Mom put her fork down. “Your brother has a family to support.”
“So do my employees,” I replied.
Dad bent toward me. “I gave you the money to start. Don’t pretend you did this alone.”
When I opened, he’d given me $20,000. I’d expressed gratitude, offered repayment, and saved his birthday card explicitly describing the money as a gift. Evidently, he’d decided years later that it came with conditions. The card had always meant something to me because I believed it was one of the rare times he was
