We simply put her inside until grace was finished.”

“You put a six-year-old child in a dark pantry,” I said.

“Don’t use that tone with Mom on Christmas Eve,” Caroline said, her wineglass tipping slightly as she stepped further into my way.

“You showed up thirty minutes late without Evan, you handed us a cold dish of sweet potatoes, and now you want to turn four minutes of proper discipline into an emergency.”

I didn’t answer her.