He is there when she gets home from work. 

His grandpa leaves as she puts her coat and bag away. He tells her how school went, and what he did with his grandpa. He then asks her a question that startles her. 

Mom, Grandpa is Dad’s dad, he says. All my friends say they have two grandpas, but I don’t remember another one.

She pauses and takes a deep breath. How should I tell you this? she says.

Tell me what happened Mom, he says. He sits down on the couch, expecting her to sit next to him.

She takes another deep breath. This happened a long time ago, way before you were even born.

There was an eighteen-year-old girl, fresh out of high school. The girl and her cat had just moved into an apartment.

Was she nervous without her mom and dad? he says.  

Yes, living away from her mom was scary, she says.

So one day, the girl was pouring water into her cat’s water bowl and food into its feeding bowl. Are you still listening?

Yep, he says.

She looks at the family picture on the wall, as he waits patiently for her to continue.

Anyways, as the girl prepared her cat’s morning meal, she heard someone knocking on the door. 

She walked to the door, and looked through the door viewer. It was her father. 

Honey, please open the door, her father said. I am sorry. I only wanted you to go there to have a better life because I love you.

The girl was speechless, while tears rolled down her cheeks.

I know you’re home, her father said. I saw your car outside.

The girl thought for a moment. He had forced her out of the house because he wanted her to go to the college of his choice. Realizing that her father deserved another chance, the girl opened the door, and fell into his arms. Her father then took her to a restaurant for breakfast.

That’s a nice story, he says, but-

I’m not done yet, she says. 

Except that is not what happened. After the girl took a moment to think, she wiped away her tears, and stepped away from the door. The girl had seen her father “apologizing” to her mom countless times with expensive gifts. Because he loved her. Love was the scariest, most manipulative thing the girl had ever seen. She didn’t want that. She went back and fed her cat the food she had prepared earlier.

There you go, end of the story, she says. 

Oh, he says. 

Sometimes it’s better to leave something behind than bringing it along, she says.

Huh, he says. 

He thinks about it for a moment, then gets up and leaves.

She remains on the couch, remembering those times. They had talked and laughed, and talked some more. They had watched the sunset together, before it became dark.