Something about the look on her face immediately made me uneasy.
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I opened it anyway, wearing the hopeful smile I had learned to fake around my family. Familybeach vacation
Written across the front in my mother’s large looping handwriting were the words:
“Happy birthday, son. Don’t get old too fast.”
I smiled.
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Then I opened the card.
Normally, even my younger cousins received $20 or $50 from my parents during birthdays and holidays. Conflictresolution techniques
Inside mine was a single wrinkled five-dollar bill.
It looked as though my mother had reached into the bottom of her purse and grabbed whatever cash she happened to find.
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Before I could say anything, she leaned back in her chair and grinned.
“Don’t spend it all in one place.” PlayMovie Trivia
Then she laughed.
Not a gentle, affectionate laugh.
A loud, sharp laugh that made it obvious she had been waiting for that moment.
Everyone joined in.
My father chuckled.
Emily nearly doubled over.
My uncle slapped the table as if my mother had just delivered the funniest punchline he had ever heard.
I sat there staring at that crumpled bill.
To them, five dollars was funny.
I was funny.
