At midnight my sister tried to bring her three children into my apartment with my mother’s key, but when she yelled at me “family helps each other”, I had already changed the lock and was waiting for her downstairs to put a stop to it.

“I never said I was going to leave them out on the street, and I would appreciate it if you stopped exaggerating the situation to make me look like a villain,” I replied.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned the screen around so they could see the confirmation page for the reservation I had made.

“I booked a luxury family suite at the Marriott right next to the airport about thirty minutes ago, and it has two queen beds and a full breakfast included,” I explained.

“The shuttle van is already on its way here to pick you up, and I have already provided my credit card for the entire stay so you won’t have to pay a dime.”

Sienna stared at the phone screen as if she couldn’t decide whether to continue her tirade or accept the olive branch I was holding out.

“So you had this whole elaborate plan ready before we even walked through the front doors?” my mother asked with a frown.

“I had a solution ready because I knew you wouldn’t listen to me and I wanted to make sure the kids had a place to sleep that wasn’t on my sofa,” I said.

Sienna let out a sharp and bitter laugh as she shook her head in a way that suggested she still felt like the victim of a grave injustice.