"We should separate" is the first line of the chapter's epigraph. It's the first time we've heard the phrase "we should separate," so we're not sure what it means, but we do know that it's a reference to the fact that the two of them are going to have to separate. The narrator tells us that he likes the idea of meeting up with his dad, and that he's happy to do so. He also says that he wants to make sure that they don't "break up" because it'll make their parents sad. He tells her to pack up her things and get ready to leave. She tells him to hold on to the idea that they're going to break up, because she's going to leave anyway. She says that she wants to be with her dad, too, because he came to "save" her. He's not a "chal lenge" , she says, and they can have some more fun together. She wants to protect her dad's smile, and she says she'd be hurt if she didn't step in and save him. She also wants to keep her little girl safe, so she tells her dad to get back to their apartment. He agrees to this, but only if they can still live together. He says that they can't be together until they've both graduated from high school, so they have to keep their "morals in mind" .