Dad was just being stubborn. Adults got that way sometimes, I noticed. They didn’t like to be wrong about stuff so they twisted themselves all up into pretzels to convince themselves they were right about everything.
Dad was twisted up so tightly, he couldn’t see things for how they really were.
I led Dad into the living room where Nova was. She was excited to see Dad, and they hugged. Dad asked Nova about this and that, like school and games, and if she and I were getting along okay. All the while though, he kept glancing at me.
I knew our earlier talk wasn’t over yet. Dad had a lot to say when he wanted to.
After catching up with Nova, he turned to me again. “Why would you want to stay here?” he asked.
“I just… have stuff to figure out.”
“What kind of… stuff?” Dad asked. With the w
