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My phone rang again and I knew that I couldn’t ignore her er

"Hello, Mom" I said flatly as I answered

"Brody! How are you?" She sounded relieved

"Fine"

"That’s good" She tried hard to sound like everything was nor my calls"

"I know" I took a deep breath and held it for a second "Listen, Moy for the way I storht there I knohat you’re going to say and I don’t want you to say it You don’t owe ued

"No There’s no handbook to life, Brody No rules on how you’re supposed to handle situations," she said softly "You were given news that was upsetting and you reacted You’re allowed to react I didn’t expect you to be happy about our divorce"

"I know, Mom, but I shouldn’t have flown off the handle the way I did"

"It’s okay Really," she assured me

"So, how are you with all this, Mos withoutnext to us

She paused for a second and I orried that I’d pissed her off "I’ood, Brody" She sounded perkier than I was prepared for "I’m actually totally at peace with it It’s for the best, it really is"

"Seriously?" I exclaiet that Thirty years, Mos have just changed It’s no one’s fault We just have to learn to roll with the punches"

She was sounding a little happier about her current situation than I would have been, though she had already known about this for a year Apparently she’d adjusted well

"Is Dad around?"

"Uh, yeah I think he’s out in the workshop Let me take hi on the phone--like so, and then ruff voice

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad"

"Hey, Son How are you?"

"Pretty shitty How are you?"

"Hanging in there" He’d shown almost no emotion as far back as I could reht noould be different

"I wanted to talk to you for a minute and tell you that I’ht That whole conversation with you and Mom was a shock, but I shouldn’t have freaked out the way I did" I took a deep breath and sedon Mo you a bad dad It was reprehensible and I’e, Son Don’t sweat it" I could hear light haround and Dad’s AM radio station That workshop was the best thing that ever happened to him He spent hours and hours out there