If you could pick anyone in the world, alive or dead, to be your parents, who would it be and why?
When I was a kid I used to wonder the same thing. Exact same fuckin' thing. I used to try to imagine what it'd be like to have parents like Eddie's, or like anyone else's; what it'd be like to have a famous dad, or some shit like that. You know what conclusion I got to back then? I didn't give a shit who my parents would've been - I didn't care if they were famous, or rich, or whatever. All that I wanted back when I was...twelve or something were just parents. Parents who gave a shit and who were there, because that's what makes someone a parent. A parent is not supposed to just fucking walk out on a kid. Ever.
Now that I know both my birth parents, most of the time I really do wish I could've had a better "father." In a way I did, and I got Ben even if he just wanted the job of a grandfather rather than a dad. I wouldn't change having Ben as a dad for anything. As far as mothers go, when I first met Tess' mom I wished Elise could've been like her. Marianne was a single mom, just how Elise would've been but Elise walked out and Marianne didn't. It was so obvious that Marianne loved Tess. Elise isn't the horrible mother that I thought she was; she did a good job with both my sisters, and she's trying to be a mother to me too. I guess I should be grateful for that, but I just can't get over the fact that she just left when she did. I doubt I'll ever really forget it, but... Oh well, right? Nothing left to do about it now.