Chapter 3: The Message on His Mother's Phone
Leon walked farther away from the reception desk.
“What plan?””
His voice sounded unfamiliar, even to himself.
On the other end, Nadine exhaled.
“You really don't know?””
“No. Nadine, tell me what you're talking about.””
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he heard a car door close.
Then the familiar sound of her seat belt clicking.
“Three days ago, your mother called while you were in the shower,” Nadine said.
“Your phone was on the kitchen counter. She had sent you several messages.””
Leon frowned.
“I didn't see them.””
“I know. But I saw the notification preview.””
“What did it say?””
“She wrote, 'Make sure Nadine doesn't get comfortable. This is supposed to be our family trip.''”
Leon rubbed his face.
“That's not—”
“Wait. There's more.””
He stopped talking.
“She also sent you a screenshot of the room arrangement. She had circled the rooms for herself, Camille, and your brother. Your room was next to hers.””
Leon remembered the conversation.
His mother had requested that he stay in the suite beside hers because she sometimes felt uncomfortable sleeping alone in unfamiliar hotels.
He had agreed without thinking.
Nadine continued.
“Then she wrote, 'Once we get there, I'll handle the rest.''”
Leon stared at the ocean beyond the glass.
“What does that mean?””
“I don't know, Leon. You tell me.””
“I swear I didn't know she was planning to make you leave.””
Nadine laughed softly.
It wasn't a happy sound.
“You didn't know she would say it out loud. But you knew she didn't want me there.””
He looked down.
That was the part he couldn't deny.
For months, Patrice had made little comments.
She complained that Nadine spent too much time working.
She said Leon had changed since getting married.
She referred to Nadine as “the woman you live with” when speaking to distant relatives.
And every time, Leon had asked his wife to be patient.
“She's getting older,” he would say.
“She doesn't mean anything by it.””
“She just misses having me around.””
He had turned his mother's behavior into his wife's responsibility.
Now, standing in a resort lobby, he finally understood how much that had cost.
“Where are you?”” he asked.
“I'm figuring that out.””
“Are you coming back?””
“No.””
“Can we meet somewhere?””
“Leon, I'm tired.””
“I know.””
“No, you don't. Because if you knew, you wouldn't have stood beside her while she treated me like an outsider.””
He swallowed.
“I should have stopped her.””
“Yes.””
The simple agreement hurt more than an argument.
“I am sorry,” he whispered.
Nadine didn't respond.
Behind him, Patrice called out.
“Leon! Are you finished with that phone call?””
He turned.
His mother was standing beside the reception counter with her handbag hanging from one shoulder.
She looked irritated.
Not embarrassed.
Not regretful.
Irritated.
Leon returned his attention to the phone.
“Can I call you back?””
“Do whatever you want.””
The call ended.
He lowered the phone.
Patrice marched toward him.
“What did she say?””
“She said she's not coming back.””
Patrice rolled her eyes.
“Of course she isn't. She's always been dramatic.””
Leon stared at her.
“Mom, did you tell Nadine she couldn't stay in the room with me?””
Patrice's expression changed slightly.
Then she gave a small shrug.
“I told her we needed some time together.””
“That's not what I asked.””
“Leon, don't interrogate me.””
“Did you?””
Patrice adjusted her purse.
“I thought it would be nice for you to spend time with your family without having to worry about entertaining your wife.””
Leon looked at her.
“She is my family.””
Patrice clicked her tongue.
“Don't start repeating that nonsense.””
Camille approached them.
“Mom, can we please just be honest?””
Patrice spun around.
“Now what?””
Camille held her phone.
“I saw the messages too.””
Patrice froze.
Leon turned.
“What messages?””
Camille looked uncomfortable.
“Mom sent me the same thing she sent you. She wanted me to make sure Nadine didn't come upstairs with us.””
Patrice's face flushed.
“I was trying to organize the vacation!””
Camille shook her head.
“No, Mom. You told me Nadine could pay for the rooms and then leave because you didn't want her around.””
Patrice's voice rose.
“Watch your mouth.””
“Why? It's true.””
A couple standing nearby glanced in their direction.
Patrice lowered her voice, but her words became sharper.
“I have spent sixty-one years taking care of my family. I am not going to let some woman come along and change how things work.””
Leon looked at her.
“Some woman?””
“Don't twist my words.””
“She is my wife.””
“And I am your mother!””
The same old weapon.
The same old argument.
Only this time, Leon didn't immediately surrender.
He looked at the receptionist.
“Can you tell me what happens if we can't pay for the rooms?””
The woman nodded.
“We can release the unoccupied rooms and review any applicable cancellation terms. However, the remaining guests would need to arrange payment for any rooms they keep.””
Patrice stepped forward.
“We are not releasing anything.””
Leon turned.
“Then how are we paying?””
Patrice opened her handbag again.
She removed a small wallet and pulled out a credit card.
“This is my personal card.””
Leon looked at it.
“Mom, do you have enough available credit?””
“Of course.””
She handed it to the receptionist.
The woman processed the card.
A few seconds later, the machine beeped.
Declined.
Patrice snatched it back.
“That's impossible.””
She tried another card.
Declined.
Then she looked at Camille.
“Give me yours.””
Camille shook her head.
“Mom, I only brought enough for food and shopping.””
Patrice stared at her daughter.
“After everything I've done for you?””
Camille looked down.
“I can't pay for six rooms.””
Leon stood motionless.
The family had spent months discussing restaurants, beach activities, matching vacation outfits, and who would sleep where.
Nobody had seriously discussed who would actually pay.
Because Nadine had always made the arrangements.
And everyone had grown accustomed to the convenience of letting her solve problems.
Patrice pushed her wallet into her handbag.
“Fine. We'll just get two rooms.””
The receptionist began checking availability.
“Two rooms may be possible, but I would need to confirm the updated rates and payment requirements.””
“Then do that.””
Leon looked at his phone again.
He opened his conversation with Nadine.
Her last message was still there.
He typed:
*LEON: I want to understand everything. Please tell me where you are.*
He stared at the screen.
No reply.
Then Camille quietly approached him.
“Leon?””
“What?””
“There's something else you should know.””
He looked up.
“What now?””
Camille glanced toward their mother to make sure she wasn't listening.
Then she unlocked her phone and showed him a screenshot.
It was a conversation between Patrice and his older brother, Marcus.
The message had been sent two days earlier.
Patrice had written:
*Once Nadine pays for everything, we'll have Leon sign the paperwork. He's been talking about putting the house in both our names anyway. This vacation is the perfect time to get him to agree.*
Leon read it twice.
Then a third time.
“What paperwork?””
Camille shook her head.
“I don't know. Marcus said Mom had been talking about it for weeks.””
Leon looked toward Patrice.
She was now arguing with the receptionist about the price of the smaller rooms.
“Mom?””
Patrice turned.
“What?””
Leon held up the phone.
“What's this about paperwork for the house?””
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But he saw it.
She looked at Camille first.
Then at the screenshot.
Then back at her son.
“Who showed you that?””
“Is it true?””
Patrice reached for the phone.
“Give me that.””
Leon stepped backward.
“Mom, what paperwork were you planning to make me sign?””
Patrice's mouth opened.
For the first time that afternoon, she had no immediate answer.
And Nadine, the woman she had pushed out of the hotel, was the only person who might already know what the papers were for.
*Leon looked at the screenshot again.*
His mother hadn't just wanted a vacation without his wife.
May you like
She had wanted something from him.
And suddenly, the hotel bill was the smallest problem in the room.
