She tossed it into Sage’s lap without getting up from the couch.

Sage peeled off the tape neatly and opened the cheap paper without ripping a single edge.

Inside was a three-dollar plastic slide puzzle from a drugstore bargain bin.

“Thank you, Aunt Tessa,” Sage said, keeping her voice perfectly flat.

“Tai got a four-hundred-dollar video drone,” Tessa said, flashing a quick smile that never reached her eyes.

“Because boys need real equipment if they’re going to learn anything worthwhile.”

Tai gave the leg of the end table another hard kick with his boot, his mouth twisted into a sour line as he stared at the carpet.