I paid for my parents to fly out and see me for the first time in four years. They stayed at my sister’s house 30 minutes away. I set the table every night for a week. They never came. On their last day, Mom texted: “Maybe next time, sweetie!” I was the bank. Not the daughter. So I shut it down.

ate the takeout because someone deserved to occupy the space I had created. Halfway through the meal, the family group chat pined. It was a photo of my parents at a Charleston RiverDogs baseball game. My mother was wearing a team hoodie; my father was holding a giant pretzel.

Hannah’s caption: “Spontaneous family night!”

Olivia reached across the table continue reading …