Seventeenth Birthday

My offer of bringing a delicious pizza and scrumptious cake is rejected.  I insist upon dropping by anyway with his presents and a small cake.  I am met at the door by my ex-husband, not with a hello but with a "we are about to have dinner".  My son opens his gifts while his father doles out their steak dinner.  I leave the cake and the house after the brief present opening session.

One present, that did not arrive on his birthday, but instead a day later, is the portable phonograph he requested.  He opens it and I receive one of those frantic calls at work that I have become accustomed to - he has broken the phonograph player - detached wires and small parts are everywhere.  I explain as calmly as I can - which is not calm at all - that there is nothing I can do about it while at work and that I will look at it when I get home.

Well,  turns out that while removing the protective plastic casing  a little too hard, he managed to pull out the needle and several essential wires along with it - And, yes, he did, within minutes of receiving his new phonograph, break his new phonograph.  It's a few days later and at the moment, he doesn't much care...