“I know.”
“You’re my best friend.”
“I know.”
“She is my mother.”
“I know that too.”
He slammed his palm against the kitchen counter.
“Stop saying you know!”
His voice cracked.
I fell silent.
Daniel rubbed his face with both hands.
“My parents are getting divorced. My father is acting like a stranger. My mother is trying to rebuild her life. And now you’re telling me you want to date her?”
“I love her.”
He stared at me.
“You love her?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Long enough to know this isn’t a joke.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You’re twenty-eight. You could date anyone.”
“I don’t want anyone.”
“You don’t even hear how selfish that sounds.”
I had no defense.
He walked toward the door.
“If you care about me at all, stay away from her until I can figure out what I’m supposed to do with this.”
I wanted to tell him that Karen wasn’t a possession, that he couldn’t decide who she was allowed to love, and that the world did not stop being complicated simply because he wanted it to.
