“I let you live on this land so you could raise your family,” I said quietly.

“Being your father doesn’t mean I have to pay for your whole life.”

Brandon got up so quickly his chair legs scraped two inches across the tile floor.

“We need your first check by five o’clock Friday, Dad,” he said.

He left the yellow pad lying on the kitchen table and went out the back door without shutting it.

Melissa followed him out into the cool morning air, her gold bracelets clicking against the aluminum door frame.

I sat in the silent kitchen for ten minutes after the screen door clicked closed.