“No.”
“Are you mad?”
Derek chose the words as if they were medicine and the dose mattered. “I am mad at the lie. I am not mad at you. I am not mad at Jonah for being born. I am glad you didn’t get on the plane feeling the way you felt. You were trying to tell me something. I should have listened faster.”
Mason nodded, a small formal nod, and ate three bites of sandwich. Then he said, to Jonah, “Do you like grilled cheese?”
“Yeah,” Jonah said. His voice was careful and almost steady. “This one’s good.”
“Dad burns them on purpose sometimes because I like the dark parts.”