My husband is a very busy man, and sometimes he works on weekends, which can cause plans to change drastically. I had planned to leave him with my daughter to go to his brother’s birthday dinner, but he had an urgent meeting with a client, and for me alone my brother was not going to reschedule the celebration.
– Just take her with you,” my husband suggested.
My daughter is only eight, and she can be a real naughty girl. Her grandparents can’t always handle her, even though there are two of them, and she doesn’t listen to me, so my brother asked me not to bring the kids to the restaurant.
“The party is only for adults,” he said.
I explained the situation to my mother, wanted to know what she thought.
– Sure, take Alice. We’ll watch. If anything, you can leave early.
My brother greeted the guests happily, but he instantly changed his face when he saw me with his daughter. In front of his friend, who was not one step away from him, he did not say anything, accepted the gift, gratefully thanked me, but as soon as I had a moment, told me off in front of my parents and child:
– I told you not to take her with you! Is your husband busy again? Don’t you know you can hire a babysitter for the evening? She’ll be in everyone’s way and she’ll be in everyone’s way.
The father couldn’t take it anymore. He took his granddaughter and went home with her. I stayed with my mother for the sake of decorum, but my brother did not talk to me for the rest of the evening. Really, no one but me brought the baby along because my brother’s friends are mostly twenty-somethings, still without families, or have left the little ones with grandmothers or, really, babysitters. But I don’t want to leave my baby with someone I don’t know. Thanks to my dad for agreeing to entertain Alice until after dinner, having missed the party myself.
My brother hasn’t spoken to me since my birthday, and he hasn’t written me, though it’s been almost two weeks. My mother says he expects me to apologize, but tearfully asks me not to. He’s the one who acted like a jerk, because he doesn’t have kids himself, and he doesn’t know what it’s like to have no one to leave a child with. But I still feel guilty and want to make up with my brother as soon as possible.
Should I take the first step and apologize? I’m afraid that he might start scolding me again and it wouldn’t end up in another fight…
