At a table laden with meat and seafood, my mother-in-law was the only person who left me with an empty plate: “We’ve run out of food for you.”

best cut, added a spoonful of garlic shrimp, and placed the full plate directly in front of Lauren. “Eat up, sweetie. At least you know how to spoil this family.”

Lauren beamed as though she had won something. “Oh, Mom, you’re always so good to me.”

Her husband, Aaron—Daniel’s older brother—burst out laughing. “That’s because Lauren has class. Not everyone knows how to live well.”

I stayed silent.

No one at that table seemed to remember that for three years, I had been paying for most of that “living well.”