“We’ll get through this.”
“But we’re not getting through it. You look like hell. And I need you.” My voice cracked. “Please.”
Dad looked down at his teacup. He rolled it back and forth between his hands.
“I need you too. You and your sister and your mom.” He let out this shaky breath and cleared his throat. “You’re my whole world.”
“Then you can stop. Really. We’ll be okay.”
Dad sniffed.
“Remember what you told me, when we were in Iran? That you can lose people to depression lots of ways?”
“I remember.”
“Well, I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. I promise.”
“Okay.”
He slurped his tea and took a deep breath.
“I missed this.”
“Yeah.”
We sat together. The silence between us wasn’t exactly awkward, but it wasn’t particularly comfortable either.
“Landon broke up with me,” I said.
And then I said, “Or I broke up with him.”
“Oh, son.” He reached out and rested his hand on the back of my neck. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not right now,” I said. “Can we just sit like this?”
“Of course. Or...”
“Or what?”
“We could go put on someStar Trek.”
“Yeah.”
PENILE HUMILIATIONS
AfterStar Trek,we ate dinner and then Dad turned in early.
I finished up my homework and got ready for bed.
I was feeling so weird and sad, I didn’t even go number three before tucking myself in.
I was almost asleep when my computer rang.
