We laugh until there are tears in our eyes then suddenly stop. It's a fleetingly fond moment and I rub my lips as I turn my attention to my lap. Regret washes over me for lashing out at his parents the way I did. What had been simmering for a while finally boiled over and now that all my anger has evaporated I realize I should have kept the heat down.
"I know what you're thinking," he begins. "It needed to be said."
"I could have said it better."
"I disagree. There was no gentle way you could have approached it. It needed to be said, you needed to be the one to say it, and you needed to say it the way you did. Regardless of what my parents say you can definitely fight your own battles. You forced them into a retreat."
He laughs airily and I look up at him, smiling gingerly.
"I am so
