My Parents Chose a Birthday Dinner Over My Family’s Funeral—Then They Asked for Thirty Percent of the $18.7 Million Settlement

She held out a hand.

Inside, we sat at the kitchen table.

I ate a little because she did not stand over me waiting for the dish to make me happy.

“He always asked for this on his birthday,” she said.

“I remember.”

She looked toward the empty chair.

“I’m sorry.

I shouldn’t—”