Then she invoked childhood. Sisters rescue sisters. Family does not let family fail. I listened until she stopped. “Every dollar I have is tied up in long-term conservative allocations,” I said, repeating almost word for word the financial language she had used when my nerves were being crushed and I needed surgery. Her face changed.
“That was different.”
“Yes,” I said. “I was asking for a loan to keep walking. You were asking what Mom had for dessert.”
Felicia began crying and asked whether I would truly let her business collapse over an amount that meant little compared with my settlement. I told her the settlement was compensation for a damaged spine, not a family lottery. I reminded her that I had paid for her vehicle for years and that she had vacationed at St. Simons days after refusing to help me. “The door to my bank account is closed.”
