“I don’t always feel that way,” Oren whispered. “It hurts so much.”

“I know,” Dad replied sadly. “It will for a long time, but it will start to hurt less. And it may not seem like it’s enough now, but you have an uncle who loves you very much and wants to do right by you.” He glanced at me and smiled. “And you have friends who care about you a great deal. It will get easier. It may not seem like it will, but I promise you.”

“Oren’s going to go to therapy,” I said.

“That’s great to hear,” Dad said as he gave Oren another squeeze. “I think you’ll find it really helps.”

Oren nodded and sniffled. I reached across my dad and handed him a tissue. “He’s also coming camping,” I said. “If…”

Both Dad and Oren looked at me.

“If we’re still going, of course.” I beamed my sweetest smile at my father.

“She shouldn’t be punished, Mr. Walman. It was all my idea,” Oren repeated. “I’m really sorry. I…I didn’t realize how disrespectful it would be. I just…I wished I could have seen my parents one last time before…” He pressed his lips together and shook his head.

Dad sighed. “I can’t speak for your mother, since I didn’t see her. If you really need to know, you can ask Evie’s mom. But I can tell you that your dad was at peace. His injuries were mostly on the inside, and the coroner said it happened very quickly. I know that probably doesn’t help, but it means he didn’t suffer. There wouldn’t have been anything anyone could have done. Including you.”

He pulled Oren in tighter as I snuggled into Dad’s other side. Oren hiccupped.

Dad went on in a soft voice. “A body often looks in death as it does in life—like a very still sleep. I think probably the thing I notice most is the pallor.” He lifted his hand and touched his own cheek before he draped it around me and pulled me closer. “The blood stops moving through the veins, so the skin loses that pinkness we take for granted. Otherwise, like I said, they look asleep and at peace. Does that help?”

Oren nodded and took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“Good,” Dad said.

Then we sat there for a long time. Just being together, thinking and dabbing at tears.

Finally the silence started to get weird.

Dad began to breathe really deeply. Then he began to snore softly.

I poked him in the side. “Dad?”

He gasped awake. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, groggy. “Long night.”

“So does that mean I’m not in trouble?” I asked.

He pretended to think about it and then shook his head when I poked him again. “No, I guess not. Because if you were, we wouldn’t get to go for ice cream later. And banana splits are health food, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a dork,” I said. “But I love you anyway.”