“Mom, where's all the money that I set aside quarterly for taxes?” The line goes silent. I pull back to make sure we haven’t lost connection—or the more probable reason, that she hung up on me. Nope. Still connected. “Mom?” “Listen, honey, Chet needed help getting back on his feet—and who could blame him after the way that you took him through the wringer?” My eye twitches. “You…gave my tax money to my ex?!” “He's disabled! Fern, are you really so heartless?”

