“I’ll say it again. Are you listening to me? You’re being really, really brave right now, and it turns out, you’ve always been brave.” “Sure. I should have recorded it all. I should have made a police report, filed for a protection order—” He sounds commanding now. “Stop. You did the best you could, just like now. You didn’t let it ruin you. You stayed funny and smart and kind. You survived. A lot of people don’t. Take my word for it.”
