“Um,” Cooper says, “what’s going on?” I ignore him, shaking Dad’s hand off my shoulder. “Is that what you told Bex?” “Not in as many words.” “But you told her that she has to shut herself away for me.” “Not shut herself away,” he says. “I just told her the reality. It takes a lot of compromise, son, making something like this work. I wanted to make sure she knew.” I raise my eyes to meet his. “You didn’t have the right.” “Someone had to know, because clearly you forget.” “No. Screw that.”
