“Can you come into this room over here, little man?” asked the big guy who opened the door.

“Little man,” snickered my sister.

We walked into a small room with four chairs and a table and nothing else. It smelled like new carpet. We could see outside into a courtyard. It was filled with outdoor tables and chairs and tons of plants and two more fountains, which was an impressive number of fountains, even for Vegas.

“Please put your belongings here,” said the man, pointing at the table.

My mom put her purse and the big bag on the table and the man pulled on gloves and started to go through all her stuff.

“Ewww,” said my sister. “He’s not touching my things.”

I thought the man would get mad, because she was being rude, but he didn’t. “It’s for everyone’s safety,” he said, his voice calm, “including your dad’s.”

Kate went quiet after that.

We pulled out our pockets and he said he wouldn’t pat us down. “We’re not San Quentin,” he said.

“Not unless San Quentin costs thirty thousand dollars a month now,” muttered my mom.

The man must have heard her, but he pretended he didn’t.

Instead, he led us down a hallway with a lot of doors.

“I’ll bring you to your husband. He’s just finishing up with some other visitors, but I know he’s excited to see you all.”

He opened a door to a big TV room where my dad sat by himself in front of a card table. My half sister and half brother stood near the door like they were on their way out.

“Oh good,” said my half sister, who is twenty-one. “The nanny and her kids are here. That’s perfect, Dad. Icing on the cupcake.”

You’ve never met her, but my half sister, Cardi, looks like the complete opposite of my sister. She wears a lot of makeup and has long bright-blonde Disney mermaid hair and wears tight clothes. But she’s also kind of mean, so I guess in that way, you can sort of tell they’re related. Yates is tall and has normal blond hair and he smiles a lot.

“Hello, Cardi,” said my mom, who always says she wasn’t just their nanny before she and my dad got together. She also taught them family fitness and yoga.