He scoots the tiniest bit closer, and I revel in his warmth. “I know they care about May. But it seems like... I don’t know. Like they want to see her more, yet they’ve made no effort to do it until now. I’ve never told them not to visit, but they hardly ever do. And I can only assume that’s because they disapprove of me as her parent so much that they don’t want to be around me any more than they have to be.”

Okay, that’s it. It may not be my place to get involved in their family stuff, but I can’t let him keep thinking the distance between them is because they dislike him.

As I card my fingers through his hair, I tell him, “I think they don’t come here more often because of April, not because of you.”

He lifts his head to look at me again, his hair slipping from my grasp. “What do you mean?”

“This was their vacation spot with her, right? I’m sure it’s hard for them to be here in this place that constantly reminds them of their daughter.”

“I...” Understanding slowly dawns in his eyes as he stares at me. “I’ve never even thought about that.” He lets out a small, humorless laugh. “Wow. How self-absorbed am I?”

“You’re not self-absorbed.”

The face he makes says he doesn’t agree with me. “I’ve spent so much time being sad for May losing her mom and for me losing my best friend. And then I’ve spent even more time and energy trying not to show how sad I am. In the midst of that, I’ve almost forgotten about the fact that they lost their daughter. They don’t talk about her with me.”

“Do you talk about her with them?”

“Oh,” he says so softly that I see the word form on his lips more than I actually hear it. “I don’t really talk about her with anyone.”

“I know,” I tell him, guiding his head back down to my shoulder. “And you have the right to deal with your grief in whatever way works best for you. I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I only wanted you to consider their perspective, because that might help your relationship with them.”

“No, I appreciate it. Really.” He turns slightly so he can bury his forehead in my shirt. “But I don’t want to bring down the date night mood. So let’s change the subject now, and I can process all this later when I’m alone.”

I subtly sniff his hair. “Deal. Just so you know though, you don’t need to do it alone.”

He sighs and burrows into me a little more.

I hope he understands the part I didn’t say. That I’ll always be here for him if he needs me.