To Kill a Mockingbird- Chapter 12

‘Besides, Cal, this isn’t the first time Atticus has left us,’

‘Besides, Cal, this isn’t the first time Atticus has left us,’ I protested.
This implies, not that Atticus is a bad father but that he is quite the opposite. Atticus is a caring and kind man. He allows his children to be independant and gives them freedom to make their own mistakes.  Atticus is a single parent to Scout and Jem, but he also has to work. Right now he is busy with a case where he not only has to defend his client, but also the rest of Maycomb county.