Whenever he couldn't win an argument, he resorted to violence.
"But isn't it just a small surgery? Does it matter if it's a man or a woman?" I argued.
That was how he tricked my mom back then. "It's just a minor surgery, nothing to be dramatic about. We're short on hands during the busy farming season, so stop pretending."
My grandma, who had been silently watching from the bed next to us, finally broke her silence. "Candace, what did your mom say to make you ask all this?"
My tears of joy from seeing my mom again were still on my face. But when I saw the hint of disdain in my grandma's eyes as she looked at my mom, I remembered how she had changed after the kidney donation.
I was about to speak, but she continued. "Lydia, I've been through a lot more than you. I wouldn't harm you.
"Donate the kidney, and you'll be my savior. I'll never treat you badly. Besides, after surgery, I'll only have one kidney too, and I'll still live well, won't I?"
My mom, who had been reluctantly resisting, was completely brainwashed by my grandma. She promised that she would offer up her kidney the next day.