Chapter 84: Aftermath

It's easier to forgive when you can understand. My father had descended into a mental state where he believed that walking away from his family was the right thing to do. I couldn't know for sure and I couldn't understand how a person gets to that point. I felt angry that he'd felt that way. Maybe I wouldn't be so angry if I understood, but then again, I don't think I'll ever understand. "We spoke about a week before he left," Mr Dawson said, and I stifled my thoughts to hear him speak. Mr Dawson was talking as if he could picture my father standing in front of him. "I could see that he hadn't slept in a while and he was a tormented man. " Mr Dawson put his head in his hands and pressed them against his knees, rocking backwards and forward in his chair. This outburst of emotion took me by surprise. I would never have expected that from Luke's dad. Luke's stern, collected and disapproving father. I heard him exhale in pain and I couldn't tell if he was crying.