"No, I can understand how it's not your mother." At her present age, Al hadn't even been a whisper of a thought, not before. "A clean slate? That's one way to look at it."
"Oh yeah, in more ways than one. Shocking, exhilerating, disappointing, you name it." His Mom and his Dad, it had been a double whammy. And where did that expression come from, one day he'd have to ask Al, he probably knew. He needed to be careful here, this was about Al, not him, and truthfully, Neville wasn't sure how much Al knew about Neville's own childhood.
"It was just as big a shock for her too, though. That's something I have to point out."