Not this Christmas 🌲
Being placed in an anomalous position wasn't something I got to handle in my day-to-day life, because for the life of me, I didn't understand why we had to spend our Christmas holiday in the village. I just couldn't grasp the facts behind it. I didn't have issues with going to the village; what I had issues with was this irked atmosphere between my relatives, like they couldn't stand each other's presence. Well, and one person in particular made sure of it.
"Mom, why can't we just skip this year like last year? Even Daddy doesn't want to go." I grumpily said, thing is I did not buy this idea at all.
"Why would we skip? It's your aunt's birthday, and everyone has been invited; all your cousins will be there. Instead of being excited and packing up your things, you're making a mouth." Mom responded.
"But mommy_"
"Common, don't but_ me and go pack your and your siblings stuff; tomorrow we're leaving early in the morning." Her voice made no room for arguments or complaints. I drawled in a sharp and exhausting breath before getting up from my seat. It was fruitless to argue with my mom once her mind was made up; not even my dad could crack into her thought system.
And it wasn't a surprise the next day we're on the road to the village, a 3-hour drive, and we were supposed to stay for a week. One thing I loved and despise about my hometown was the fact that you never get a network, but at the same time I liked it because I was able to allow my phone to rest while I participated in other house chores and I could actually spend time with my cousin. I wasn't necessarily against that fact; I just didn't like the atmosphere when my rich aunty and daughter were around; it always felt like they were belittling everyone who wasn't up to their expectations or standards. Mind y'all, it was just a feeling at that time.
We arrived safely, but we weren't the only guests; some of my dad's siblings were already around with my cousins, some I was meeting for the first time, and some I knew very well, and we normally catch up with each other. The house was already decorated; it was screaming Christmas parties, but my favorite part of the house was our rooms. It had this little Christmas tree inside; basically, every room had it. My tree was actually white, but it was decorated with Christmas light balls, and the best part was the WiFi this time, which was a lifesaver.
Everything was going smoothly, peacefully, until my aunt graced us with her present. And the first thing she did was to wreck my dad's car. And her excuse was that my dad parked his car in her parking lot. My dad wasn't as offended as my mom was. And that was just the beginning of the drama.
It started on the morning of Christmas, which was also my aunt's birthday. Everyone was trying to get things done—food, cleaning—everyone was just trying to see what they could do. And my aunt woke up and chose violence. I was in the kitchen with Mom, trying to help with the cooking, when all of a sudden we heard the sound of a breakable plate on the floor. Not up to a minute later, we heard a resounding slap, and when everyone rushed to see what had just happened, the scene wasn't so nice. My aunty was yelling on top of her voice at one of her maids who accidentally broke her breakable plate. The plate really looked expensive but we all have to agree that mistakes happen sometimes.
"Are you stupid? Are you mad? Don't you have common sense? This plate I have never used, and the first time you hold it, you break it. Before she could finish talking, she'd already landed the poor girl another slap. This time, my mom had to intervene for the poor girl.
"Susan, it's not a big deal; she was careless, but slapping her wasn't necessary." My mom said she was trying to pull the girl away from my aunt's clutching grip, but what we all weren't expecting was the disrespectful act towards my mom.
"I wasn't talking to you. So please mind your business; however I talk or treat my workers, they are none of your business." My aunt responded, and she wasn't hiding the beef and annoyance towards my mom.
And hell was let loose; my dad wasn't around to settle things because he went to town to fix his car; my other aunts and uncles came to settle things up; they told me and my cousins to go to our rooms. I knew my mom was really pissed when she came in and told me to pack my things because we're leaving.
And when my dad came back, he just had to take my mom, me and my siblings out of such an environment because it felt like some of my relatives were siding with my aunty and others were backing up mom. The tension was so thick that we had to leave that day. My dad wasn't all about disrespect, and for my aunty to talk to my mom that way because she was trying to calm her down and rescue the maid was a big 'NO' to him.
I heard afterwards that when my parents and I left, some of my relatives did too, so Christmas that year was ruined and my aunty wasn't able to celebrate her birthday properly. The thing is, we all know why she's divorced and the reason was because of her attitude of bossing people around, her nonchalant behavior, and how she treats people because she has more than they have, and honestly who I pity the most is her daughter.
Though today Mom and Aunty Susan are okay, Mom vowed never to go to her house for no reason.
Oh poor you, if only your mom had listened to you, it wouldn't have been such an unhappy Christmas celebration for you.
And that was so unfair of your aunt treating her worker that way and insulting your mom in that manner.
What an attitude she displayed on her birthday, jeezz.
It's good you all left such a toxic environment on time.
We don't get along in my dad's side that much, my aunty just likes to showcase money she has invited us again for this Christmas but we have declined peacefully.
That's the best thing to do to avoid another misunderstanding. Some family members are best kept at arms length.
How difficult situations are sometimes experienced with the family and the attitudes that cause problems and arguments, It's a shame that you no longer share Christmas with your aunt, but these are things that happen in life and many times we have no control over that.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Good day.
Family politics at Christmas time -what a sad and draining way to experience the season. Your parents appear to have made a measured and wise decision to decline the invite politely this year. Abrasive and aggressive behaviour should not be tolerated or rewarded. I assume this means you will spend Christmas at home?
You managed to create a nice balance between narrative, action and dialogue. The story itself though was calling out for further development. Your writing would benefit from going a bit deeper. You introduce some interesting conflict in your story but the conflict is not truly resolved. People simply walk away after confrontation. You share that your aunt is bossy and aggressive but we never get to understand the underlying cause of her fiery temper. We are told that she reconciles with your mom but we don't get shown why and how this happened. Was there a moment of enlightenment on either of their part - a character shift in the way they saw the situation and learned from it? In your next story try to focus on creating strong character arcs and more show than tell and see how your writing lifts off the page.