I tried to talk but she shushed me and handed me a beer. It was cold, she must have bought it on the way. I kind of loved her for that. She pulled the other camping chair from my car and sat down next to me.
"Be useful and roast me a damn hot dog while I talk to you. And please...please just listen, ok? Don't run, or shut down. I need you at least as much as you need me," she said. I could never deny her anything when she said anything in that simple, loving tone. She never really used it to manipulate me either, it was something that came out when she really, really needed me to stop and help her. So I did the smartest thing that I had done that whole day, I shut up and listened to her:
"I think Mom had been misleading you for a while. Not in a bad or mean way. She just...kept some thin
