Dean laughed bitterly.
“My girlfriend walked out three months ago, Dan. Fishing isn’t going to fix that.”
Daniel looked at him. “No. But sitting alone won’t either.”
In six years, he had never told me.
Dean looked away.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Come with us.”
“No.”
“Fine.”
Then Daniel picked up another life jacket.
Checked the straps.
And said something that made every hair on my arms rise.
“Kids don’t remember every expensive thing you buy them, Dean.”
He pulled hard on the buckle.
“They remember whether you came back.”
The video froze for half a second.
My breath stopped for a second.
Daniel had said that the day before he never came back.
The video froze for half a second.
But that wasn’t the part Sophie had been trying to show me.
She reached over and dragged the video forward.
And said, “Mom, listen to what Dad says next.”
