ask whether he wanted to go.
Karen had.
And once again, I realized how much help I had denied her while insisting I was protecting her.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For everything.”
She looked at me.
“Dad told me to wait.”
“I know.”
“He said eventually you’d reach the point where you were ready. He said pushing you before then would only make you more determined to handle everything alone.”
“He knows me.”
“Almost annoyingly well.”
“Don’t tell him that.”
“I’m telling him that too.”
She kissed my cheek and
