Georgie (on screen, grinning): "That I'll turn out exactly like my daddy." Mandy (on screen, laughing): "That he'll never stop trying to fix things that aren't broken."

"Why do you keep watching this episode?" she asked.

"Look," Georgie said softly, nodding at the TV.

"I'm scared you'll turn out like your daddy, too."

Outside, a freight train rattled the windows. The house they rented was small, walls thin, dreams thinner. But something about seeing their younger selves—the hope still fresh, the wounds still just scratches instead of scars—made the room feel less like a boxing ring and more like a living room again.

"Because that's the truth," he said. "Not the arguing after. Not the borrowing from my mom. Just... that. Two kids who didn't know what they were doing, but did it together."

"It's the principle!" She set the mug down hard enough to slosh. "We said no parents. No meddling. No Mary wringing her hands over every spark plug you buy."

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