Kade was over and was currently doing tummy time with Griffin on our son's blue and green quilt. Griff was getting close to being done and had started to fuss, so Kade was trying to entertain him to see if he could get another minute out of him. Our boy fought being on his stomach and never failed to let us know how displeased he was.
When his phone rang again for the third time in ten minutes, Kade sighed heavily after looking at the screen.
"She's driving me nuts, Abigail."
The she in question was Katie, who'd been taking care of their mother since her release from the hospital ten days ago. Katie was calling Kade non-stop about her mother's complaints and demands, the number one being Kade coming to see her.
"Tell her you won't discuss things with her anymore if it has anything to do with your mother," I suggested when his phone stopped ringing.
"I have," he said grimly. "Several times."
"Then draw a line in the sand once and for all and be firm about it."
His phone started ringing again. "I've been trying to understand her point of view and all the shit she's been coming to terms with, but I'm about to be very done with that."
I could tell from his tone that he was beyond irritated and this wouldn't have a good outcome for Katie since her brother didn't react well when he lost his patience with someone. Kade was extremely patient...until he wasn't.
"Hey, Katie, what's up?" he greeted his sister when he answered, putting his phone on speaker so his hands were free to wiggle toys in front of Griffin. Before she could answer, he rolled on. "And just fair warning, if this has anything to do with your mother, this conversation's going to be cut short and end right away."
"But, Kade," she protested before he stopped her.
"But nothing," he answered sharply. Yep, patience had left the building. "I've tried to be patient for the last week and a half, but I'm done now. You chose to take care of her instead of hiring nurses. You chose to be her caregiver. I also told you in no uncertain terms that I wanted nothing more to do with her and would not take part in her recovery. So, I'm at the point now where I'm going to go no contact with you unless you limit your calls to your actual life that have nothing to do with your mother. I don't want to hear about her progress, I don't want to hear about how difficult she's making your life or how miserable she's being to you. If things are that bad, hire a nurse to take care of her and go back to your place."
"Kade --"
"You know her. She'll get away with whatever you let her get away with. So either take a stand and tell her how it's going to be going forward or leave her in the care of nurses who won't put up with her shit. But whatever you decide, leave me the fuck out of it. Let me repeat: leave me out of it."
"Kade, I know she's done some shitty things, but she's our mother." Her pleading tone was begging for sympathy.
"She's your mother because I've disowned her," he said seriously. "She's no longer part of my life, and even though I'm sorry she's being so horrible to you, you knew that was a possibility when you chose to help her during her recovery. And Katie, that was a choice you made. I told you before she was released from the hospital that I wouldn't have anything to do with her, and that includes not having my time taken up hearing from you many times a day about how awful she's being. You don't like it, do something about it that doesn't include using me as a sounding board or assuming I'm willing to be a sympathetic ear in this situation."
"You're not even going to talk to me about it?"
"No, I'm not. Your choices aren't going to affect me or interfere with the time I'm able to spend with Abigail and Griffin. I love you, Katie, but I'm not going to be a clown in your circus. If you can't respect that line in the sand, you'll leave me no choice but to go no contact with you as well."
