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“Sure,” Abby said, and Morgan nodded.

They stepped towards Brian, but Morgan noticed Charlie was silent and didn’t move toward him.Clearly, Charlie had reservations, but for Morgan, hugging her father didn’t feel awkward; it felt natural.

“Why don’t we let Brian come inside,” Abby said, almost pushing her sisters out of the way so he could enter.

“Thank you.”Brian walked in and looked around.“Nice house.Is this where you grew up?”

“Yes,” Abby said.“And we wish we didn’t have to sell it.”

“If I could afford to buy it myself, I would,” Morgan said.

“But you live in Oregon,” Abby said.

“I’ve been toying with the idea of moving back here,” Morgan said.“Cal State Northridge has a great addiction counselor program, but it’s expensive to rent in Los Angeles.I might have to stay in Oregon and go to Portland State University.”

“Have you had any offers on the house yet?”Brian asked.

“No,” Morgan said.“The agent said it should go fast, though.”

“Can I get you something to drink?”Abby asked as they led Brian into the living room.

“Water would be great,” he said.He sat in a chair across from where Morgan and Charlie were sitting.Abby brought in four bottles of water and sat next to her sisters on the couch.

Sitting in a row across from Brian, the sisters looked like they were employers appraising his qualifications for a job.Brian seemed uncomfortable in his dress clothes, and Morgan wondered if he had gotten dressed up for their first meeting.After all, she and her sisters had looked their best.Morgan even put on more makeup than she normally wore during the day, and Abby and Charlie had spent last night picking out their outfits.Abby curled her hair, and Charlie had on her favorite necklace and earrings.

“How was your flight?”Charlie asked just for something to break the silence.

“It was fine,” Brian said, staring at them.After a pause, he continued, “I can’t believe I’m in the same room with my daughters.I’m so grateful you let me come here.I didn’t think this would ever happen.”

“Since we were told you were dead, we never thought it would happen either,” Morgan said.

“What did you do when you realized we were all gone?”Abby asked.

“The first thing I did was call Carla’s mother.I hoped that’s where Carla had gone, but Beverly had no idea where Carla was, and she was incensed that Carla hadn’t called her in a few days.That same afternoon when I got served with divorce papers, I still thought your mom must be bluffing, but quickly, I realized she meant it.”

“You must’ve been devastated,” Abby said.

Brian nodded.“I’d lost everyone I cared about at once.And then six months after you were gone, my dad passed away from a heart attack, and five months after that, my mother died in a car accident,”

“That’s so sad,” Charlie said.

“It took a while, but eventually I realized I was responsible for ruining my life, and I had to change.I moved to Connecticut, and got help.It’s been a struggle, but I haven’t gambled since.”

“I’m glad you got support,” Morgan said.“I’m in AA.”

“I hope you didn’t get the addiction gene from me,” Brian said.

“I might have, but more so, I think it was not having my father around,” Morgan said.

“If I could go back and change it all, I would,” Brian said.He picked up his bottle of water and chugged down half of it.

“Our mom made choices for you,” Abby said.

“But if he hadn’t lost all their money and put us in danger, she wouldn’t have left,” Charlie said.

“Charlie!”Abby said, loudly.

“It’s true.Mom had to take care of us all on her own,” Morgan said.