“Let someone else clean it,” I said firmly. “Come here now.”

Rosalyn laughed in my face. “Oh, Alice, don’t be so dramatic. Laura is just helping with the chores. We’re family, right? Families help each other out.”

I looked around the living room. Robert’s two sisters were sprawled on the couch watching television, their feet on my coffee table. The brother was out in the yard smoking. The children had left a mess of toys and food all over the floor.

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

“Two weeks,” Rosalyn replied. “And we’ll be staying all summer. Robert invited us. He says there’s plenty of room.”

Two weeks. My daughter had been living this hell for two weeks and hadn’t told me anything.

“And where is Robert?” I asked.