Where I left off last month, after I told off my aunt, I blocked her on my cell phone, forming a communications choke point. If she wanted to contact me, she had to do so via email or my house phone.
It took a full month for her to figure this out.
I can only assume she attempted to send me a text on my birthday, of which I never received (for obvious reasons) and never replied to her.
I can only assume she attempted to send me her annual heart emoji on my dad's birthday (she has fetishized his birthdate and death date for the past ten years), and that too, went without an acknowledgement on my end.
And two weeks ago (as of tomorrow's date), she attempted to text me to let me know my Aunt B passed away, and that too went without acknowledgement.
She eventually emailed me, "I guess you've got me blocked on your cell, but I wanted to let you know that Aunt B died."
Okay, clearly she wants some kind of acknowledgement from my end--and I only acknowledged the death with a "Thanks for letting me know." In regards to her suspicions of blocking, I let sleeping dogs lie.
Then Audrey called me a couple days later to let me know, "I know your aunt got in touch with you, but I wanted to let you know myself, that Aunt B died."
And there goes Audrey AGAIN, weaponizing, this time, a death date, as an excuse to attempt more contact. It has been nearly a week since she called me, and I haven't been interested enough in giving her a call back.
This further irritates me, because both, Audrey and my aunt, BOTH, were not, shall we say, CHARITABLE with their opinions of my uncle's wife. BOTH of them acted jealous or resentful of him, even going so far as nicknaming him Tom Monzo (his wife's maiden name).
Perhaps they were jealous of Aunt B, as she was a stay at home wife and mother until the day she died. She didn't have to work one single day outside of her home, unlike Audrey or my Audrey's sister.
Perhaps they were resentful of Tom because 25 years ago he moved away, away from their abusive father and the whole family dynamic.
As an adult, looking upon this with eyes and opinions of my own, I don't think he ran away. I think he ran TOWARDS something. Aunt B's family clearly is tight knit and loving and decent--Tom would be a fool not to be attracted to that--as I am attracted to the same qualities in my own in-laws.
So, I've held off on the post-mortem discourse--wherein Audrey will act as if she is truly grieving over B's passing. To be honest, I didn't think either Audrey or my aunt actually LIKED her. To act otherwise is simply dishonest.
So, I texted my uncle. And at another point in time, he and I chatted. Aunt B passed on 9/19, and she was laid to rest this weekend. I sent him a card which should be arriving today.
I hope the card and sentiments I sent, will bring him something resembling comfort. We all are just poor substitutes for the person he really needs, the person who would really understand and help him through this--Aunt. B.
