I invited them in, curious about what had brought them to my door. They explained that Marcus’s job hadn’t panned out as expected, and Sandra’s income wasn’t nearly enough to cover their mounting expenses. My parents had retired and were living off a tight fixed income, and the mortgage payments were looming large and unmanageable.

“We were hoping,” Sandra began, visibly swallowing her pride, “that you’d consider letting us stay with you for a while.”