|Katherine|
“Welcome, welcome! Come in, come in!” Grandpa’s voice thundered through the foyer, echoing off the high ceiling and polished marble floors. It wasn’t just a greeting—it was a proclamation, the kind of booming warmth he saved for anniversaries, reunions, or the arrival of a guest he deeply admired. His arms stretched wide, as though he had been standing there all night rehearsing this very moment, eager for the grand reveal.
I, on the other hand, felt my enthusiasm slip right through me like sand through clenched fingers. My lips curved awkwardly, caught in that uncomfortable place between forced politeness and outright disbelief. Of all the possibilities I had braced myself for tonight, this particular one—finding the Ramirez couple, and their son, standing neatly framed by t
