Ruth pressed her palm flat against the side of her leather handbag and looked her son straight in the face.

“You handed me that printed hotel reservation confirmation on Tuesday morning at my kitchen table,” Ruth said.

“You told me plainly that the four-thousand-eight-hundred-dollar booking was paid for through your administrative travel account at the school district.”

Mark shifted his weight from one shoe to the other, his throat working as he swallowed.

“It was an advance against upcoming school conference reimbursements, Mom.

That’s normal administrative procedure.”