Listening to him talk was surreal. "Why did you even come back? Everyone's long forgotten about it." he asked. I just looked at him. "I had to come back to tell you I was alright. You and mom deserved to know." I said. "Yeah. It makes sense. Your mother always told me you were out there somewhere. Even when I had lost hope, she knew you'd bring your scrawny ass back here. She was right." he sighed. He looked sad. "What happened? Where is she?" I asked him. His face sank as if he was tired all of a sudden. "We lost her to a drunk driver 3 years ago." he said. That hit me like a punch to the gut. My mom died while I was gone. I would never get to see her again. "I'm an old man, James. 87 years old. When I meet my maker, I know she's going to be standing there with a shit eating grin on her face. She always knew you'd come back one day. I was sure you died on the other side. Or worse, you were killed by those pieces of shit you called friends and you're body was rotting in some ditch somewhere." "Mom believed in me for over 30 years!?" I asked. He frowned.
I was surprised when he jabbed his cane at me. "Don't get it twisted now! She was going to bear your ass for what you've done. We never raised you to kill or steal from other people. You think the money you'd send us on our birthdays or Christmas made up for it!? We'd never have touched it if we knew where it came from." he snapped in anger. His buried feeling were coming to the surface. I was an adult. I was not living with them when I was super rich and a professional criminal. Still, it was painful to hear this from him. Especially since my mother was gone. Seeing my reaction, he sighed. "Calm down, Jakey-boy. You know your mother. As soon as she was done wailing on you, she'd be the first one bragging about you coming back to all of her friends." he said. That was true. We had always talked on the phone. There was a quiet peace that passed between us. "Well, it's been nice to se you one last time, but I have to get back to work." I looked at him in confusion. "Why is it the last time!? I am finally back!" I asked him. He furrowed his brows. "I cannot take you back!"
My father looked at me in the eyes. "Look at me. I don't need my 20 something year old son watching me die in that old house. Besides, it's clearly better over there. I bet not even a minute has passed." he said. That was true. I knew all the Swifthearts did not care whether I actually returned or not, but they would take me in if I did. Petras and Jeran were waiting for me in that inn. Casone too. They could be my new family in that world. "Maybe. Believe it or not, I got some minor noble family to make me a knight." He scoffed. "I'll believe that shit when I see it, and since I'll never cross that portal I'll never need to bother. I am not the type to retire from my job." he said. I chuckled along with him. "It might not mean much, but I think they might be the real deal." I said. When I thought of Fabien or Anthony, cruelty to peasants never crossed my mind. It was not like they were champions for the downtrodden, but they did what they felt was right. We slaughtered bandits that preyed on the common people. The people of their fief genuinely seemed to like being ruled by them. It was nice.
