__exclusive__: Familyscrew

"Shut up, Caleb," they said in unison. Familyscrew.

It tasted better than any family dinner he'd ever had.

Leo and Mara left the courthouse not speaking to each other — an improvement over the screaming they'd done on the way in. familyscrew

"I'll waive my share. Give it to charity. Any charity. Pick one out of a hat. I don't care."

What the Vexlers had was a familyscrew — a slow, multi-generational torque where each member was both the tool and the bolt being tightened until something stripped. "Shut up, Caleb," they said in unison

Caleb walked to a bus stop, bought a slice of pepperidge farm cookie cake from a vending machine, and ate it alone.

The judge ruled the will partially valid, voided the "emotional principal" as unenforceable, and ordered the cookie cake deduction removed "as a matter of public policy against pettiness." Leo and Mara left the courthouse not speaking

The hearing was in a small, windowless room at the county courthouse. The judge, a woman with eyeglasses balanced on her nose like a skeptical insect, listened for two hours. She heard about the fondue (Mara had used the wrong cheese; Grandma never forgot). She heard about the "emotional principal" (Leo had missed Thanksgiving 1994 to go skiing). She heard about the cookie cake.