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Whatever Leo’s issue was, I hoped that he’d keep it to hih ti a bunch of bullshit My stomach knotted in a mixture of anxiety and excites, no matter how fucked up our relationship was, but I also dreaded it

It was i an outcast in your own fa that they loved you, but didn’t necessarily want you around was… heartbreaking It made you unsure of yourself in a way that you hadn’t been before It made you question your worth

“First hurdle is over,” Mark said, reaching out to cover ht?”

I didn’t have the heart to burst his bubble I hadn’t been worried about the men It was the women who’d make snide remarks and talk shit about , Olive’s wail filled the cab of the truck

“Just cli in the ates”

“Never in a rumbled as I cli a baby in avehicle like it was 1972”

“Cost-benefit analysis,” Mark said, leaning out of ”

“I know,” I replied I shushed the baby as I unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled her into my arms “I promise it won’t always be like this,” I crooned “So chair, with sun shining through theand the Beatles playing”

“The Beatles, huh?” Mark said

“What can I say,” I said with a shrug “I’m a fan”

“No lullabies?”

“I doubt I even know any,” I replied as I quickly and aardly changed Olive’s diaper “Farrah wasn’t really a lullaby type of parent, but I can probably sing every Beatles song from start to finish”

“My mom was more of an Alabama fan,” Mark said

I didn’t respond I wasn’t really sure what to say, because anything even remotely nice would’ve sounded insincere At so kind about Mark’s mother, but not yet Not when I could still remember the satisfaction in her voice when she’d told me he’d left me

“Dad washis throat “The Who Pink Floyd Bob Dylan Creedence”

“Really? I would’ve thought The Monkeys,” I replied sarcastically

Mark barked out a laugh “Oh, they were top ten, for sure”

We discussed different bands we liked, both old ones and nehile I fed the baby By the ti into the front, we’d moved onto movies

“Back to the Future was ahead of its ti at me

“Was that an intentional pun?” I asked with a laugh “Plus, there’s no comparison How you could think that Back to the Future is even close to being as good as Dirty Dancing is beyond me”