Juliette looked at the bills in Dan’s hand as if they were covered in dirt.

“I am not eating cheap ground beef,” Juliette said. “My sister is coming over later. Do you expect me to serve her supermarket hamburger meat on paper plates?”

“We have plenty of hot dogs,” I said.

“I want the cedar-plank salmon,” Juliette said. “And the artisanal cheese board from the deli downtown. I told my sister we were having a proper catered-style spread.”

“Then you should have brought your own credit card, Mom,” Sarah said quietly.

Juliette glared at her eldest daughter.

“My card is maxed out from the deposit on your apartment, Sarah,” Juliette snapped.

Sarah flinched as if she had been struck.

She took a step back, her back hitting the wooden railing of the deck.

I looked at Sarah, noting the way her knuckles went white as she gripped her elbows.

There was a deeper story there, but now was not the time to pry.

“This is ridiculous,” Juliette said, pacing across the deck.

Her high heels clicked sharply on the cedar planks.