“Yeah, so?”

“I just asked.”

“And that’s about it.”

“Janelle and Lewis didn’t get you nothing?”

“Janelle gives me the same thing every year. A gift certificate to Nordstrom’s.”

“What kinda store is Nordstrom’s?”

“A very high-class department store. It ain’t quite Neiman Marcus, but close enough for my taste. Anyway, I ain’t heard from Lewis, which means he probably in jail, ’cause he don’t forget my birthday.”

“Well, you did it again, Mama.”

“Did what?”

“Threw dirt in my face.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Charlotte?”

“You just had to brag about what everybody else did for your birthday except for me and my kids. Can’t you see it?”

“You asked me what I got, so I told you!”

“Yeah, but look at how you had to tell me!”

“What you want me to do, whisper it? Tell you like I’m disappointed ’cause my other daughters think enough of me to do something for me on my birthday and you don’t? I still ain’t figured that one out. Is it something I done to you that’s making you treat me like a stepmother, or are you just plain nasty?”

“No I am not, and you should think about a lotta things you’ve done to hurt me that you don’t seem to ever fucking remember!”

“You better come down off that high horse you on and watch the way you talking to me. You always coming up with a reason to bring the problems back to Charlotte, don’t you? Don’t make no difference what’s going on, it always comes down to poor Charlotte. You always the innocent little victim. Well, I ain’t never done nothing deliberately to cause you harm, and I swear on my mama’s grave that’s true.”

“Yeah yeah yeah.”

“I can’t help it if you and my damn grandkids didn’t send me nothing for my birthday.”

“They just told you they got you something!”

“Then where the hell is it? My presents to them always get there on time. And you? You always so busy—too busy to . . .”

“Look, I don’t need you to try to make me feel guilty.”

“You don’t sound like you feeling no kinda guilt, so who you fooling?”

“You right, Mama! I don’t feel guilty. And from now on, I ain’t gon’ feel guilty about a damn thing I do or don’t do! I’m sick to death doing what everybody thinks I should be doing. Sick of living my life to please everybody but me. So, yeah, I’m tired of feeling guilty ’cause my own mama likes to make one daughter feel bad by throwing dirt in her face about what her other kids is doing!”

“That is not what I’m doing, Charlotte, and you know it.”

“Oh, yeah! That’s what it feel like to me. So you enjoy your birthday in your new car and make sure you wear your new earrings and drink something hot in your new cup and rest your head on your blue-and-orange throw, and when you move in your new condo, don’t bother picking up the phone to call me till you can learn how to talk to somebody, because it’s gon’ be a cold day in hell before I call you back!” Click.