He tried to shove the bitterness back down. "Small talk is for when you need to convince someone they matter to you when they really don't," he recited, shoving his hands into his pockets. How many times had he been told that on the way to some event or other?

So much for shoving away the bitterness. He just changed its form. He needed to get better control over himself. But this version of his father was such a mix of just like and completely different that it kept throwing him.

Also not having any of his more recent ways to ground himself available to him didn't help. Even if he couldn't confide his deepest secrets to Nino, just an hour with his best friend would do him a world of good.