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?

A Shift in Dynamics

That evening we went to a restaurant near the hotel. Linda sat across from me and barely spoke during the whole meal. She ordered food and ate it but kept her eyes on her plate. The tension at the table was thick enough to cut.

Tom tried making jokes about the Robot Restaurant and how wild the show had been. He did impressions of the robots and got Bobby laughing. Bobby pulled out his phone and showed us pictures from the temple.

He had shots of the gardens and the statues and one really good one of the main building. Frank looked at each picture and asked Bobby questions about what he’d learned. Linda just nodded when anyone spoke to her directly.

The waiter brought our food, and I focused on eating. The sushi was amazing, but I couldn’t really enjoy it with Linda sitting there looking miserable. Tom kept the conversation going by talking about what we should do tomorrow.

He mentioned the Japanese garden we’d planned to visit. Bobby said he wanted to see the koi fish there. Frank agreed and said we’d go first thing in the morning.

The next day we took a taxi to the garden. Linda sat in the front seat and didn’t say much during the drive. When we got there, she walked next to me instead of trailing behind like usual.

She pointed at a map near the entrance and asked if I wanted to see the tea house first. Her voice sounded stiff like she was reading from a script.

I said:

“Sure,”

And we all headed that direction. The garden was beautiful, with perfectly trimmed trees and stone paths winding between ponds. Bobby ran ahead to look at the koi fish. Tom took pictures of everything.

Linda stayed close and made comments about the plants we passed. She asked me what I thought about the bridge over the main pond. I said it was pretty, and she agreed. Everything felt forced and awkward.

She was including me because Frank told her to and not because she actually wanted me there. At the tea house, we sat on the floor, and a woman in a kimono served us tea. Linda sat between me and Bobby.

She asked me if I’d tried green tea before. I said yes at home, and she nodded. The conversation died, and we drank our tea in silence. Tom made a face at the bitter taste, and Bobby laughed at him. Frank smiled, and the tension broke a little bit.

We walked through the rest of the garden, and Linda kept making an effort. She’d point things out to me or ask my opinion about which path to take. It all felt like an act, but at least she wasn’t pretending I didn’t exist anymore.

For lunch, Tom and I had picked out a sushi place we’d been excited about. We’d spent hours looking at the menu online and planning what to order. When we sat down, Linda looked at her menu and then at me.

She asked what I recommended since I’d studied everything beforehand. I was surprised she remembered that. I suggested the salmon set and the tuna rolls. I told her about the special sauce they made and how good the reviews said it was.

Linda ordered exactly what I suggested. When the food came, she tried everything and then looked at me. She said the salmon was really good and thanked me for the recommendation. It was such a small thing, but it felt huge after everything.

Tom grinned at me across the table. Bobby asked me to help him order dessert. Frank watched Linda and me with this careful expression, like he was making sure she kept her word.

The rest of lunch was easier. Linda didn’t talk much, but when she did speak, she included me naturally. She asked about my favorite parts of the trip so far. She listened when I answered.

It still felt like she was following rules Frank set instead of genuinely caring, but it was better than her trying to erase me from the family.

Unexpected Peace

That evening Bobby brought up the anime store he’d found online. He showed us pictures of the merchandise on his phone and looked at Linda like he expected her to say no. She glanced at the photos and then at Frank before nodding and saying we could go tomorrow morning.

Bobby’s face lit up, and he started talking about all the things he wanted to look at. Tom said he’d been wanting to check out Japanese manga stores too. I was surprised Linda agreed without making excuses or suggesting the boys go without me.

The next morning we took the train to Akihabara and found the store Bobby had researched. It was huge, with multiple floors of anime figures, manga, and merchandise I’d never seen before. Bobby ran ahead, pulling Tom with him, and I followed close behind.

Linda walked in last and stood near the entrance watching us. We spent almost two hours looking at everything. Bobby found figures from his favorite shows and kept showing them to me, asking if I thought they were cool.

Tom discovered a whole section of manga he couldn’t get back home and started making a list of what to buy. I found some Studio Ghibli merchandise, and Linda actually walked over to look at what I was holding. She asked if I liked those movies, and I said they were my favorite.

She picked up a small Totoro keychain and looked at it for a minute before putting it back down. She didn’t complain once about how long we were taking or try to rush us out. She just stood there, quiet and patient, while the three of us got excited over everything we found.

When we finally left the store, Bobby was carrying two full bags and thanking everyone for letting him take so much time there. Our last full day in Japan, we drove to Mount Fuji. The weather was perfect, and the mountain looked amazing against the blue sky.

Frank wanted to take a family photo with the mountain behind us. He asked another tourist to take the picture, and we all lined up. Linda stood on one side of me instead of positioning herself at the opposite end like she usually did.

Tom was on my other side, and Bobby stood in front of us. Frank stood next to Linda and put his arm around her shoulder. The tourist counted to three and took several shots.

Linda’s smile looked forced and uncomfortable, but at least she was trying to look like she wanted to be there. Frank thanked the tourist, and we looked at the photos together. In every picture, Linda was standing right next to me, making it look like we were actually a family unit instead of four people plus one outsider.

Bobby said we should print the photo and frame it when we got home. Linda didn’t object or suggest taking another one without me. We walked around the visitor center and looked at the exhibits about the mountain’s history.

Linda stayed with the group the whole time and even made a few comments about what we were seeing. It still felt awkward and forced, like she was following Frank’s rules instead of genuinely wanting to include me, but it was better than her actively trying to erase me from everything.

The flight home the next day was long but less tense than I expected. Linda took a window seat and put in earbuds almost immediately. She closed her eyes and seemed to fall asleep within the first hour.

Tom and Bobby sat in the row with me, and we picked out movies to watch together. Bobby wanted to watch something funny, and Tom found an action movie we all agreed on. Frank sat next to Linda but kept leaning into the aisle to check on us.

He’d ask if we needed anything or if we were comfortable. I could tell he was watching to make sure Linda didn’t try anything else now that we were heading back to reality. She slept through most of the flight, and when she was awake, she just stared out the window or scrolled through her phone.

She didn’t try to talk to any of us or make comments about the trip. The boys and I talked quietly about our favorite parts of Japan and what we wanted to do when we got home. Tom said he wanted to learn more Japanese and maybe take a class at the school.

Bobby said he wanted to go back someday and see more cities. I agreed and said I’d love to visit Osaka next time. Linda turned her head slightly when I said that, like she was listening, but she didn’t say anything.