He pulled her away from the table, telling everyone they were going to browse the desserts, and proceeded to drag her straight out the back door.

Once on the porch, he took his time backing her against the wall. Gloria suddenly couldn’t remember what they were talking about. “What’s this for?” she asked, when he kissed her sweetly.

“To soften the blow when I tell you that you’re not responsible for the mood of the room.”

“What are you talking about? I just have a bad feeling about what’s going on between them.”

“Glo, listen to me.” He put his hands on her shoulders, squeezed gently. “Whatever’s going on, it’s not your job to fix it or make it better. It’s not your job to make everybody happy.”

“That’s not what… Well, hell.” That’s exactly what she’d been doing. What she always did.

“I get it,” Aldo pressed on. “You take responsibility for how other people feel because those feelings were taken out on you again and again. But you aren’t responsible for other people’s happiness. You’re in charge of your own, and you’re doing a damn good job with it. But you can’t go in that house and make Harper and Luke happy.”

“But there’s something clearly going on with them,” she argued. Aldo was taking apart the way she lived her life, the way she interacted with everyone she met. She thought back, recalling her parents’ fights. Remembering how she’d draw them special pictures of their family, holding hands and smiling like she wanted them to. If she could just get better grades or score that goal in soccer…they’d be happy. They’d be proud. If she could just get dinner on the table faster or fold the laundry the way he liked it, he’d be happy.

“Honey.” Aldo cupped her face. “None of it’s your fault. And it’s not your job to fix it.”

She closed her eyes and let out a long slow breath. “That’s a lot to process.”

“When you try to fix things for other people, you’re basically saying you don’t believe in their ability to fix it themselves. You’re telling them you don’t believe in them. Respect them. Trust them.”

“But what if they don’t fix it? What if they keep making mistakes?” Luke’s words in the dining room came back to her.

“That’s on them. What are they going to learn if they just do what you tell them to do?”

“Huh.” Gloria blinked, processed. “That makes an odd amount of sense.”

He laughed.

“You can’t control everything and everyone. You can’t make everything perfect and everyone happy. You can be happy and make good choices for yourself.”