different.
And family doesn’t mean you get to hurt someone and still demand their help afterward.
Months later, Mom hosted another birthday dinner.
This time, nobody was told to wait outside.
Owen sat beside me.
Lucy sat across from her grandmother.
Brooke’s twins sat at the other end of the table.
And Rupert the Pomeranian?
He was in his stroller.
Brooke caught me looking at him.
“What?”
I smiled.
“Nothing.”
She laughed.
“You’re still judging the stroller.”
“Absolutely.”
Mom started laughing.
Soon everyone was laughing.
And for the first time
