Maybe a few mornings where nobody needed anything from me.

That hope lasted approximately thirty minutes after my family arrived.

I had gotten there first.

I unlocked the house, carried in the groceries, checked the rooms, and made sure everything was working.

Then Emily’s SUV pulled into the driveway.

She came through the front door with sand still on her shoes and headed straight down the hallway.

“Ooh! Master bedroom is mine!”

She tossed her suitcase onto the biggest bed.

Todd followed her inside carrying beer while music blasted from a Bluetooth speaker.

Mom walked directly into the kitchen and began opening cabinets like she owned the place.

I followed them down the hall.

“Before everyone settles in, maybe we should figure out the bedrooms. We could rotate or something.”

Emily laughed.

“We already figured it out.”

I stopped.

“What?”

“Me, Todd, and Mom talked about it. We voted.”

She kicked off her shoes.

“You get the couch. We get the bedrooms.”

For a second, I honestly thought she was joking.

“You voted?”

“Yep.”

“And I wasn’t part of this vote?”

She shrugged.

“You’re one person. Todd and I are a couple. Mom’s older. It makes sense.”

Then she delivered the sentence that changed the entire trip.

“Besides, you didn’t really help pay for anything.”

I stared at her.

“What are you talking about? I paid the entire rental.”

Mom leaned against the doorway.

“Oh, James, don’t start being dramatic.”

“I’m being dramatic?”