“I’d like that, actually. But I understand you share more in common with kids your age, conversations with an old man can get boring with time. But you know where to find me any time you do want to talk.” Because even through the sarcasm, he couldn’t really leave a comment like that go unanswered. Something was also making her nervous, if her heartbeat was anything to go by, and maybe keeping a friendly and honest attitude would help her feel more at ease.

‘But not parental’, his mind automatically adds. And it scares him a little that it’s actually Hayley’s voice he hears. ‘You’re not my real father’.

“Did I ever tell you what Bart gave me when he visited me in prison?”