Dad kept staring at her after she said it.
Not angry exactly. Just tired in a way I hadn’t seen before.
My stepbrother tried laughing it off. “Mom’s just saying we need to be realistic.”
Dad finally looked down at the papers spread across the table.
Then he asked, real quiet, “You already agreed to sell my house?”
Nobody answered right away.
My stepsister started folding and unfolding her napkin. My stepmother reached for her tea like this was all completely normal.
Dad looked at the folder again. “Before talking to me?”
My stepmother sighed. “We’re trying to help you before things get harder.”
That’s when Dad pushed the papers away hard enough for one of them to slide into the butter dish.
The whole table went silent.
And honestly, I think everybody was shocked more by that than anything he said after.
Because Dad usually avoided conflict so badly he’d apologize for other people stepping on HIS foot.
But this time he looked straight at my stepbrother and said, “You already called a realtor, didn’t you?”
My stepbrother froze for half a second too long.
Dad noticed.
So did everybody else.
My stepmother jumped in fast. “It was only to ask questions.”
Dad nodded slowly like something finally clicked into place.
Then he pulled his wedding ring off, set it beside his plate, and looked at my stepmother.
“I may forget appointments,” he said, “but I remember buying this house before I ever met any of you.”
Nobody moved.
My stepsister actually started crying before he even finished talking.
Dad stood up slowly from the table and slid the folder back toward them.
Then he said, “And if you were waiting for me to sign something tonight, you all wasted a trip.”