I smiled when my son told me I wasn’t welcome for Christmas, got in my car, and drove home. Two days later, my phone showed eighteen missed calls. That’s when I knew something had gone terribly wrong.

He flinched.
“Dad, please don’t do this.”

Through the kitchen archway, I spotted Isabella’s industrial-grade mixer—the $2,000 one she swore she needed for her brief holiday baking obsession.

“Then where should I go?” I asked softly.

Michael’s face cracked.
“Maybe Aunt Rosa’s. Or… we could do something another weekend.”

Another weekend.