“Let people think whatever they want, honey,” I said.

“I stopped caring about my reputation a long time ago.

I have six daughters and a clear conscience.

That’s enough for me.” And Samantha’s voice softened then, and she said the thing that was really underneath all of it, the thing I had not let myself hear.

“It’s not about your reputation, Dad,” she said.

“It’s about you.

You are exhausted.

You have been both parents to all six of us for fifteen years, and you have carried every bit of the weight alone, and you have never once let us help you carry any of it.