"My favorite thing as a kid was when my teachers would read to us. And then my least favorite thing was when they'd make us read out loud," grimacing. "I wasn't the worst one. I wasn't good, but I wasn't the worst. But kids are assholes and I always felt bad for the kids who were worse than me."

But it's part of why his reading to her is so soothing, and has become such a welcome routine through their week.

"I've got a little stack of books I wanna read to you sometime. They're so dumb, but they're great before bed."