I know it will infuriate him and I can’t handle any more stress. So I tell Lewis that my dad can’t drive any more and so I’m going back to Danbury in a couple of weeks to take him and my mother to the doctor’s. I leave it at that. “They can’t call a taxi?” Lewis asks. He has zero time for my parents, and I can’t blame him. They have zero time for him. “They want me to be there.” He arches an eyebrow. “When have they ever wanted you to be there, Jo? They’re the most selfish people on the planet.” I wince at this, even though I can’t argue with it. “All right, then. I want to be there. They’re my parents, Lewis.” “I know.” He sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “I just wish you’d stop trying so hard with them. You’re not going to change them.” “I know,” I say. “But I still want to help.” He lets it go with a shrug, and I ask, striving for lightness, “Have you heard from Maddie recently? About Ben? How is he doing?” A brief and telling pause.
