She Told Me to Move Out at Christmas Dinner—Forgetting I Paid Every Bill in That House

and wide-eyed neighbors.

In the center of the dissolving chaos, perched on her borrowed throne in a torn gold gown, sat Bernice. She stared straight ahead, eyes glazed, as her kingdom burned down around her.

Then, slowly, she turned and looked at me.

“Tiana,” she whispered, voice shaking. “Help me. Please. You always fix everything.”

I looked at her.

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