When I married again at sixty-three, I never told my husband or his three daughters that the row….

I looked at Thomas. He did not defend me. He only lifted his water glass and said, The girls are just being practical.

Practical.

I set down my napkin, folded it once, and felt something inside me go cold and clear. Here I was, in the home I owned, serving food I had paid for, listening to my husband and his daughters discuss me like a possible legal problem.

So I stood up, walked to the sideboard, unlocked the drawer where I kept my document case, and carried it back to the table.

Then I said, very calmly, Since we’re being practical, let’s talk about whose assets are actually in danger.