Peter groaned and dragged both hands down his face as he sagged against the cabinets like a beaten man.

“Claire, we can’t just shut our eyes and pretend this mountain of debt is going to disappear on its own,” he pleaded.

“I’m not pretending anything about where our money stands, Peter, but I’m telling you right now that you don’t balance a family budget by cutting off your oldest child,” I said fiercely.

Gretchen shook her head with a condescending smirk, looking at me as though I were a silly toddler throwing a fit.

“You can’t expect your comfortable life to stay exactly the same after bringing two premature babies into the world, Claire,” Gretchen lectured.