“Uh… Pops…” I hesitantly said.

Mum and my sisters expectantly looked at me. This was also another mini-tradition when visiting Pop’s grave.

No idea who or how this started, but I sorely wished for a time machine to prevent this from first occurring. Each of us had to give Pops a message, tell him about what was up with our lives, our plans for the future, anything we could think of. Essentially, we’d talk as if he was still alive and we were meeting after a long time, updating him on what was what. Herald Stone, the Dutiful Lone Son, Exemplar Eldest Brother, and Man of the Family by Default had to go first.

I shifted my feet, looking around the cemetery. Was it too much to ask for a zombie outbreak? Anything to get me out of this situation.

Oh, wait, the dead rising would include Pops—he’d be angry about the flowers we brought along. Never mind.

I had given so many speeches that I already lost count, be it in front of only a few people or halls packed with hundreds or even a few thousand. Talking about my father in front of my family, however? It was a different affair.

Pretending to be the perfect son was easy, the same as any other Aspects I’d worn. But it was the last thing I wanted to do in front of my family… and my dead father.

Good to know I’m not much of an asshole after all.

I inhaled deeply and began. “Pops, we’re opening two new branches here in Egret City.”

Nelly raised a brow at me. Did she want me to mention the house too? It wasn’t the time for the reveal.

“Remember that place across Central Mallard Market, Pops?” I continued. “The empty lot you dreamt of buying for your future store? You always point it to us when we buy supplies at the market, saying you don’t want to rent anymore. Well, we got it… that spot—it’s the site of one of our Dolly’s branches. I mean, not exactly there. The lot behind it. Some road widening and sidewalk projects gobbled the place you wanted. Egret has, and still is, changing a lot.”

And I’ve changed plenty too, I thought, since the last time I’ve visited Egret… or this cemetery.

I gazed up at the sky and savored the fresh breeze washing over my face. Relaxed. Dare I say, happy? It wasn’t just because the weight of running the company was lifted off my shoulders. No. More than that.

I wasn’t begrudgingly staying in Egret this time around. I was enjoying it here.

“You know what, Pops?” My lips curved into a smile. I suppressed a chuckle as I uttered my next words. “I’ve started playing computer games again.”

Nelly rolled her eyes. Sawyer snickered. And Mum had a politely confused look.

I told Pops a gist of what I’ve been up to in MCO. Nelly could understand some of it since she played MCO casually. Mum nodded with furrowed brows, trying to comprehend what I was talking about. Then she gave up and just smiled. She must’ve realized this was the first time I wasn’t stiff and rushed while doing this mini-tradition, and was glad about it.

“What about Eclairs?” Sawyer chirped. “Tell Pops about that.”

“Hey, don’t interrupt me,” I said, wagging a finger at her. “Wait for your turn.”

“I’ll spill the beans to Pops about Eclairs on my turn,” she said.

“No, you won’t.”

“What is it about, dear?” Mum asked Sawyer.

I cleared my throat. “Nothing to it, Mum. Anyway, as I was saying to Pops, it’s weird feeling this relaxed. Might take some getting used to, but I’m enjoying it, for sure.”

Nelly was next. She talked about her vacation to Melendo with her fiancé—two weeks of island hopping before she became the CEO. She also complained to Pops about the work, jokingly adding she’d pass the position back to me because she just wanted to tour the world. Sawyer also interrupted Nelly—this could be a mini-mini-tradition—asking when she was getting married. Nelly parried the question, saying that her new responsibilities came first.

I don’t know much about Nelly’s relationship, I mused.

Yes, we siblings didn’t bother with one another’s private lives. Still, I should be more inquisitive about the guy my sister was about to marry, right? I met her fiancé only thrice and talked with him for only about two minutes in total. I knew nothing about him except from my sister’s stories, most of which I only listened to with one ear.

What was I so busy with all this time that I didn’t think about my family?

Work. Making money. Establishing connections. All that for?

I’m not sure.

Funnily enough, I had more fulfillment killing my first pack of Mirdabons than buying my first car with my hard-earned money. There must be more to this. Was I closing in on the meaning of life? Was its meaning to be found by jumping off cliffs? Wait, that doesn’t sound right.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

During her turn, Sawyer told Pops about the new types of cattle she was trying to breed to break into the steak business. According to her, high-end restaurants were reaching out to her. There were even a couple of articles on the national news that featured her ranch. This was the first I heard about it. Again, I was unaware of what my sister was up to.

“By the way, Pops,” Sawyer said, cupping her hands around her mouth as if to whisper though her voice was loud enough for us to hear. “I wanted to name a new menu item at Dolly’s, but Nelly didn’t want—”

“We’re not going to sell an ice pop called Pops’ Popsicles,” Nelly cut in.

“It’s going to be a tribute to Pops,” said Sawyer, snickering. “Come on, Nelly. Just for a month, like for the opening of the branch, yeah?”

“You know why I won’t agree to that.”

Sawyer pouted. “You’re no fun.”

When it was time for Mum to speak, Nelly, Sawyer, and I looked solemn. Mum teared up and told Pops how much she missed him. “It was a really hard journey, dear,” she said. “And look where your children have brought our family. You must be proud of them, wherever you are.”

Her script was more or less the same whenever we visited Pops, and each time, I’d be uncomfortable, trying to tune her out. If I was attending the funeral or visiting the grave of someone else, and their loved ones started crying, I’d be in my element, ready to comfort and commiserate—Herald Stone, the Ultimate Consoler. One would think I was a family member with how I’d act.

It was different when I was with my actual family.

And it should be different. I shouldn’t pretend with them.

Nonetheless, forcing myself not to run away from emotions was difficult and unpleasant. No burst of epiphany changed my outlook in life—I’d still rather I wasn’t witnessing an emotional moment of my family. But this time, I wasn’t staring at the sky, trying to tune out Mum’s voice. I was looking at her and Pops’ headstone.

Is the Great Herald Stone trying to avoid emotions? Preposterous.

After Mum’s message to Pops, we stayed for a few more minutes, enjoying the peace, before returning to the parking lot.

Nelly gave me a thumbs-up before entering the car, angling her body to hide it from Mum walking behind her. I nodded at Nelly. Sawyer raised a brow after seeing our exchange. I also nodded at Sawyer, unsure of what I was trying to communicate. She must’ve understood something because she nodded back.

“Where to next, sir?” asked Jimmy as the car rolled onto the road.

I leaned left to catch Nelly’s eye on the rear-view mirror. But instead of Nelly making up a story about why we should pass by the street where we used to live, Sawyer spoke up.

“Mum, want to go and visit Eclairs?” Sawyer said.

I tried to glare at Sawyer but couldn’t see her reflection in the mirror. She was behind me, sitting back. “I think we should go sightseeing,” I hurriedly said. “We’ll be at MotherCon tomorrow, so we should—”

“What a pleasant suggestion, Sawyer dear,” Mum said, clapping her hands. “I do want to meet this Eclairs. Herald, she’s the cousin of your good friend, Boady, isn’t she? I’m excited to see her.”

“I’ve already given her a bag of expensive coffee as a gift, Mum,” I said. “I didn’t forget that you told me to thank her for Boady’s kindness.”

“But it’s different to personally thank her,” Mum replied. “And Sawyer told me she’s quite beautiful. I’d like to see for myself.”

“While we’re at it,” Nelly said, “we can visit our old neighborhood. Isn’t that right, Herald?”

“I… yes, we can do that.”

Then it clicked. Sawyer wasn’t violating the ancient covenant not to bother with my or Nelly’s personal relationships. She came up with a reason to pass by our house, taking my earlier nod as a sign it was her task to get us there. Nelly understood what Sawyer was aiming for before I did.

It was a good idea in a vacuum. However, I didn’t want Mum meeting Éclairs!

Sawyer shouldn’t have brought this up. She knew that—wait.

Was I counting Eclairs as a ‘personal relationship’? We didn’t have anything going on besides being friends; we were a long way from anything going on, and it was unclear if we’d ever have anything going on. Technically, Eclairs wasn’t covered by the ancient covenant binding us Stone siblings.

Was I worried about getting embarrassed by Mum trying to pair me with her? Perhaps. A bit. But I was a thirty-two-year-old man, not a teenager. Nelly and Sawyer teasing me would be no consequence. At the least, they’d be a slight irritation. This wasn’t high school anymore.

I chewed my tongue, thinking, I should face the truth.

I was completely aware why I didn’t want my family, especially Mum, to meet Eclairs—I didn’t want to know what Eclairs’ reaction would be if Mum suggested we dated or something along those lines.

Guess that meant I did like Eclairs.

“Sir, I will take this way here to Vanguard Gaming,” said Jimmy, snapping me out of my garbage cogitations. He traced a route through the floating holographic map, the streets his fingers passed glowing blue. “It’s going to be heavy traffic the other way.”

“Sure, Jimmy,” I said. “We’re in no rush.” I noticed Jimmy chose a roundabout way that’d take us past our house before Vanguard Gaming instead of the normal path. He realized what we were doing, and was on my side.

The rest of the drive, we were mostly quiet. A few times Nelly and Sawyer started a topic, only to fizzle out. The two of them couldn’t concentrate. Like me, they were definitely thinking what would happen when we reached our house. What would Mum’s reaction be?

I was rehearsing what to say in my head. If only there were dialogue options available like in games. Better yet if there was a save system in real life; I could reload my saved file if I made a mistake. This is why people prefer games.

The estimated time of arrival displayed on the holo-map was like the countdown of a bomb. Mum and Sawyer were talking about something. I didn’t pay attention. Sawyer leaned forward to see the map while continuing to chat. Nothing in Mum’s voice to indicate she realized where we were. Not recognizable at all.

We rounded a corner onto the street we used to live on. No reaction from Mum. A minute. Thirty seconds.

And then there it was, the second floor of our newly-renovated house was in view. A few seconds until we reached it. Sawyer stopped talking.

I tensed up as we passed by the house. Jimmy slowed the car down.

“Oh, my lord!” Mum gasped. “Don’t tell me you’ve bought the house back!”