He laughed, surprising himself.
“Your grandfather ate two slices before she noticed.”
“He said it was delicious.”
“He was a terrible liar.”
They continued talking after the food had gone cold.
Eleanor learned that Margaret had once wanted to become a schoolteacher, that Arthur had proposed to her beside a petrol station because his car had broken down, and that Daniel had been afraid of thunderstorms until he was twelve.
Her father told her things he had never thought to mention.
She listened without checking her phone.
Near midnight, Daniel began gathering the dishes.
Eleanor stopped him.
“I’ll do those.”
“You’ve had a long day.”
“So have you.”
He hesitated, then sat down again.
Eleanor carried the plates into the kitchen.
Through the doorway, she could see her father sitting alone at the dining table, looking at the chair his mother had occupied for so many years.
She washed the dishes, dried them, and returned to find him still there.
“Come on,” she said. “You should get some sleep.”
He stood slowly.
At the foot of the stairs, he turned toward her.
“Ellie?”
“Yeah, Dad?”
“Thanks for coming home.”
Eleanor looked at him.
He said it as though she had done him a favor.
She crossed the hallway and embraced him.
For a moment, he seemed uncertain what to do. Then his arms closed around her, and she felt how thin he had become beneath his sweater.
“I should’ve come more often,” she said.
He rested his cheek against her hair.
“You’re here now.”
They stood together until the old hallway clock struck midnight.
The following morning, Eleanor called her office and requested a permanent change to her working arrangements.
It would mean fewer opportunities in Boston, and she understood that the decision might affect the career she had spent a decade building. She did not pretend the choice was simple. Her father would have objected if she had presented it as a sacrifice for his sake, and she had no intention of making him feel responsible for her future.
She wanted a life that included him more fully. That was different.
In November, she rented a small apartment twenty minutes from the house.
She visited for supper every Wednesday and Sunday.
Sometimes Daniel cooked. Sometimes Eleanor brought food. Occasionally they ordered pizza and argued about which film to watch.
They did not always get along. He continued asking intrusive questions about her car maintenance, and she continued reminding him to attend his medical appointments. They disagreed about money, politics, and whether the living room needed repainting.
But when winter returned, Eleanor helped him bring the Christmas decorations down from the attic.
Among the boxes, they found a small parcel wrapped in brown paper.
