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?

Graduation and Beyond

Spring brought college acceptance letters, and I got into several good schools including two of my top choices. Frank was incredibly proud and kept showing the acceptance letters to everyone who came to the house. Linda actually seemed genuinely happy for me, asking questions about my top choices and offering opinions without trying to steer me towards schools farther away from home.

She sat with me at the kitchen table and helped me make a pros and cons list for each school, pointing out things about campus size and program strength that I hadn’t considered. When I told her I was leaning toward the state university about an hour away, Linda said that sounded perfect and she was excited to visit me there. She didn’t suggest I should go farther away or act relieved that I was leaving, which was different from how I thought she might react.

Frank ordered pizza that night to celebrate, and we all sat around talking about what college would be like and what I should bring to the dorms. At family therapy the following week, Catherine said we’d made remarkable progress and asked if we felt ready to end regular sessions and move to check-ins as needed. Everyone agreed that we’d come a long way since those first awkward sessions after Japan.

Catherine told Linda specifically that she’d done hard work confronting her jealousy and changing her behavior patterns, and that kind of personal growth wasn’t easy. Linda thanked her and said the therapy had saved her marriage and helped her become a better mother. Catherine said we should still meet once a month for a while just to maintain the progress, but that the weekly sessions weren’t necessary anymore.

Frank shook Catherine’s hand and thanked her for helping our family, and Tom and Bobby both said they were glad we’d done the therapy even though it was uncomfortable sometimes. Prom season arrived, and Linda offered to take me dress shopping, which completely shocked me. I said yes even though I felt nervous about spending that much one-on-one time with her.

The shopping trip was actually fun, with Linda giving honest opinions about dresses and helping me find one that made me feel beautiful. She told me when colors washed me out or when cuts didn’t flatter my figure, but in a helpful way instead of a mean way. We tried on probably 20 dresses before I found the right one—a deep blue dress with a fitted top and flowing skirt.

Linda teared up when I tried on the final choice and told me I looked stunning. She said I reminded her of herself at my age and that she wished she’d been able to appreciate that similarity instead of feeling threatened by it. We bought the dress and matching shoes, and Linda insisted on paying for everything as an early graduation present.

On prom night, Linda helped me with my hair and makeup in her bathroom. She had more experience with fancy styling than I did, and she showed me how to curl my hair so it would hold all night. She did my makeup carefully, asking what look I wanted and making sure I felt comfortable with how much she was putting on.

When Frank took pictures of me with my date on the front porch, Linda stood next to him smiling genuinely instead of standing back or looking uncomfortable. Tom and Bobby both came outside to see me off, and Tom told me I looked like a princess.

Bobby agreed and said:

“My date better treat me right or he’d have to answer to them.”

Linda laughed and agreed, putting her arm around Bobby’s shoulders. For the first time, it felt like she was proud to be my mother instead of resentful that I existed in her family. Graduation came faster than I expected, and Linda pulled me aside one morning to ask if she could throw a party at the house for all my friends and family.

I said yes but felt nervous about it, wondering if she’d somehow use it to make me feel bad or excluded like she used to do. She started planning right away and actually included me in every decision, asking what kind of cake I wanted and what decorations I liked and whether I wanted a backyard party or something inside. We went shopping together for supplies, and she let me pick out everything from the tablecloths to the paper plates.

When we got home, she started setting up without trying to take over or change what I’d chosen. The party day arrived, and Linda had transformed the backyard into this beautiful space with string lights and a big banner that said “Congratulations” with my name on it. My friends showed up, and Linda greeted everyone warmly, introducing herself as my mom and actually seeming proud to say it instead of uncomfortable.

Frank and the boys helped serve food, and Linda moved through the crowd making sure everyone had what they needed. When people complimented her on the party, she thanked them and said she was so happy to celebrate me. It felt strange watching her play the proud mother role because she wasn’t forcing it or performing for Frank; she just seemed genuinely happy that I was graduating and wanted to make the day special for me.

Graduation day itself was hot and sunny, and we all had to sit in metal folding chairs on the football field waiting for the ceremony to start. My whole family sat together in the bleachers, and I could see them from where the seniors were lined up—Frank in his nice suit and the boys in button-down shirts and Linda in a blue dress. The principal started calling names alphabetically, and when he got to mine, all four of them stood up and cheered louder than anyone else in the stands.

I walked across the stage and grabbed my diploma and looked out at them, and Linda had tears streaming down her face and was clapping so hard her hands must have hurt. After the ceremony ended, I found them in the crowd, and Linda grabbed me in this tight hug before I could even say anything. She told me she was so proud of the person I’d become and she was sorry she almost missed out on being part of my life because of her own problems with jealousy and insecurity.

Frank hugged me next, and then Tom and Bobby both lifted me off the ground in a group hug. For the first time since Linda married Frank, I felt like we were actually a real family instead of people just living in the same house together.

Summer started, and we all needed a break from the house, so Frank suggested a weekend trip to a beach town about 2 hours away. We packed up the car and drove there on a Friday afternoon, and Linda was actually relaxed and happy instead of tense like she used to be on family trips. At the beach, Linda suggested we recreate the family photo from Mount Fuji that we’d taken in Japan, and we all lined up in the same order we’d been in for that picture.

The photographer counted down, and we all smiled, and this time Linda’s smile was real instead of forced and tight like it had been at the mountain. Back at the hotel that night, Linda showed me both pictures side by side on her phone—the one from Japan where she looked miserable and angry, and the new one where everyone looked genuinely happy. She said she couldn’t believe how much had changed in less than a year, and I agreed because looking at those two pictures felt like looking at two completely different families, even though it was the same five people in both shots.

August arrived, and I started packing boxes for college, folding clothes and wrapping up stuff from my room to take with me. Linda knocked on my door and came in without waiting for me to answer, which would have annoyed me before but now just felt normal. She sat on my bed and watched me pack for a minute before telling me that even though she’d miss me when I left, she was excited for my future and grateful that I’d given her a chance to be a better mother after everything that happened.

She said our family was stronger because I refused to let her jealousy push me away, and she promised to keep working on herself in therapy so I’d always feel welcome coming home for breaks and holidays. I stopped packing and hugged her and realized that our relationship wasn’t perfect and probably never would be. But it was real and honest now instead of fake and full of resentment.

That was something I never thought we’d have after everything that happened in Japan—after watching her try so hard to exclude me from the family and seeing her lose it at that temple when the guide called me Frank’s daughter. Things weren’t perfect, but they were real.