Abi bit her cheek at his reaction, feeling bad that she had made it worse for him. She couldn't imagine the pain he went through on their birthdays, on Christmases and Thanksgivings. It had given her sleepless nights to think that she had missed Charlie's first year of life, all his firsts along with it. She really didn't have anything to compare his pain to in her own world.
"We all make mistakes and have regrets as parents," she said softly, running her fingers soothingly through his hair again. "You can't be with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You just can't or they'll never learn to be independent people, to make their own mistakes and take their own lessons. I know it doesn't help much but your boys know how much you love them, just because I can see it in your eyes now that you still take their absence this badly."