Tony just nodded somberly, parting to sit beside her. He understood that stage of denial. He was nine years older than Annie was when he'd found out, but it was easy to throw himself into a realm where he could pretend that his parents were simply still on vacation--if only for a few days. He'd gotten offers for grief counseling but he violently eschewed them, insisting on cold pragmatism. It's what his father did, after all.

That wasn't what he wanted for Annie.

"Your father sounds like a great man."