At midnight my sister tried to bring her three children into my apartment with my mother’s key, but when she yelled at me “family helps each other”, I had already changed the lock and was waiting for her downstairs to put a stop to it.

“They really crossed a line this time, Leona, but you have to know that Mom is absolutely devastated that you changed the locks on her,” he noted.

“She isn’t devastated that I changed the locks, Desmond, she is devastated that she lost her ability to control my environment whenever it suits her,” I countered.

I explained to him that this wasn’t just about one night of missed flights and tired kids, but rather about twenty years of being the family’s designated safety net.

I was tired of being the one who had to be sensible while everyone else was allowed to be impulsive and demanding at my expense.

A few hours later, Desmond sent me another message saying that he was currently with the kids at a park and asking if I wanted to meet them for a late lunch.

“Sienna is staying in the car because she doesn’t want to see you right now, but the kids are asking for their aunt,” he added.

I agreed to meet them at a small diner near the river, and when I arrived, I saw Hudson and Tessa running through the grass with a newfound energy.

Sienna was indeed sitting in her SUV with the windows rolled up, staring straight ahead as if I didn’t even exist in her peripheral vision.