At Christmas dinner, my daughter-in-law stood up and declared, “I control this family now. Your cards are shut off.”

and the kind of expensive holiday cheer people use to disguise unpaid bills.

I only smiled at my son and said, “You really don’t know, do you?”

Ethan went pale.

Madison’s smile cracked. “Know what?!”

I folded my napkin and placed it beside my untouched plate. “That the cards you shut off were never mine.”

The applause died.

Madison’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t continue reading …