I blinked.
“You have a therapist?”
“Shut up.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I hate him.”
“Then he’s probably good.”
Daniel rolled his eyes.
Then he grew serious.
“He asked me why I was more angry about you than Dad.”
I waited.
“I didn’t have an answer.”
“Maybe because you expected more from me.”
“That’s part of it.”
He swallowed.
“But mostly because Dad leaving made Mom seem… I don’t know.”
“Fragile?”
“Yeah.”
“She isn’t.”
“I know that now.”
He looked toward me.
“I went to the bookstore yesterday.”
I smiled.
“How is it?”
“Actually cool.”
“Don’t tell her you said that.”
“I won’t.”
He took a breath.
“Have you ever slept with her?”
“No.”
His shoulders relaxed.
“Have you kissed her?”
“No.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
He stared.
“You’ve been in love with my mother for almost a year and haven’t kissed her?”
“Your family has made my life incredibly inconvenient.”
