“Your mother coordinated those trips for seven years. We paid for every vacation.”
“You paid taxes, meals, equipment rentals, and room charges. The founding membership itself was paid in full before you ever used it. It carries no annual dues for 10 years. You did not purchase any portion of it.”
“It was still meant for all of us,” Diane insisted. “Your grandfather trusted me with the card.”
“He trusted you to coordinate bookings. He trusted me with ownership.”
Melissa exhaled sharply.
“Fine. Legally, your name is on it. We understand. Can you restore access until after Christmas? We already spent thousands of dollars.”
“No.”
Her expression changed immediately.
“My contract depends on that location.”
“And my room depended on being part of this family.”
Diane pressed her palms against the table.
“I apologized for forgetting it.”
“That is the second reason we are here.”
I distributed the activity report.
“You did not forget.”
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Diane stared at the page without moving. Melissa found the relevant entry first. Her eyes shifted from the document to our mother.
Caleb took his copy and read the line twice. Robert’s folded arms slowly dropped.
I pointed to the record.
“My room was reserved on August 4. On December 13, at 2:14 p.m., Mom removed me. At 2:17, the room was assigned to Brooke Halpern. At 4:32, Mom texted me that the resort was full.”
Caleb looked at Melissa.
“Brooke went with you.”
Melissa swallowed.
“She had a photography project. I asked Mom whether Elena would care if she skipped one year.”
“You asked her to remove me.”
“I said you were always busy and probably wouldn’t want to come. Mom said she would handle it.”
“I had already requested the week off. Everyone knew that.”
Diane finally spoke.
“Melissa’s opportunity was important. Brooke needed to be there to photograph her campaign, and there were no other rooms. I thought you would understand.”
“You thought I would accept it because I always had before.”
“I was trying to avoid conflict.”
“No. You made a decision and lied because the lie was easier than admitting that you had traded my place to someone more useful.”
Robert rubbed his forehead.