“The sofa looks way more cushiony than ours,” he says.

“It’s still gray.”

He laughs, says, “Okay, okay,” and returns to his phone.

I click back on the conversation with Cole. He hasn’t written anything after my last message. I wonder what happened with his dad. Damn, I didn’t even ask.

What’s going on with your dad? I text.

U don’t know?

No

U haven’t talked to Carli?

Not about your dad, I type, wondering if he even knows we’ve broken up.

The three little bubbles telling me he’s typing appear then disappear, appear, then disappear.

I hop over to Barbara A’s feed and shoot my dad a pic of a white, modern living room with colorful art and a sunken middle floor filled with bright blue velvet cushions. “Now this is what I’m talking about,” I tell him.

“Let me see,” he says. And then, “Now that’s nice.”

“Carli’s mom did it.”

“Carli’s mom, huh?” he says, like he’s trying to sniff something out.

I see what he’s getting at, but it’s not how it looks. “Carli’s mom’s design style is dope. Only showing you. This has nothing to do with me and Carli, okay,” I say, setting him straight.

“Yeah, okay.”

I check Cole’s conversation again and see, Shannon’s our sister. My dad cheated on my mom and kept Shannon a secret all these years

WHAT??!!! I message back, not processing what I just read. It’s too much to take in. Dude, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? I want to ask who Shannon is but don’t. The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.

I HATE MY DAD

I know he doesn’t mean that, but I respond, Man I can’t even imagine, and look at my dad. Although I spent a good deal of my life thinking he hated me, I’ve never hated him. And trust me, I’ve tried. I don’t even know if it’s possible to really hate someone you came from.

How do you look your wife in the face? Your kids? Like EVERY DAY for 15 YEARS knowing u have another child? Who does that?

I don’t know man. That’s sooooo messed up. I’m so sorry

And the crazy thing is that if Shannon hadn’t told Carli during the game we still wouldn’t know. He was trying to take it to the grave

Shannon? Oh shit! Shannon! That’s what happened to Carli at the game! That’s why she was so upset. The night flashes back to me, and I can almost tell the exact moment she must’ve found out. When she went from draining everything, including threes, to letting Shannon take over. What! Are you serious?! I message back.