“It was a treat to see the girls.” Kathleen forced herself to lie, a challenge for someone who believed in speaking the truth. It seemed the polite thing to do, even though they both knew that the twins had been a nightmare. They’d behaved delightfully to her of course—Granny! It’s great to see you—and appallingly to their mother—We could all go out for a nice family dinner but Mum’s taken away all the fun in our lives.

Given the level of hostility, Kathleen admired her daughter for sticking to the sanctions she’d imposed. In the same situation she doubted she would have been so resolute. But Liza had always been an easy child, so discipline of any sort had been unnecessary.

What a horrid, conflict-ridden, joyless world her daughter was inhabiting.

“No internet, no TV, no phone, for a month.” Caitlin had stomped around the kitchen. “It’s an infringement of my human rights.”

Alice, a conflict avoider, had covered her ears and left the room.

Liza had stayed calm. “It was an infringement of our neighbors’ rights when you kept them awake, broke a window and destroyed half the plants on their border.”

“That wasn’t my fault.” Caitlin was mutinous. “I’m not responsible for other people’s actions.”

“You are when they are guests in your home.”

“They weren’t guests! I didn’t even know them. And taking everything away is—is—it’s medieval. Granny, tell her it’s medieval.”

“Nothing about your life is medieval.” Kathleen had tried to stay impartial. “In medieval times you probably wouldn’t have survived to teenage years. Infant mortality was alarmingly high.”

“Are you saying you never had a party when you were our age?”

Oh dear. “Yes, I suppose—”

“You see?” Caitlin turned to Liza, triumphant. “Granny said she had a massive party when she was our age.”

“I didn’t say massive,” Kathleen said, but no one was listening to her.

Liza was working so hard to stay calm her body was vibrating.

“Firstly, this is about you, not Granny. Secondly, social media hadn’t been invented when Granny was a teenager and even if she did have a party, I’m willing to bet she knew everyone there. Thirdly, her guests didn’t destroy the house and also the neighbors’ house.”

“We didn’t destroy the house,” Caitlin mumbled, but she had the grace to look a little sheepish. “We didn’t invite those people.”

“But someone did, and you need to find out who and make them accountable.”

“No way. That is not cool.”

Kathleen waited for Liza to say While you’re living under my roof, you will live by my rules, but she didn’t.