“Mom, no!”
He pressed both hands hard against his forehead.
“It’s not that,” he said. “God, I wish it were that simple.”
At last, he sat. His hoodie remained on. He leaned on his elbows, studying the tabletop grain.
“I didn’t move out because I was ready to live on my own,” he said quietly.
“Then why did you leave?”
Silence stretched between us.
“Because Ben told me something about our family,” he said. “About my family. Three weeks ago. At graduation.” PlanFamily Trips
He swallowed hard.
“I thought he
