“The ticketing agent says our flights are gone. She said the purchaser refunded everything to their card. Tell me there’s a glitch. Tell me you didn’t do this.”
In the background, I could hear Chloe’s mother loudly complaining about her feet and Chloe snapping at someone.
“There’s no glitch,” I replied smoothly. “You told me at dinner that I wasn’t invited on the vacation I paid for. I agreed. I simply removed my money from a trip I was excluded from.”
“You can’t be serious!” Mark shouted. “We are standing at the counter with a cart full of luggage and Chloe’s parents. You stranded us!”
“You’re 30 m from your house, Mark. You aren’t stranded. Call an Uber.”
“Mom, please. They’re telling us day-of tickets are almost $1,200 a person. We can’t afford that.”
“That sounds like a risk you should have assessed before kicking the person financing the trip out of the group.”
The line went muffled for a second, like a hand had been placed over the receiver.
Then Chloe’s voice came through, sharp and demanding.
“Helen, this is not funny. Fix this now. Buy the tickets.”
I smiled at the audacity.
Even now, she was giving me orders.
“Hello, Chloe,” I said gently. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. You made it very clear that it was better if I wasn’t around for this trip. I’m just respecting your boundaries. I highly suggest you respect mine.”
“We already paid for excursions. My parents bought new clothes for this!” Chloe yelled.
“Then you should probably give the agent your credit card so you don’t miss your flight,” I offered.
“You’re being incredibly petty and manipulative!” she screamed.
“I am being financially responsible,” I corrected her. “Have a safe drive home.”
I hung up the phone.
Instantly, a text popped up from Mark in all capital letters.
“FIX THIS NOW.”
I didn’t block his number.
I wanted a written record of everything.
I simply turned on Do Not Disturb and tucked the phone into my purse.
The gate agent for my flight picked up the microphone, announcing the start of boarding for Kawai.
I picked up my boarding pass, grabbed my carry-on, and walked onto the plane.
When I landed in Kawaii and turned my phone off airplane mode, I had 14 missed calls and 22 text messages.