“You want jewelry? A fancy house? Here.” She fumbled to unclasp the bracelet, dropping the bottle of wine in the process. A tongue of red licked the floor while glass shards sparkled like stars in a crimson sky. Felicity gazed at the mess she had made, then contorted as she began to cry.

“This bracelet means nothing without Vera,” she muttered between sobs. “And I don’t care about all of this stuff. I’d give everything up to get her back, even though I know I never deserved her.”

I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment at this intimate glimpse inside her heart.

“Don’t say that—you’ve been a great mom. And she loves you more than anything, Felicity.”

She sniffled, snatched a breath. “I hope so. I know you love her too. I’m trying so hard not to be angry at you, but it’s…complicated. I wake up wanting to feel okay, but then all the worry heaves itself on me, and suddenly I can’t breathe, can’t think, just wait for news about whether Vera is alive or dead…and just keep waiting and waiting for answers that may never come. I’ve watched one child disappear and another slowly fade away…and I need someone to blame. Someone other than myself.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” I said. My eyes watered with shared pain. I loved Vera like my own sister. “We all want to support you. I’m sorry I made this about me. I don’t want to get swallowed up in drama that doesn’t matter. All that matters is bringing Vera home, right?”

I thought this would be the end of the grudge over the baggie of pot. I was wrong.

I offered to clean up the broken glass and wine snaking its way into the cracks between the floorboards. By the time I finished, Oliver had set the kids up at the kitchen counter with their dessert and announced to Cody and Felicity, who had moved to the living room, that he was going to get some fresh air. I decided I needed some too.

“We’re all out of Collins mix, so I’m gonna make a run to the store,” I said with a grin, hoping to lighten the mood.

Only Oliver laughed, recognizing the line from Meet the Parents. Oliver understood me in ways no one else did. Cody and Felicity threw me questioning looks, shrinking my laugh down to silence.

“There’s Cool Aunt Marin again, not a care in the world.” Argumentative Felicity was back.

Lately Felicity had become Robert De Niro to my Ben Stiller, always scrutinizing me, finding fault with me as I struggled to fit into her family. No matter how much I won over everyone else, Felicity would make sure I lost in the end.