How Can We Talk?

For months now, Patti has sensed her parents slipping further and further apart. Her mother is rarely home, her father is distant and moody. Even so, she’s shocked when her mother walks out, and sick when she realizes they might get divorced. If not for Steve, Patti’s not sure how she’d survive. But he is there, loving and comforting, to help see her through it.

…Isn’t he? Patti’s not sure. After a while he seems less understanding, and Patti stops talking about her parents to him, afraid she’ll lose him, too…