I told myself this was generosity, that a man measures himself by what he gives and not what he gets back, and that is true, as far as it goes.

What I would not let myself see was that generosity given to people who feel entitled to it isn’t generosity at all.

It’s tribute.

And I had been paying tribute to a family that, in the privacy of their group chats, considered me and my children beneath them, for the whole of my married life.

I bought flights for eleven people.

I booked rooms at an elegant hotel overlooking the water in San Diego.