I Paid Twelve Thousand Five Hundred Dollars for a Family Trip, and They Planned It Without Me

I held my thumb on it until the little menu came up and deleted it.

Then I deleted the eight voicemails, one after another, without listening to a single one.

The phone went back in the drawer, and I shut it with the heel of my hand.

“Helen,” I called.

“Come and sit down before this gets cold.”

She came in from the kitchen with the gravy boat and stopped in the doorway of the dining room.

“The driveway’s empty,” she said.