In a devastating blow to its intended recipient, grandma Gloria Butcher texted “K” to her granddaughter last Saturday, sending shockwaves throughout the family group text.
“I sent her this long text telling her what I’m up to with work and suggesting that we make a Zoom date soon and that I could help her set it up over the phone,” says granddaughter Ava Albright. “And then three minutes later I got that ‘K’ in response. I shudder just thinking about it, even now.”
Reeling from the concise slight, Albright sought an explanation as to what she could have done to merit the infamous reply.
“I called my mom and was like, ‘Does Grandma hate me? Am I secretly not related to her? What’s the deal?”” says Albright. “But she swore we were related and that she hadn’t heard anything of me losing her favor.”
“The whole thing was very disorienting,” Albright adds.
But unsatisfied with the lack of closure, Albright confronted her 87-year-old grandmother head-on.
In a text sent at 3:55 p.m. the very day of the incident, Albright asked Butcher “Are you mad at me?” to which Butcher replied “?” seven minutes later.
“A single question mark?!” says Albright. “At that point I was ready to drive to her house and grab that one painting I’ve always loved because I was pretty sure I was written out of the will.”
However, Grandma Gloria, when we finally were able to get hold of her, had a different perspective.
“I was playing bridge with my neighbors!” says Butcher. “I had no idea she was having such a crisis. Anyway, I don’t want to be bothered while I’m playing bridge.”
While Butcher has fully moved on from the apparent miscommunication, she shows no signs of a new appreciation for the power of her words or individual letters.
“What didn’t she understand?” says Butcher. “K means okay!”
At press time, Albright was trying to decode the battery emoji her grandmother texted her by mistake.
