The afternoon sun lit up our kitchen as I watched my eight-year-old nephew, Jake, draw a bright blue rainbow on the patio with sidewalk chalk. His little sister, Cindy, sat next to him, giggling while her fingers turned purple from all the chalk dust.
“Aunt Kayla, look! I made a castle!” Cindy shouted, pointing proudly at her drawing.
I knelt beside her with a smile. “Wow, sweetheart! Is that where the princess lives?”
She scrunched up her nose. “No! That’s where the dragons live!” she corrected me seriously.
Behind us, my husband, Finn, was chatting with his parents, Charlie and Daisy. His sister, Nina, was glued to her phone, tapping like the screen owed her something. Every weekend, she and the kids stayed with us. I loved having Jake and Cindy around. I taught them to draw and paint, and we had fun together.
But Nina? She treated our house like a free hotel. She never helped out, never said thank you, and acted like she was doing us a favor by visiting.
Suddenly, her voice rang through the backyard. “Okay, everyone, time to get ready for dinner. Let’s go to the restaurant!”
I checked my watch. “Nina, it’s only 5:15. The restaurant doesn’t start their early bird specials until six.”
She looked up from her phone and frowned. “So? We can still eat. We don’t have to wait for specials.”
My stomach tightened. The early bird prices were $75 for all of us with my coupon. Without it, we’d be paying close to $200.
“Why don’t we just wait 45 minutes? I have a really good coupon. It’ll save us a hundred bucks,” I said hopefully.
Nina’s face twisted. “I don’t want to wait! The kids are hungry and getting cranky.”
I glanced at the kids. They were still drawing, totally fine.
“They look okay to me,” I said.
“Well, they’re not!” Nina snapped. “Come on, kids, let’s get cleaned up.”
I tried again. “Nina, 45 minutes isn’t that long. We’ll save a lot—”
She cut me off. “If you can’t afford to take us out without a coupon, maybe you shouldn’t have offered in the first place.”
Her words slapped me right across the face. Finn and I had planned and offered this dinner. It wasn’t about money. It was about being smart.
“It’s not that I can’t afford it,” I said calmly. “It’s about not being wasteful.”
But she didn’t care. She marched inside. A few minutes later, Jake and Cindy came back out, holding their stomachs and groaning dramatically.
“Aunt Kayla,” Jake whined, “I’m soooooo hungry. My tummy hurts.”
Cindy joined in. “Mine too! It’s growling like a bear!”
I blinked at them, then turned to Nina, who stood smugly in the doorway, arms crossed. She had obviously coached them to act this way.
Daisy jumped up. “Oh no, poor babies! We can’t let them go hungry.”
Charlie agreed. “Let’s head out now.”
My blood boiled. Nina was using her kids to guilt everyone into rushing out.
I looked at Finn, silently begging for support. But he just shrugged. “We could wait, but if Nina wants to go now…”
“Exactly!” Nina interrupted. “We’re going now. Everyone, grab your stuff.”
As the kids ran inside, I stepped in front of Nina and said firmly, “Using your kids to manipulate people is pathetic.”
She smirked. “Everyone’s hungry. Get over it. If you can’t pay, don’t offer.”
That was it. I didn’t explode. I didn’t yell. Instead, I smiled.
“You know what? You’re absolutely right,” I said, giving a thumbs up. “Let’s go now.”
“Good!” Nina grinned like she’d won.
As we packed up, Finn pulled me aside. “You okay? You seem… different.”
I smiled. “I’m perfect. Just follow my lead.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I know that look. What are you planning?”
“You’ll see,” I whispered.
The restaurant was busy. Our server, Marcus, greeted us warmly as we took our seats in a big booth.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, slipping away.
But I didn’t go to the restroom. I went straight to Marcus at the computer terminal.
“I need to make a special request for our table,” I said quietly.
He looked up. “Sure. What’s up?”
I told him my plan. He raised an eyebrow. “You sure about this?”
I showed him the time on my phone—5:35—and handed him a folded $20 bill. “Trust me.”
He nodded. “Alright. I’ll make it happen.”
When I got back to the table, Nina was already placing her order. She didn’t hold back.
“I’ll take the grilled salmon with lobster tail, a steak for me too… and Jake wants the prime rib. Cindy, you want the chicken parmesan, right?”
The kids nodded excitedly. Nina was clearly going for maximum damage.
Marcus looked at us. “And for you folks?”
I smiled sweetly. “We’ll have the usual.”
After Marcus left, Nina leaned back and said smugly, “See? That wasn’t so hard. Sometimes you just have to be flexible.”
“You’re absolutely right,” I said, matching her smile.
Twenty minutes later, Marcus returned with a tray full of food — but only for Nina and the kids.
Nina blinked. “Where’s everyone else’s food?”
“Oh,” I said casually, “ours isn’t ready until six. That’s when the coupon kicks in.”
Her fork froze. “What are you talking about?”
“You wanted to eat now, remember? So I arranged for your meals to come out now. Ours will come later.”
She stared at me. “But… we’re all eating together. You’re paying.”
I shook my head. “I offered to pay for dinner at six. You decided to eat early. That’s a separate order.”
“You can’t just change the rules!”
“I’m not changing anything. You made a choice. And now you get to enjoy the consequences.”
She looked at Finn. “Tell her she’s being ridiculous!”
Finn shrugged. “Kayla offered to pay for dinner. She never said anything about paying for dinner at 5:30.”
Nina turned to her parents. “Mom? Dad?”
Charlie and Daisy exchanged a glance. They both knew they’d left their wallets at home.
“Well…” Charlie coughed, “no point wasting a good coupon.”
Daisy nodded quickly. “We’ll just wait. No rush.”
Marcus returned with the check.
“Here’s your separate bill, ma’am,” he said cheerfully.
Nina opened it and gasped. “Ninety-eight dollars?! For this?!”
Marcus explained, “The lobster tail was an upcharge.”
Nina turned red as she pulled out her credit card. The kids were happily eating, unaware of the storm around them.
“This is unbelievable,” Nina growled. “You’re being petty.”
“No,” I replied calmly. “I’m being clear. You got exactly what you asked for.”
Our food arrived at 6:00 on the dot.
“Enjoy your meal!” Marcus said with a wink.
Cindy tugged at Nina’s sleeve. “Mom, can we go to the playground now?”
Nina sighed. “We have to wait for everyone else.”
“You don’t have to,” I said, taking a bite of my burger. “You’ve already eaten. Feel free to leave.”
Nina shot out of her seat like a rocket. “Come on, kids. We’re leaving.”
Jake looked confused. “But Aunt Kayla and Uncle Finn are still eating.”
“Now!” Nina snapped, dragging them out.
“Thanks for coming to dinner!” I called after her. “Let’s do it again sometime!”
The look she gave me could’ve melted steel. I just smiled and waved.
After she left, the table went quiet. Daisy picked at her food. Charlie focused on his potatoes.
“That was…” Daisy began.
“Brilliant,” Finn finished, squeezing my hand.
I laughed a little. “I do feel bad. But I’m tired of being pushed around.”
“She had it coming,” Finn said. “Using the kids like that? Not okay.”
Dinner was peaceful after that. The final bill with the coupon? Exactly $74.50.
As we walked to the car, Finn put his arm around me. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“Just don’t weaponize children,” I smirked.
“Deal!”
Two weeks later, Nina still hadn’t spoken to me. It was kind of a relief. The kids asked about us sometimes, but Nina always changed the subject.
But I’d learned something important: I won’t be manipulated anymore.
Sometimes the best way to deal with people like Nina is to give them exactly what they want—and let them choke on it.
And that $98 lesson? Worth every single penny.