Maureen would have pushed back even harder, but I wasn’t Maureen. Instead, I swallowed my bitter-tart swirl of feelings, stood, walked like a robot to his spot at the head of the table, and put my arms around him. After all, he had stayed home when I asked. That counted for something, didn’t it? He smiled, leaning into me like I was the parent and him the child. The thing was, I knew he was telling the truth. He did love all of us. Why wasn’t that enough anymore?
