I hadn’t seen either one of my cousins since I left for college, but my mother gave me regular updates on their lives. (As if I cared.) I felt a certain righteousness, even at a young age, when Tess had a baby out of wedlock at the tender age of nineteen and Albert dropped out of high school to pursue a field in music. Three years later, he was driving trucks cross-country. I guess my parents knew what they were doing in terms of child-rearing, and I was always glad that they were my parents instead of my aunt and uncle. Also, Dad felt the same way about them as I did, letting us know it whenever the subject was brought up.
“Oh, goodie,” I proclaimed, with mock enthusiasm. My father grinned, ever so slightly.
“Be nice,” my mom said, waving a finger at me. “We haven’t had the whole family
