Outside, a dog began to bark, a high, irritating sound that seemed to vibrate in the heat.

My timer on the stove went off, a shrill buzzing that made us all flinch.

I reached over and turned it off, the silence that followed feeling even heavier.

“Your mother is just trying to help,” Juliette said quickly, her face turning a deeper shade of red.

“I wanted to treat my children.”

“With what?” Sarah asked, her voice rising.

“With the money you stole from the rest of us?”

“Sarah!” Juliette shouted.

“It’s true, Dan,” Sarah said, ignoring her mother completely.

“She didn’t lose her pension.”

“She didn’t lose anything.”

“In fact, she’s richer than all of us combined.”

Dan stared at Sarah, his mouth slightly open.

“Sarah, that doesn’t make sense,” Dan said.

“She asked me for five hundred dollars last month to fix her roof.”

“And she spent it on what?” Sarah asked.

“New shoes?”

“She didn’t need your five hundred dollars, Dan.”

“She has the estate.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and sudden.