Family boundaries and celebrations: Why exclusion from a dinner plan led to a difficult decision regarding a birthday event

Sean half-rising from his chair, a performance of concern that never reached his eyes.

“That’s odd,” Melissa said, examining the table with fake perplexity. “Did someone count wrong?”

Richard cleared his throat, looking at his menu. “Perhaps there was a miscommunication with the restaurant staff.”

Then came Sean’s line. It was delivered with a practiced continue reading …