first.
“Well,” she said brightly, glancing at the cameras, “we certainly raised one incredible daughter.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
Her smile faltered.
“You raised Vanessa.”
The cameras went quiet.
“I raised myself.”
Mom waited until we entered a private conference room before dropping the performance.
“How could you embarrass us like that?”
I stared at her.
“By graduating?”
“You made us look terrible!”
“You left my graduation for Vanessa’s vacation.”
“It was already booked!”
“So was my graduation.”
Dad shut the door.
“That’s enough. We’re family.”
That word almost
