My Family Asked What Emergency Needed The Receptionist

like she wanted to catch me proving her point.

The phone rang again.

Peter.

Mom said, “Put it away.”

I looked at the screen, then at the faces around the table. Concern. Judgment. Pity. The same mixture I had seen so often that it almost felt familiar.

So I declined the call.

“You’re right,” I said quietly. “What were you saying?”

Dad relaxed, pleased. “We continue reading …