A week before Christmas, my brother Ryan and his wife Lindsey showed up at my door in a panic—they’d lost heat, and their house was freezing. Despite feeling hesitant, my husband Nathan and I agreed to let them stay, thinking it would only be for a few days. At first, everything seemed fine, but by the third day, Lindsey’s inconsiderate behavior started getting on my nerves. She monopolized our master bathroom, left a mess everywhere, and even helped herself to my clothes without asking! Yet none of that compared to the shocking incident on Christmas Eve.

That morning, as we gathered for breakfast, I noticed something strange—Mom’s urn was missing from the decorated mantel. When I asked about it, Lindsey casually admitted she had thrown my mother’s ashes out in the backyard because the vase “scared her.” I was horrified. This was our first Christmas without Mom, and honoring her wish to “spend” Christmas with us had meant everything to me and Ryan. Overcome with anger, I rushed outside, hoping to salvage what I could, but it was too late.

Later that night, Lindsey’s nightmare began. A bloodcurdling scream woke us, and Nathan and I ran to their room, only to find the place soaked in foul-smelling sewage—the toilet had backed up! While Lindsey shrieked and Ryan scrambled to clean up the mess, Nathan and I could barely hide our amusement. We couldn’t help but think it was a form of karmic justice for what Lindsey had done to Mom. The plumber couldn’t come until the next day, so they had to endure the stench through Christmas Day.

During Christmas dinner with the extended family, Lindsey remained unusually quiet while the rest of us laughed and enjoyed the holiday. When she tried to complain about her ordeal, the family turned on her, appalled by her actions. Ryan later pulled me aside to apologize, admitting he didn’t know Lindsey would do something so terrible. Though my anger flared again, seeing Lindsey humiliated and shunned by everyone felt like enough punishment for now.

That night, as Nathan and I cleaned up, he joked that maybe Mom had been with us after all, exacting a little revenge in her own way. I laughed, feeling lighter for the first time since her ashes were lost. While things hadn’t gone as planned, I felt Mom’s presence with us, stronger than ever. Despite Lindsey’s thoughtlessness, the holiday ended with the comfort of knowing that, in some strange way, Mom had still been part of our Christmas.