hearsay

Mum rang me yesterday in the early afternoon and began the call with: "I went to [the Warden] and told him what you'd told me about how I'm the most unpopular person there has ever been in these flats..."

What?

I didn't listen any further. I interrupted Mum and vehemently denied saying any such thing. I remonstrated with her for making up yet another conversation overnight and then spreading untruths. I was mortified to hear that she'd said that to the Warden. Of course, I knew it wasn't her fault, really, and that her brain had scrambled the message from our conversation the day before, but I lost my temper. Having silenced her, I immediately rang the Warden to defend myself and reassure him that I'd said nothing of the sort.

Having slept on it, I must admit that the strength of my reaction came in part from my disappointment that Mum wasn't calling me to say "Happy Birthday" to me yesterday.