It was supposed to be the perfect Christmas dinner with my family. Everyone was coming to my house, and I was looking forward to the holiday. But just days before, my brother Ryan and his wife Lindsey showed up unexpectedly, asking if they could stay over.
At first, I didn’t mind. I knew they were in a tough spot—at least that’s what they told me. But as their visit went on, Lindsey’s behavior started to drive me crazy!
It all started a week before Christmas. Ryan and Lindsey showed up at my door, bundled in coats and looking frazzled. “The heating system broke down at our place,” Ryan explained. “We can’t find anyone to fix it during the holidays. Can we stay with you for a bit?”
Nathan, my husband, was quick to say, “Of course. It’s no trouble at all. Stay as long as you need.”
We were happy to help. But by the third day, I was starting to feel the pressure. Lindsey, who had full access to our guest bedroom bathroom, kept using our master bathroom instead. She left damp towels everywhere and didn’t even bother to clean up after herself.
But the worst part? I started noticing some of my clothes—sweaters, tops—were missing. When I checked, I realized they had somehow ended up in her suitcase without her even asking!
I was getting annoyed, but I tried to keep my cool. Then, on Christmas Eve morning, something happened that completely crossed the line.
We were having breakfast when I noticed that something was wrong. The mantel, which had been carefully decorated with garlands and stockings, was completely empty. My heart skipped a beat. “Has anyone seen Mom?” I asked, my voice trembling.
I was talking about the black marble vase that held my mother’s ashes. It was supposed to be on the mantel, honoring her last wish to be with us for Christmas.
Mom had passed away after a short battle with cancer, and before she died, she asked Ryan and me to keep her ashes with us for this special day. We planned to scatter them at her favorite spot by the river after the holiday, where she and Dad had once gone on their first date.
I looked around, but the vase was gone.
Lindsey, who had been picking at her food, looked up and casually said, “You mean her ashes? I threw them out in the backyard. That vase scared me to death every time I saw it.”
I froze. My heart dropped into my stomach. “You did what?!” I couldn’t believe it.
“I threw them out,” she said, acting like it was no big deal. “Relax, it’s just ashes. Why are you all so dramatic?”
Fury rushed through me, and before I even knew what I was doing, I shot up from my chair, ready to explode. My husband, Nathan, and Ryan quickly stepped in between us, trying to calm me down.
“You had no right!” I yelled, my voice cracking. “Mom had one wish, and you—how could you do that?!”
Lindsey rolled her eyes. “It’s not like she’s going to know,” she snapped, completely unfazed.
Her coldness made me see red. I stormed out to the backyard, hoping it wasn’t too late. For the next hour, I dug through the grass, even checking the trash bin where I found the vase, but there was nothing left to save. My mother’s ashes were gone. My last connection to her, ruined.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. I was so angry that I wanted to kick them out right then and there. But when I saw Ryan’s pleading face at dinner, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“Just wait until after Christmas,” he whispered to me. “Please, we have nowhere to go at this point.”
I sighed, agreeing only because it was the holidays. But I didn’t know how I’d survive the next 24 hours.
Around midnight, a scream shattered the silence. Nathan and I jumped out of bed and rushed upstairs. The smell hit us before we even reached the door to Ryan and Lindsey’s room—a foul, disgusting odor that made my stomach churn.
“What in the world?” Nathan mumbled, covering his nose. We burst in to find Lindsey standing on the bed, her face pale with terror. The carpet was soaked, and there was a disgusting mess oozing from the bathroom.
“Oh my God!” Lindsey shrieked. “It’s everywhere! Do something!”
Nathan, trying to hold back a laugh, said, “Looks like the toilet backed up.”
I couldn’t resist teasing her. “Why is it only your room?” I smirked. “Our bathroom is perfectly fine!”
“Must be some kind of Christmas miracle,” Nathan quipped, earning a glare from Lindsey. Ryan was trying to clean up the mess with a towel, but it was only making things worse.
Lindsey, panicked, yelled, “Do something useful for once!”
“Oh, I am,” I said, crossing my arms. “Maybe this is karma, Lindsey. A little payback for what you did to Mom. You know, she had a wicked sense of humor.”
Lindsey glared at me, but before she could say anything, Nathan stepped in. “We’ll call a plumber first thing in the morning,” he said. “In the meantime, you two can clean up and sleep in the guest room.”
As they left the room, I turned to Nathan and whispered, “Do you think this was a sign from Mom?”
Nathan smiled. “If it wasn’t, it sure feels like one.”
The next day, the plumber was unavailable until after Christmas, so we spent the holiday with a lingering smell of sewage in the air. As we sat down for Christmas dinner with the rest of the family, Lindsey was unusually quiet. She picked at her food, while everyone else laughed and shared stories.
Ryan pulled me aside. “Thanks for not kicking us out,” he said, awkwardly rubbing his neck. “I know Lindsey can be… difficult.”
“Difficult?” I stared at him. “She threw away Mom’s ashes, Ryan!”
“I know,” he sighed. “I had no idea she’d do something like that. I’m so sorry.”
I looked over at Lindsey, who was avoiding my gaze. Her pale face and nervous glances made me think that maybe she was getting the punishment she deserved. “Maybe this is punishment enough,” I said. Ryan nodded in relief.
The rest of the evening passed without incident, though Lindsey was clearly uncomfortable. When she tried to tell the rest of the family about her troubles, they didn’t have much sympathy.
“You threw away their mother’s ashes?” my aunt gasped. “What were you thinking?”
By the end of the night, Lindsey was completely humiliated, and I felt a strange sense of justice.
As Nathan and I cleaned up after everyone had left, he grinned. “Do you think Mom was with us today, even though Lindsey spilled her out?”
I laughed and shook my head. “If she was, I’m sure she had a good laugh.”
Nathan put his arm around me and kissed my forehead. “Well, either way, Lindsey got what she deserved.”
And in that moment, as I looked around at the empty house, I felt Mom’s presence stronger than ever. Even though she wasn’t there in the way we had planned, it felt like she was still with us, making sure justice was served.
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