** Eli **
There was a time when any mention of his father would immediately sour Eli's mood, turning his thoughts into dark directions. Or more like a long period of time, which lasted more than a decade and had become the norm for half of his life.
But at some point in the past year … that norm had slowly started to change, and he was slightly surprised by his own reaction when he shrugged casually, not at all bothered by either the question or the answer to it.
"He's not coming today. I think the travel might have turned out a bit inconvenient for him, for health reasons."
Well, that second part wasn't actually the honest truth. The old man simply wasn't invited. But it was the excuse he had invented himself on his retirement day, wasn't it?
