After the ceremony, fourteen relatives and friends crowded into my house. We had sandwiches, fruit salad, barbecue, lemonade, and a chocolate sheet cake with “Congratulations Emma” in blue frosting. Emma opened her cards and thanked everyone.
Then I gave my neighbor the signal, and a minute later the silver Mazda rolled into the driveway, gleaming in the afternoon sun, the big bow trembling in the breeze.
“Emma,” I said, “there’s one last present.”
She walked outside, and both her hands flew to her mouth.
“Mom. Please tell me that’s somebody else’s car.”
I handed her a small gift bag. Inside was the key fob on a blue metal tag. I’d had it engraved with seven words: “For every road ahead. Love, Mom.”
Emma stared at the keys, then at the car. “You bought this for me?”
“It’s yours, sweetheart. Registered in your name.”
“But my savings…”
“Can go toward college.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she threw her arms around me. “Mom, I love you so much.”
For a moment, I could almost feel Daniel standing beside us.
“Dad would have loved this,” she whispered.
“He would have loved watching you graduate.”
I was still holding her when Britney pushed past two of our guests.
“Wait. That’s a brand-new car?”
“It’s used,” Emma said, smiling.
Britney’s face changed. She looked at the Mazda, then at the keys in Emma’s hand. Before Emma could react, Britney snatched them out of her fingers and raised her arm in triumph.
“MINE NOW!”
Sandra clapped. My mother burst out laughing. A few relatives chuckled uncertainly.
Emma reached for the keys, and Britney stepped back.
“Too slow!”
She pressed the unlock button, and the Mazda chirped.
“Britney,” I said, “give those back.”
“Oh my God, Aunt Melanie, relax. I’m joking.”
But instead of handing them back, she opened the driver’s door and climbed in.
Emma stood frozen next to me, still holding the empty gift bag.
Britney adjusted the seat, ran her hands over the steering wheel, and poked at the dashboard screen. “Can I take it around the block?” she called.
“No.”
Sandra walked over, smiling. “Melanie, honestly. Britney’s Nissan has been giving her so much trouble. Letting her enjoy a decent car for a few minutes wouldn’t kill anybody.”
“Emma hasn’t even driven it yet.”
Sandra shrugged. “Well, Emma already has a scholarship. Britney doesn’t have things nearly as easy.”
I stared at her. Somehow, my daughter’s hard work had turned into a reason to take things away from her.
Mom touched my elbow. “Please don’t turn this into a fight. It’s just a car.”
Just a car. Twenty-one thousand four hundred dollars, more than a year of saving, a present for a daughter who worked so hard and asked for so little.
I looked at Emma. Her cheeks were red, and she was staring down at the pavement. I knew that look. It was the look I wore every time Sandra took something from me and I was expected to smile.
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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