“Yeah, but—” He broke off, but I could see all the unsaid words on his face: if he’d stayed with me, it all would have turned out differently, he wouldn’t have whiffed the curve, it would be him in Cooperstown, just as Boom-Boom was in Toronto.
“No, Frank,” I said, my voice gentle. “I would have made you a lot unhappier down the road than you ever made me. My dad never cared much for men who rated success by how much money or power they had. To him, a successful man was honest in his public and private affairs. You have four beautiful children, and that’s something I will never have. You’re a good dad to all of them. You go home and remember to feel proud of that.”
“Yeah, okay, yeah.”
I walked him to the door and stood on the sidewalk until he climbed into his truck.