My sister’s wedding got cancelled because of COVID last year. It was rescheduled for this September. The problem is, it looks like no one but our parents will be able to attend.
Our other sister is seven months pregnant and lives out of state. Her pregnancy is risky, and her doctors advised her not to travel at all. Our brother just had a serious surgery and will be in physical therapy for weeks. His wife has been the sole caregiver for him and their kids while being the only source of income. The other one is stuck overseas where they have higher travel restrictions.
I just started a new job after being unemployed for over a year and am trying to get my finances back in any sort of order. I was down to my last few hundred dollars when I got this job. It requires long hours, working weekends, and I am right at the bottom of leave requests. I have already been informed that my bosses might swing one day off for me, but not a whole weekend. The wedding is over nine hours away by car one way. Even if I drove all night, I would still have to skip the reception to be home on time for my shift. The cost of gas alone would be more than I could afford to spend right now.
I know my sister was counting on my being there, but when I called her to apologize and explain, she flew off the handle—complete rage. We all “hated her” and “wanted to spoil her wedding” and were “selfish monsters.” I told my sister she needed to calm down, step back, and get some perspective here. What she called me was unprintable.
I hung up and waited a few days to call back to give her time to cool down. She didn’t and worse, went ballistic on social media. She made horrible multiple posts and tagged all our siblings. She later deleted them, but the damage was done. No one is happy with our sister (and a few relationships might be permanently damaged). My parents are beside themselves with worry over this. They have offered to pay my expenses and begged me to come to the wedding.
The rub is my sister refuses to apologize to me. I could let that go, but right now, I am not inclined to drive a 16-hour round trip for someone acting like she is right now. Help, what should I do? (Also, flights are not an option given the cost and locations.)