The drive to the airport was quiet. Becca sat in the passenger seat, checking her reflection in her phone camera.
Matthew was in the back with Jessie while Liam and Jonah argued over a tablet. As I pulled up to departures, Becca sighed and said, “Well. Despite your little mood, this turned out to be a lovely Easter.”
Matthew didn’t even look up.
“Becca,” he warned. “What?” She turned to me with the same bright, smug smile she’d worn all weekend. “We were great guests, weren’t we?”
I got out, opened the trunk, and handed her Jessie’s pink backpack.
“Of course,” I said. “And your surprise is already waiting for you.”
Her forehead creased. “What surprise?”
They made it halfway to the airline desk before the first crack showed.
I followed behind and watched it unfold. I watched Becca’s body go stiff as the agent said something. A second employee walked over and handed Matthew a slim envelope.
He frowned. “What’s this?”
Becca reached for it. “Nothing.
Give it here.”
He pulled it back and opened it anyway. His expression changed immediately. He stared at his wife.
“Did you use Talia’s card for the flight too?”
Liam tugged his sleeve. “Dad? Is Aunt Talia coming with us?
She’s there.”
Becca turned so fast she nearly dropped her bag. “Talia?”
I walked toward them, one step at a time. “What did you do?” she asked.
“I protected my son’s money,” I said. The airline agent cleared her throat. “Ma’am, the payment method used for these upgrades was reported as unauthorized.
The first-class seats have been voided, and the booking is under review. If you still wish to travel today, you’ll need to purchase new seats with a valid card.”
Matthew stared at his wife like he didn’t know her. “You used her card while she was home bleeding from surgery?”
Becca’s face went hot.
“I said I was going to pay it back.”
I held her gaze. “You kept calling yourself a guest. Guests don’t steal.”
Jessie started crying.
Jonah grabbed the suitcase handle. Liam just stood there, blinking like the floor had shifted under him. Becca fumbled for her phone with shaking fingers.
“Mom,” she whispered when Deborah answered. “I need money. Right now.”
I turned and walked away.
My phone rang as I turned into my driveway. Deborah, of course.
I answered, and Deborah went straight to screaming. I let her finish.
“She used my card,” I said. “For a stupidly fancy dinner that they wasted and for first-class tickets home, while I’m trying to recover from my C-section and look after your grandson.”
Silence.
