HE SAT ALONE AT HIS OWN BIRTHDAY DINNER WHILE HIS CHILDREN MOCKED HIM ON A YACHT

By nine o’clock, grace had curdled into embarrassment.

By nine-fifteen, embarrassment became dread.

And by nine-thirty-six, when your phone lit up with an Instagram notification instead of an apology, the last fragile structure inside you gave way.

You tap the screen.

Your oldest son, Roberto, has gone live from a yacht off Puerto Vallarta.