Quote 7
"Cheryl is always saying to remember Dad liked my company and did spend all that time with me. Squid tells me how lucky I was to have a great dad for that long. One night for like four hours Darla kept telling me that it didn't matter whether he got sober and then realized he loved me, or he realized he loved me and then got sober, she said either way my dad loved me and I ought to hang on to that with both hands." (26.111)
As memorable as his dad's last days were, Karl still struggles with his dad's actual motivations for kicking alcohol—specifically, whether he did it for himself or because he loved Karl and wanted to do it for him. As he processes the past with the Madmen and finally Gratz, he comes to realize that it doesn't really matter; the point is that he had a real dad for longer than most of his friends did.