I came home early from work only to find strangers repainting my master bedroom. “We’re renovating it before moving in!” my brother’s wife chirped, brush in hand. He just nodded. My parents laughed along, as if I didn’t even exist. The next morning, Mom’s voice shook on the phone: “Why… why did the police come to us?”

I came home early from work only to find strangers repainting my master bedroom. “We’re renovating it before moving in!” my brother’s wife chirped, brush in hand. He just nodded. My parents laughed along, as if I didn’t even exist. The next morning, Mom’s voice shook on the phone: “Why… why did the police come to us?”

I wasn’t supposed to be home that afternoon. A project deadline had been unexpectedly moved up, and the usually congested arteries of the city were, for once, clear.