CNU-My daughter-in-law said Christmas would be easier if I stayed away, and my son did not even raise his eyes to defend me. So I stayed home, alone, exactly as requested. …

when it finally gets tired of being polite.

Instead I said, “Because the people they took from mattered too.”

Raymond looked down at the rug.

“Mom says everybody lies.”

I felt something cold pass through me.

“Everybody is tempted,” I said. “That isn’t the same thing.”

He nodded once, absorbing it in the solemn, oversized way children absorb things they will continue reading …