The Walkie-Talkie That Exposed Everything I Gave Away

Max ran over, holding a flower and a picture he’d drawn, nearly tripping in excitement. “Grandmaaa! I made you a picture!

And this is for you.”

Three stick figures held hands—him, me, and what looked like a dog drawn with messy joy. “That’s you, me, and Rover!” he said proudly. “We don’t have a dog, honey,” Lila corrected quickly.

“But Grandma wants one. She told me.”

Thomas laughed. “Mom doesn’t want a dog.

She can barely take care of herself.”

I set my cup down and stood. “Let’s have some cake. But before that, I’d like to make a toast.”

I lifted my cup.