I inherited a cabin while my sister got a Miami apartment. When she mocked me: “Fits you perfectly, you stinking woman!” and told me to stay away, I decided to spend the night at the cabin… When I got there, I froze in place at what I saw…
The church smelled like old wood and too much perfume. My father’s funeral had dragged out longer than anyone expected. And by the time we got back to my mother’s house in Albany, everyone was exhausted. Family I hadn’t seen in years was still hanging around pretending they cared, picking at casseroles that had been reheated three times already.
I sat in the corner, still in uniform. Not because I wanted to show off, but because I had flown straight from Fort Bragg and hadn’t had time to change. My younger sister, Megan, was glowing like she’d just won a pageant. She had been circling the room, whispering into people’s ears, making sure everyone knew how she was handling everything. She had that smug look she’d worn since we were kids. The one that said she thought the world owed her something.