cnu-At my fortieth birthday party, my sister swung a baseball bat into…

the lawn and grabbed the handlebars.

“Get off, please.”

“Mom!” Brooklyn shouted, her voice breaking into tears on command. “Emma is attacking me!”

Vanessa stood.

At first, I thought she was going to separate them. I thought she was going to yell, maybe embarrass herself, maybe ruin the party in the ordinary Vanessa way.

Then she turned toward the garage.continue reading …