I Put My Parents Estate in a Trust Just in Case and That Same Day My Sister Told Me Not to Come Home

was Justine.

My sister.

There was no hello when I answered. No warmth, no softness, not even the performative concern she sometimes marshaled when she wanted something. Just her voice, flat and oddly hurried, moving through the words like someone talking while walking a room.

“Don’t come home today,” she said.

I stood there with my keys in my hand and continue reading …