“Mom, I need to ask you a favor. Simone‘s parents are visiting from overseas. It’s their first time here. They want to meet you. We’re having dinner on Saturday at a restaurant. Please come.”

Something in his tone made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t the voice of a son inviting his mother; it was the voice of someone asking not to be embarrassed.

“Do they know anything about me?” I asked calmly.

There was a silence. Then Marcus stammered, “I… I told them you work in an office, that you live alone, that you’re… simple. That you don’t have much.”