Some people show their true colors when you least expect it. For me, it came through a tearful call from my grandma, who was dumped at the airport because my family thought pushing her wheelchair was too much trouble. They went on vacation without her, thinking they’d never face consequences.
After losing both my parents, my family circle had shrunk to just my dad’s sister, Aunt Liz, her husband Ron, and my two grandmothers—including Grandma Ruth, my last connection to Mom’s side. She may use a wheelchair, but she doesn’t let anyone tell her what she can or can’t do… and that’s exactly what I adore about her. Living three states away with my husband and two kids, plus working two jobs, made regular visits difficult.
So when a bonus check landed in my account, I thought, “Why not give them a memory?”
I booked my remaining family a fully paid vacation to Paradise Cove. Flights, hotel, meals—all prepaid under my name. “Amy, you shouldn’t have!” Aunt Liz gushed over the phone.
“This is too much!”
“Family comes first, right, Aunt Liz?” I said, and back then, I meant every word. The morning they left, Aunt Liz posted a photo from the airport gate. All smiles with the caption: “Family is everything!
❤️🌴 #Blessed”
I was in my office when my phone rang three hours later. “Hello?”
“Amy…?” Grandma’s voice trembled, barely audible over the airport announcements. “Grandma Ruth?
What’s wrong?”
“I’m still at the airport, honey. They… they left me.”
“Left you? What do you mean?”
“Liz said pushing my wheelchair was too much trouble.
That I was moving too slowly and they’d miss their flight. They just… walked away.”
My stomach dropped like a stone. “Where are you exactly?”
“Terminal B.
By the coffee shop. I don’t know what to do.”
“Don’t move. I’m going to fix this.”
I hung up and immediately texted Aunt Liz: “Why did you leave Grandma Ruth at the airport?
She’s alone and crying.”
The reply came fast: “We’re on vacation! We’re not babysitters. Maybe if she wasn’t so slow and helpless, she could have kept up.
Don’t ruin this for us.”
I stared at those words, something inside me hardening with each second. “Karen!” I called my assistant. “I need your help.”
While Karen flew back to my hometown to pick up Grandma Ruth, I sat down at my laptop.
Every booking—the flights, the hotel, and even the rental car—was under my name. I had full control. I called the hotel first.
“Paradise Cove Resort, how can I help you?”
“Hi, this is Amy. I need to cancel a reservation.”
After processing the cancellation, I added: “Do you have any availability for a spa package next weekend? Something really nice… and oceanfront.”
“We have our Serenity Suite available with daily massages and premium dining.”
“Perfect.
I’d like to book that for two people.”
Next, I canceled my family’s return tickets. No drama, just a few clicks, and their way home vanished. My phone buzzed a few hours later.
The story doesn’t end here — it continues on the next page.
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