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“You’ve got bags under your eyes. Did you sleep badly?”
“I’ve had a couple of rough nights.”
“You want to talk with your old man?”
“Dad…” I rolled my eyes.
“Okay, dude. No problem.”
He got up, his smile still on his face, and told Justin he was going shopping and would be back in a few hours. The doorbell chimed as he left.
“Mom’s not here?”
“Fortunately, she’s got a meeting about the fair in two weeks. Obviously she offered to make twenty or thirty cakes and take them there. The usual.”
“Have you tried to talk to her?”
“Yeah, but it’s pointless. She doesn’t listen.”
“And Dad?” I finished my cheesecake.
“Dad…he’ll just do whatever she says.”
“I don’t get it.”
“You will someday, Axel.” Justin wiped the bar down with a rag and took away my empty plate. “He loves her. He adores her. When you’re in love with someone, you can do things for that person even if you know they’re not right; you’ll even put their desires before yours. It’s hard.”
“Why are you taking that for granted?”
“What?”
“That I’ve never been in love.”
“Because I know you. And you haven’t.”
“What the fuck do you know? I’ve been out with tons of chicks, and…”
“And none of them has got you to stop staring at your own belly button.” He cut me off. “It’s different, Axel. Being with someone, commitment, going through fucked-up times, what do you know about that? Marriage is complicated. Lots of stages, you know. Not everything is that first year when you fall in love and life seems perfect.”
“Are you having problems with Emily?”
“No, of course not.” He hesitated. “I mean, the usual. Too little time alone. Lots of stress with the kids. The normal stuff, I guess.”
“You can leave them with me one day if you want.”
“So you can let them paint the walls?” he joked.
“I’m the cool uncle; what can you do?”
Justin turned serious. “By the way, you need to pay more attention to Dad.”
“How so?”
“You really haven’t realized it? He’s been trying to get your attention forever. When Douglas was alive… I mean, he accepted the situation and just sort of stepped aside.”
“Accepted what situation?”
“The fact that you seem to get along better with other people. That you treated Douglas like the father you wished you had.”
