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“I think I ht have made a mistake with Aida,” I tell him

He peers at lasses, thrown off balance That’s not what he expected me to say

“What do you mean?”

“I was cold and deht be too late to start over”

My father crosses his arainst the desk He probably doesn’t want to talk about this I don’t want to talk about it, either But it’s eating me alive

“She didn’t seeht,” he says

I sigh, looking out theat the high rises opposite

Aida always rolls with the punches That doesn’t mean she wasn’t hurt And that doesn’t h nut What will it take to truly crack her open, to find that vulnerable core inside?

“When did you fall in love with Moe wasn’t exactly traditional, either

“I’m not a sentimental person,” my father says “I think we’re alike in that way, you and I I don’t think much about love, or what it means But I can tell you that I came to trust your mother She showed me that I could rely on her, no matter what And that’s what bonded us That’s when I kneasn’t alone anymore Because I could count on one person, at least”

Trust as the essence of love

It doesn’t sound romantic, not on the surface

But it ster knows that your friends can put a bullet in your back just as easily as your enemies—even easier, in fact

Trust is rarer than love

It’s putting your fate, your happiness, your life in so they keep it safe