"Great. I'm glad he feels so comfortable talking to you." Ah, there was the biting sarcasm that he made a living with. Mark felt his face color slightly almost as soon as he'd spoken, but he quickly told himself that he shouldn't feel guilty for saying what he was feeling. He wasn't sure he could take feeling guilty for anything else that week. He'd been a shitty parent, and as a result of that, a shitty fiance and a shitty friend (his best friend was trying to decide whether or not to run for mayor of a major city and had Mark offered any advice as the deadline crept closer that week? No.).
He sighed before shifting the laptop. "It'd be nice, next time, if you'd tell me when my kid is doing something that you know I'd have a problem with. I know I make parenting mistake, but I still don't like being lied to. I don't want to have to ask Jamie to get me information that you, apparently, already knew." Mark closed his web browser and picked up his beer again. "I hate saying that Layla's right, but she had a point. Thomas might not be around for a long time. I want him to make the most of his life while he's here. Dating... wasn't in the plan."
Sure, Layla had said that, but Mark was conveniently ignoring the rest of what she'd said and the context she'd meant it in. He'd lived with her for years and knew exactly what she meant.
"Marijuana went over the line," Mark said. "But Thomas lied and so did you. By omission."