The Forbidden Seat

I pulled out my phone and called the bank's customer service line right in front of my daughter, Marissa Langford.

"Hello, I'd like to freeze the two supplementary cards under my account."

After verifying my information, the representative replied crisply, "Done. Both cards have been frozen."

Marissa stared at me in disbelief. "Dad, are you serious? That's just how Tyler is. He's immature sometimes. From now on, you can just sit in the back seat, can't you?"

I slipped my phone back into my bag and flagged down a taxi. "I'm completely serious. Starting today, your expenses are no longer my responsibility."

As the cab pulled away, I caught sight of her in the rearview mirror. She jogged after the car for two steps before coming to a halt. She didn't try to stop me.

In her mind, I was just a man in his fifties throwing a tantrum. Three days at most, and I'd come crawling back to apologize.

After all, that was how it had always gone. For twenty-eight years, every single time, I'd been the one to give in first.

But this time was different.

I got home a little before three in the afternoon. I'd barely settled down for a nap when my phone exploded with notifications.

Tyler had posted on social media.

The photo attached was a screenshot from the checkout page of a luxury boutique.

The caption read: "Some people get stingier the older they get. Imagine refusing to buy your son-in-law a simple watch. Maybe it's time for a factory reset."

The first person to like the post was Marissa. She'd even left a comment beneath it: "Hang in there, babe. Poor hubby, you've suffered so much."

I stared at the post, my thumb hovering above the screen.

In the end, I didn't leave a comment. I simply took a screenshot.

At eight that night, my bedroom door flew open with a violent kick.

Marissa stood in the doorway, her face flushed red as though someone had slapped her.

"Dad, are you really doing this? Do you have any idea how humiliating today was for me? When my card got declined at the register, and the sales associate looked at me like that, I wanted to die right there!"

Leaning against the headboard, I looked at her calmly.

"When your husband put up a sign saying 'No Old Bastards or Dogs Allowed', did either of you stop to think whether I'd be humiliated?"

That shut her up for a moment.

"That was a joke! Tyler was joking with you! You're the older one here. Are you really going to stoop to his level?"

"Fine." I nodded. "Then let me make a joke too. From now on, stop asking me for money and learn to support yourselves."

She spun around and slammed the door behind her.

I pulled the blanket over myself and closed my eyes, telling myself not to waste my energy arguing with them.

By the next morning, I realized I'd been wrong.

The Rolex Diane had left me was gone. It had been the last birthday gift she ever gave me. Even while battling her illness, she'd insisted on going to the jeweler herself to have it engraved.

On the back of the watch were the words: "To my husband. Every day with you was a gift."

I searched the entire house and couldn't find it anywhere.

Then I saw the message Marissa had sent at two in the morning.

"I took the Rolex. I traded it in for a watch for Tyler. Consider it compensation for the emotional distress you caused him."

Attached was a selfie of the two of them.

Tyler wore his new watch proudly while Marissa stood beside him, flashing a peace sign at the camera.

I went straight to the pawn shop.

The owner searched through his system for several minutes before shaking his head.

"That watch was pawned last night. The young lady signed an emergency liquidation agreement. If you want it back, you'll need to pay double."

"How much?"

"$480,000."

I clenched my jaw.