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“It wasn’t your fault,” I remind him

“Yeah, it was And I’ sorry”

“I’m fine now”

“So fine that you think you can’t have babies,” he counters “Hell, Seth, we all have baggage I couldn’t listen to loud noises for years after I got home Still don’t like them I was married to a woman who systeot here, you were so angry, you refused to be in the same room with me, and I was scared of ured it out”

“I’ll never forget that Fourth of July,” I say softly as the memory forms perfectly in my mind “That first Fourth of July at the beach celebration, when you thought the fireworks were gunfire and coveredto saveI’d been told before was just a lie”

“Just like what you’ve told yourself for all these years is a lie,” he agrees “Being daed doesn’t s Like children Just don’t do what I did when I found out that Jillian was pregnant with the twins”

“Oh, definitely don’t do that,” Josh agrees

“What did you do?”

Dad sighs and rubs his forehead “I nant on purpose and lying toinfertile”

I stare at the man I love ht now”

“Trust me, she punished me We’ve both had a hard time, you and I”

“Wait When she left us, and you said that sos just don’t work out, that hy?”

“Yeah”

“And then Kensie showed up here, and Jillian stood up for me, punched Kensie out, and Jillian still left that day Because you’re stupid?”

“Oh, yeah, I was stupid Was is the operative word there”

“Sometimes, you’re still stupid,” Josh says philosophically

“For fuck’s sake, I wouldn’t accuse Re”