At the picnic, my sister said, “Here’s to the relative who thinks paying bills makes them important.” My parents burst out laughing. I just smiled, I just smiled, lifted my drink, and said, “Then tonight, you’ll all see how unimportant I really am.” My dad’s

I looked at her. “You want honesty?”

She shrugged. “Sure.”

“You’d all be in serious trouble if I actually stopped.”

Rachel snorted. “Please. We survived before you started playing hero.”

My father cleared his throat—his favorite method of trying to erase tension. “Let’s not turn this into something stupid.”