“I haven’t focused enough on being a good mother,” she says tearfully. “It’s not her fault that she ran away; I drove her to it. I just hope she forgives me and gives me another chance.”

The reporter comes back on to say that there’s no word yet where I’ve gone but that they’ll keep their viewers updated with any breaking news. Then the anchor starts talking about a two-alarm fire in a neighborhood in west Tampa.

“She looked like she really meant it,” I say, feeling confused. Nick nods.

“I know,” he says.

“But this doesn’t change anything, does it?” I ask. “I mean, she’s still been awful. And even if she does have some feelings about me, that doesn’t change the fact that she’s never been motivated by love. She’s been motivated by money and fame and all the places my career can take her.”

Nick nods again.

“That might be true,” he says, and I know he’s waiting for me to put the pieces together on my own.

“Why can’t I just have normal parents?” I ask wearily.

“You know, no one’s parents are normal,” he says. I raise an eyebrow at him.

“What about yours?” I ask. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone more normal than Bev and Louie. Nick laughs and shakes his head.

“Sure, my parents look normal,” he says. “But they’re as weird as anyone else’s. They separated when I was twelve and just got back together a couple of years ago. They used to fight all the time. My dad went through this phase where he tried to grow his hair out and bought himself a red convertible. He looked ridiculous.”

“What?” I laugh. Nick shakes his head.

“I know, crazy, right?” he continues. “And my mom? Yeah, when my dad moved out, she freaked and bought, like, every self-help book in the bookstore. She was always burning incense and stuff and saying things to me like, ‘You need to own your feelings,’ or ‘Embrace your sadness,’ whatever that meant. The whole time I was in high school, even when my dad moved back in, I felt like I was living in an insane asylum.”

I laugh some more. “Really?” I say.

“It’s all relative,” Nick says with a shrug. “And who knows what goes on behind closed doors, you know? Haven’t you ever wondered why my dad’s barely ever at the restaurant? They only get along if they stay away from each other.”

“Hmm,” I say after a minute. “But at least they never stopped loving you.”

“That’s true,” Nick says. “But you know, sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you think it’s supposed to.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.