“I handled myself just fine,” I countered.

“You could have slipped and fallen down that embankment,” he warned.

“Well, I didn’t fall,” I snapped back.

“I’m not trying to boss you around or control you,” he said defensively.

“I never said you were,” I responded.

His face twisted with genuine hurt.

“You’re looking at me right now like I’m a complete stranger.”

“I’m just trying to figure out whether I ever really knew you at all,” I confessed, the harsh words slipping out before I could stop them.