My Bio Mom Tried To Sabotage My Trip To Japan By Giving Me The Wrong Airport Terminal. She Didn’t Realize My Stepdad And Brothers Would Choose Me Over Her. Aitah For Refusing To Forgive Her Until She Went To Therapy?

The Intervention

When we finished the tour and met back up with Frank and Linda near the entrance, my mother’s eyes were red like she’d been crying. Her face was set in this tight, angry expression with her jaw clenched. Frank thanked the guide again and pulled out some bills to tip her.

The guide bowed and thanked him and gave me a small smile before she left. Frank said we were heading back to the hotel because we all needed to talk as a family. The taxi ride back was completely silent except for Bobby trying to make small talk about what we saw at the temple.

He talked about the statues and the gardens and how cool the architecture was. Linda stared out the window, refusing to look at any of us. Frank kept glancing at her with this disappointed expression I’d never seen him wear before.

His mouth was pressed into a thin line, and his hands were folded in his lap. Tom sat next to me in the back seat, and our shoulders touched. At the hotel, Frank asked Tom and Bobby to give us an hour alone in his and Linda’s room.

The boys both hugged me before they left. Tom whispered that whatever happened, they were on my side. He said nothing Linda said would change how they felt about me. Bobby squeezed my hand and told me it would be okay.

The door closed behind them, and suddenly the room felt too small and too quiet. In the hotel room, Frank sat Linda and me down on opposite ends of the bed. He pulled a chair from the desk and sat facing us.

He said we were going to have an honest conversation about what had been happening since he married Linda. Linda jumped in right away and said I was too sensitive. She said she’d been nothing but welcoming and I was making problems out of nothing.

Frank held up his hand and cut her off. He started listing specific examples of her behavior that excluded me. He brought up the fake grandmother illness and how he’d called his mom to check on her.

He mentioned the airline ticket lie and how he’d confirmed all five tickets were valid. He talked about the wrong terminal number and how I’d almost missed the flight. He listed every attempt Linda made to keep me from this trip.

Linda’s face went pale as he kept talking. Her hands started shaking in her lap, and she wouldn’t look at either of us. I started talking, and once I began, I couldn’t stop.

I told Frank about the time Linda said I was grounded when really the boys wanted me to go to a baseball game with them. I told him about how she’d claim I was sick when they went out for pizza. I told him about every movie I missed because Linda suddenly remembered chores I needed to finish.

My voice got stronger as I listed each excuse she’d made to keep me away from them. Linda opened her mouth to interrupt, but Frank held up his hand without looking at her. He kept his eyes on me and told her she’d get her turn after I finished.

I kept going and told him about the phone calls to my room saying dinner was canceled when really they were eating without me. I told him about the time she’d give me the wrong address for Bobby’s soccer game so I’d show up at empty fields.

Linda’s face went from red to pale as I kept talking. Her hands twisted in her lap, and she looks like she wanted to disappear into the hotel bed. When I finally stopped talking, the room was so quiet I could hear people walking past our door in the hallway.

Frank turned to Linda and asked if she had anything to say. Linda’s face crumpled, and tears started running down her cheeks. She said she’d been jealous of how easy everything was for me with Frank and the boys.

She said Tom and Bobby treated me like a real sister from day one, but she still felt like an outsider after 2 years of marriage. Her voice broke when she said it wasn’t fair that I got Frank’s attention and the boys’ love when she was the one who married into this family.

She said she was supposed to be the center of their world, but instead, they all acted like I was the missing piece they’d been waiting for. Frank’s voice came out cold and flat in a way I’d never heard before. He told Linda that she married into his family, but I was invited in by all three of them separately.

He said:

“I earned their love by being kind and genuine and caring about them as people.”

He said Linda’s jealousy was her problem to fix and not mine to solve by making myself smaller. Linda cried harder, and her whole body shook. She said she never meant to hurt me and just wanted to feel like she belonged.

She said it seemed like there wasn’t enough room for both of us in the family. Frank’s jaw clenched, and he told her that was a lie she created in her own head. He said her jealousy damaged her relationship with me and with him.

He said when we got home, Linda needed to start seeing a therapist about her issues. He said we all needed family therapy to fix what she broke. Linda nodded but kept her eyes on the floor and wouldn’t look at me.

I realized right then that she wasn’t really sorry. She knew her behavior was wrong, but she still hated that Frank and the boys loved me. Frank turned to me and asked if I wanted to keep going on this trip or fly home early.

He said:

“Whatever I chose he and the boys would support me completely.”

I thought about all the planning Tom and I did for restaurants. I thought about the Japanese phrases I taught Bobby. I thought about how excited I’d been for 3 months. I told Frank I wanted to stay because I wasn’t letting Linda’s problems ruin something I’d looked forward to for so long.

Frank nodded and told Linda she needed to treat me with basic respect for the rest of the trip. He said if she couldn’t manage that, she’d be the one going home early instead of me. Linda whispered that she understood.

Frank got up and opened the door to call the boys back in. Tom and Bobby came in looking worried, and Frank sat them down. He explained that we’d talked through some issues and we were finishing the vacation as a family.

Tom asked if everything was okay, and Frank said it would be. Bobby looked at Linda’s red eyes and then at me. He came over and hugged me tight without saying anything.