My Sister Called Me a Leech at Thanksgiving Until a Colonel Stood Up and Changed the Room

I turned off the engine and sat in the dark for a while. The night was quiet. A cat crossed the asphalt between two parked cars, paused, and disappeared.

It was not the word itself that had done the damage. I had been called worse by people with far less claim on my heart. But leech from Amanda at our parents’ table, in front of everyone who should continue reading …