At Christmas, I gave my son a brand-new car and his wife a designer purse, thinking love still mattered. Then he smiled and said his wife wanted to “teach me a lesson,” so they had no gift for me.

not the same thing.

Months later, Daniel came to lunch without Marissa. He looked tired, but less entitled. He said, “I thought you’d always fix things.”

“I know,” I replied.

He stared into his coffee. “That was the problem, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” I said. “For both of us.”

I kept the townhome and rented it to a young teacher who paid on time and sent me a thank-you continue reading …