The smell of roasted turkey and sweet pumpkin pie filled the warm kitchen.
Outside the window, small white snowflakes drifted down onto the icy green lawn.
It was Christmas Eve at the comfortable suburban house owned by Mark and Sarah.
They spent three full days cleaning the living room and preparing the big holiday meal.
Every corner of the house looked bright and festively decorated with pine garlands.
Mark was a hard working regional sales manager for a national construction firm.
He spent years saving money to afford the heavy monthly mortgage on their home.
Sarah was a high school history teacher currently taking time off from work.
She wanted to care full time for their sweet ten month old baby, Maya.
Little Maya wore bright red Christmas pajamas with tiny reindeer printed on them.
She sat in her wooden high chair near the long dining room table.
The family was celebrating an early dinner before the evening church service began.
However, an uncomfortable tension hung over the festive wooden table all afternoon.
Mark had invited his younger sister, Laura, to spend the holiday with them.
Laura worked as an assistant for an expensive estate law firm downtown.
She always acted superior to everyone else in the small family circle.
She wore a bright mustard yellow sweater and high end designer jewelry.
Laura was unhappy because their late grandfather left his valuable life insurance money to Mark.
She felt she deserved a bigger slice of the family trust fund inheritance instead.
All afternoon, Laura made passive aggressive comments about the small house decor.
She scoffed at the homemade food and complained about the loud festive music.
Sarah tried her best to stay calm and polite for Mark's sake.
She knew how much Mark wanted a peaceful holiday season with his family.
Mark went into the garage to grab extra folding chairs for coming guests.
Sarah stepped into the adjoining kitchen to check on the hot apple cider.
Only Laura and little baby Maya remained together in the quiet dining room.
Maya giggled softly while holding a tiny plastic fork from her tray.
A thick slice of chocolate cake sat on a white ceramic plate nearby.
Laura sat across from the high chair, scrolling through social media on her phone.
Suddenly, a sharp metallic scraping sound echoed through the bright dining room space.
Laura gasped loudly and pulled back from the big mahogany dining table.
A small smear of dark chocolate icing clung to her bright yellow sweater sleeve.
Maya reached out her tiny hands and babbled cheerfully toward her colorful aunt.
Laura stood up with a look of absolute disgust on her sharp face.
She pulled the high chair tray roughly toward herself with a loud click.
The force caused the small wooden chair to shake hard on the rug.
Maya lost her balance and bumped her small forearm against the chair tray edge.
The baby burst into loud, heartbroken tears that echoed into the nearby hallway.