Not Comfortable

Around this time, I started hearing from Dad more often. She was still involved, but it didn't feel like she was as present as she had been before. There were more phone calls and lunches with Dad, though it was clear she was still in the picture.

Before my birthday, Dad asked to take me out to lunch because on the day we were celebrating, he wanted to go to Grandpa's lake house. He said he wanted to go when Grandpa wasn't there because Grandpa always finds work to do when he has help around. I knew Dad wouldn't be going alone, so I assumed she was going too. Later, I found out it wasn't just her—it was also her oldest son and his fiancée.

That bothered me. It felt strange that she and her family were still enjoying things connected to a family they were no longer a part of. Dad texted us pictures of the fish they caught and even sent a picture of her holding one of them. I don't know why, but that hit a nerve. Whenever we're at the lake, Dad never wants to fish, always saying he wants to spend time with Grandpa instead. Yet he was willing to spend the day fishing with her. It felt like a gut punch.

In June, we were all discussing Grandpa's birthday gift in a group text with my uncles. Dad decided on a new truck bed cover. Crystal and I each gave him cash for our share, but we all knew that when Dad said he was ordering something online, it usually meant she was doing it for him. Over time, he had become very dependent on her for things like that.

After a while, Dad told us there had been a shipping problem. According to him, the package had somehow been sent to Michigan before being routed back to Fort Worth. Crystal and I were immediately skeptical. With her, there always seemed to be some sort of excuse or complication, and given the history, it wasn't hard to question what really happened.

Maybe the order had been delayed. Maybe the money hadn't been used when we were told it had. Whatever the truth was, trust had been damaged long ago.

Crystal asked Dad for the tracking number and even offered to have coworkers pick it up in Fort Worth if it was available. Eventually, we got a tracking number through a company called YunExpress. Neither of us had heard of it before, and the tracking details looked vague and incomplete. Wanting to verify everything, Crystal asked for a screenshot of the Amazon order.

Dad said she wasn't comfortable providing it.

Crystal shared the texts with me, and I told Dad that it wasn't just Crystal asking questions—I wanted proof too. After several messages back and forth, Crystal finally explained the situation in the family group text, saying that we had simply asked for proof of the purchase and she wasn't comfortable.

Almost immediately, a message appeared:

"Your damn right, I don't have to prove shit to y'all. I only answer and prove to your dad and he has the proof."

We knew right away that she had written it.

I responded that it was obvious she had sent the message, then texted Dad separately and told him I didn't appreciate thinking I was talking to him when it was actually her responding. I also told him that if he wanted to overlook her past behavior, that was his choice. But when it involved my money, Crystal's money, and contributions from other family members, we had every right to ask for proof.

Eventually, she sent the Amazon order information. This time, she hadn't lied. The order was legitimate.

Even so, Crystal and I explained to Dad that because of everything that had happened, anything involving her would continue to be questioned. Trust isn't rebuilt just because someone says they've changed. If she truly wanted to earn that trust back, providing proof when asked shouldn't have been such a battle.