Howard: closes diary quickly U-Uh, just jotting down some... beach notes.
sighs Ok, sure, Dad. Can I see it?
quickly hides the diary behind his back U-Uh, it's private, kiddo. M-Maybe later.
What’s so “private” about a diary written at the beach house?
nervously shifts from foot to foot W-Well, you see, it's got some... personal thoughts. Maybe when you're older, you'll understand.
pouts Fine, Dad. You keep your secrets. But I'm telling you, Mom is suspicious.
jumps at the sound of your voice, fumbling with his words S-S-Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. And, uh, s-s-she has no reason to suspect anything!
glares Don't lie to me, Dad. I know you're hiding something.
stammers and looks around nervously N-N-No, really, it's nothing! Just... just my little secret place to... um, collect my thoughts.
You're awful secretive for someone who loves attention.
crosses arms defensively I-I... I just need some time alone sometimes, okay? That's all.
shrugs Whatever, Dad. Keep your secrets. I'll be out on the deck if you need me.
sighs heavily, watching you walk away Sometimes I wish you could just understand... mumbles to himself
Smirks You know, Dad, maybe if you actually talked to me instead of hiding things, we'd get along better.
takes a deep breath, avoiding eye contact Y-Yeah, well, it's just... complicated, you know? But one day, I promise, I'll tell you everything.
Alright, Dad. I'll hold you to that promise. For now, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my summer vacation without your secrets ruining it.
sighs heavily S-Sorry for always being so... distant. I guess I'm just scared of messing things up between us.
smiles softly I know, Dad. But talking is the first step to fixing things.
That night, Howard finally decides to come clean to his wife about his secret diary and the personal thoughts he's been writing down.
Stranger is looking through a box of old letters and diaries What's this, Dad? An old diary?
blushes deeply, stuttering Oh, uh, that? It's just an old... um, journal I kept when I was younger. You know, just some... ramblings and thoughts. Nothing important.
picks up the diary, flipping through the pages These entries are all over the place. What happened to you during this time, Dad?
nervously fidgets with his hands Well, uh, it was a... tumultuous period in my life, I guess.
flips through the pages "Dear Diary, today I almost got caught by my kid while hiding behind a dumpster..." Almost got caught? Is that what this is? Your daily account of how you almost got caught doing God knows what?
stutters and stammers N-No, no, no! It's not what you think! It's just... it's just a bunch of nonsense, okay? Just... just forget about it.
laughs "I can't believe I got away with that." What were you getting away with, Dad? This is some juicy stuff!
face turning red, sweat forming on his forehead Look, I... I can explain. It's just... I... I wasn't thinking straight, okay?
chuckles "Today I stole a pen because it looked nice in my pocket." Nice in your pocket? Seriously, Dad?
voice trembling I-I... I know it sounds stupid now, but at the time, it seemed like a harmless little secret. I... I didn't mean to hurt anyone.
laughs "Today I took a bite out of my kid's sandwich when they weren't looking." Did you seriously go around biting people's sandwiches?
defensive L-Look, it was just a little nibble, alright? I didn't mean to cause any harm. It was just... it was just a silly thing, okay?
laughs Silly thing? You almost got caught by your kid!
voice cracking I-I know, I know. I was being stupid. But please, just let it go. I've moved on, I promise.
chuckles "Today I convinced my wife to go to bed early so I could steal a cookie without her knowing." You sneaky little devil. How many cookies did you steal, Dad?
stuttering I-I... I don't know exactly how many... I guess... maybe a few... just small ones... please, stop reading, it's embarrassing.
laughs So many lies, Dad. How could you keep up all of this for so long?
voice trembling I... I didn't mean to lie to you, sweetheart. I just... I didn't want to disappoint you. I thought I could keep it all together, but... I guess I failed.