He was pacing.“Hi, Dad.” I pushed myself up to a sitting position. “Is everything okay?”“I love you!” he barked.“I, uh, I love you too?”“Your mother thinks it’s important for me to remind you,” he sputtered as he stomped back and forth in front of my bed. “I told her you already know, but if you need reminding….” He stopped, pressed his lips together into thin lines, and dragged his hands through his hair. “I love you.”I’d never seen my father so flustered. On the one hand, I felt guilty for making him feel that way. But on the other hand, I was relieved to know he cared enough to give me his attention even when he was thrown off-balance.“Thank you,” I said, and then I bit my lip. “That means a lot to me.”He grunted, nodded, and kept pacing. “You almost died,” he reminded me.“I know. It was a mistake.”He grunted again. “You scared your mother.”“I’m sorry.”Another grunt. “She was more upset than the time she picked you up from summer camp and you had a yellow Star of David pinned to your shirt.”“Dad,”
