Page 113 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

"Yes. You get it from your father."

I shook my head. "So basically you want me to be with someone a little more like you? Is that it?"

"Exactly. Someone who can take care of you. And remind you to eat."

"I've been eating."

"If you say so. Really, it should be a sweet girl who pushes your buttons enough to get you to tell her what's really bothering you."

I put my fork down.

"One that will tell you that you're being an idiot when you try to do something like sign up for the marines on a whim." She raised her eyebrow at me.

"It wasn't a whim. I was trying to make Dad and Granddad proud."

"And you think you would have asked me if joining the marines would have done that. I would have told you that it wouldn't. Just because your grandfather did it doesn't mean it was the right fit for you. They both wanted something better for you than they had. That's what all parents want. But no, you didn't ask me."

"I'm sorry. You're right. I should have asked you."

"Exactly. Now that's enough food for you." She stood up and pulled my plate away. "You can eat again when you tell me what's wrong with you."

"There's nothing wrong."

"If there wasn't anything wrong you wouldn't have driven across the country. If nothing was wrong you wouldn't have somehow miraculously un-enlisted from the marines. And don't tell me you're on the run because I don't want to be any part of that."

"I'm not..."

"Hush."

My mom hadn't hushed me since I was a kid. Geez, she really was mad at me.

"And you certainly wouldn't be here if there wasn't something wrong. You have a perfectly good apartment in New York. So tell me what's wrong or you can go to your room."

I laughed. But it didn't look like she was joking. "It has nothing to do with Penny."

"Then tell me what it does have to do with."

Fuck. She really did know how to push my buttons. "I messed everything up."

She sat down next to me and squeezed my hand.

"I met this girl on the way to basic training. She's sweet but she tells me when I'm being an idiot. She's real. And she's way too good for me."

"Sounds like a keeper."

"Yeah, well...she hates me now."

"So fix it."

"It's not that simple."

"Of course it is."

"Not everything can be fixed. I can't be with someone who cries when she sees me." I suddenly felt like I was breaking. "I can't...I can't..."

"Bring dad back?"

"What?"

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