Chapter 6

“Don’t worry about it. I’m over it. I moved out as soon as I could, and it made life a lot easier. I’m better off without my family. Dia’s more like a mom to me than my own mom. She’s a good woman.” Tommy still looks sad, and Mike doesn’t know what to do, so he offers Tommy a piece of his muffin.

He’s pleased when Tommy accepts with a smile.

“I want children one day. I can’t imagine treating them differently for not being like me. Who wants their kid to be a carbon copy of them? I don’t.” Mike has thought about kids a lot since his thirtieth birthday. He wants a family, but he wants to do it when the time is right.

“I’d like kids, too. I won’t be like my parents. I’m sure a lot of people say that. But I really mean it,” Tommy says firmly.

“I’m sure you won’t be like them. You’re too kind to be anything but a loving parent.” Mike is sure from what he’s seen that Tommy is kind and accepting. He wouldn’t draw what he did, the way he did, if he wasn’t.