My younger brother has uremia, and I happen to have three kidneys

My mom, who I hadn't seen or heard from in twenty years, suddenly contacted me. She wanted me to donate a kidney to her son from her second marriage. Wait, how did she know I had three kidneys? But she didn't seem to. She just kept begging, trying to guilt-trip me with this whole "family love" thing. I cut to the chase: "Let's not talk about love, it gets messy. Let's talk money." Selling her a kidney I didn't need wouldn't be a bad deal.

1

One ordinary evening, I was home from work, soaking my feet and binge-watching TV when a friend request popped up. "Hey Lily, it's Mom." I jumped, dropping my chicken feet right into the footbath. Mom? I hadn't seen her in twenty years. She left when I was tiny, maybe three or four, after divorcing my dad. Dad remarried and had three more kids; there wasn't really room for me. I grew up basically a weed, living with my grandparents. When I needed a mom most, she vanished. Now that I didn't need her, she pops up? I hesitated, totally thrown, and just ignored it. A little while later, another message: "Lily, please accept. Mom really misses you." Yeah, right. Susan Miller hadn't thought of me in two decades, and now she missed me? Needed money? Needed someone to take care of her? I pretended not to see it and went to bed.

2

Maybe because I didn't accept her friend request, "Mom" didn't message again. Good. I appreciate people who respect boundaries. But three days later, as I left work, there she was, a woman in her forties, dressed in a beige cashmere outfit, designer bag dangling from her arm, gazing at me with this… look. I could see traces of my own face in hers, especially in old photos. She seemed to be doing pretty well for herself. Susan looked surprised and thrilled to see me. "Lily! Do you… remember me? It's your mom. Can we talk?" She was so persistent, I just nodded. "Fine." Let's see what she wanted.

3

We went to a Starbucks near my office. She'd clearly done her homework, knew all about me, and gushed with praise: "You're so amazing! Making it out of that small town, you're such a good daughter. I knew it was you the moment I saw you, you look just like me when I was younger. How are you doing? Do you have a boyfriend?" Honestly, her fake enthusiasm made me nauseous. After letting her go on for a while, I asked, "How did you get my contact information?" She stammered, "Uh, your Aunt Carol gave it to me." If she could contact my aunt, she could've contacted me anytime… I took a deep breath. "What do you want?" Her eyes welled up. "I know you blame me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to abandon you…" She went on in this self-pitying, weak voice: "You don't know what it was like, married to your father, how your grandparents treated me! They…" I cut her off. "I know enough about the past." Their story was ancient history. Basically, they were unhappy, my grandparents were difficult, and my mom ran off, leaving me behind. My crappy childhood wasn't unique; it was a common story. I said gently, "It would be fa...