Page 13 of Where We Belong

Cory: One of his children wanted him back home.

Ben: Was he sick?

Cory: No, Story missed her dad. She’s daddy’s little girl.

Ben: How old is she?

Cory: Eleven.

Ben: Nope. She doesn’t miss her dad. She doesn’t like that her father has someone else in his life. I bet she puts herself before her siblings.

Cory: How do you know this?

Ben: Shannon, my older sister—she’s the middle child. She used to be like that while growing up. If I was sick, she’d pretend to be sicker. If one of my brothers did something, she’d figure out a way to bring the attention back to her. If Dad was on a date, she’d do the impossible to drag him home. She manipulated our parents. My father, more than my mother.

Cory: You never talk about your siblings.

Ben: You know Derek. He’s the only one who matters. The rest are inconsequential.

Ben: I just mentioned Shannon because I don’t think this relationship is going to work.

Cory: Stay away from my personal life.

Ben: If I didn’t know where this was heading, I would, but hear me out. The moment my sister figured out that our father was in a relationship, she’d make this woman’s life miserable until they broke up. He’s a difficult man, but Shannon made everything a million times harder.

Cory: So, if you’re on vacation with your girlfriend, and Bernie asks you to go home, what are you going to do?

Ben: Why do I have to go back home? If it’s because Bernie’s sick, I’ll ensure the plane lands within hours. If it’s because she misses me, we can have a nice video call, and she’ll see me once I’m back. It’s called boundaries.

Cory: Wow, that’s not exactly what I was expecting. I would think you’d run to her.

Ben: In this hypothetical scenario, she accepts the woman I’m dating, and they get along. In your scenario, I have the feeling that Bodhi isn’t being truthful with himself or his daughter. Be careful, okay?

Cory: It’s not like I plan on marrying him tomorrow.

Ben: Then why are you with him?

Cory: Can we stop talking about me, please?

Ben: You started this. Why did you text?

Cory: I have a Wi-Fi connection and decided to start writing the pros and cons of our partnership.

Ben: But you had another week to think about it.

Cory: As I said before, life changes.

Ben: You never told me if he’s divorced or a widower.

Cory: Divorced. Apparently, they fell out of love.

Ben: Well, you know what they say, half of all marriages end up in divorce.You should wait until he marries a couple more times before taking that step.

Ben::laughing: emoji

Cory: That’s a terrible joke, and where did you get those numbers?

Ben: There’s some statistic lingering around the dark corners of the internet. Search for it, I bet there are millions of studies.

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