"It's been so long..." Alex said. He got up, hesitantly, and slowly walked over to his father. "It's you. Oh my God, it's actually you," Alex couldn't think of any other words to say. He kept repeating himself over, until he was standing face to face with his dad. Well, sort of. He was significantly shorter, but that's besides the point. He looked up into his dad's eyes, making eye contact for ten seconds, the whole room silent.

Then Alex hugged him. For the first time in his whole life, words failed him. He couldn't find words in English. He couldn't find words in French. He couldn't find words in Spanish. So he shut his mouth and hugged his dad for the first time since he went to college. The quiet air stood still in the room, no one wanting to do anything to ruin the moment. Alex pulled away and looked at his father.

"Can... can we go into a different room..?" Alex asked. His father nodded, and Thomas suggested they go into the master bedroom. They walked to the room, utter silence ringing in their ears. Alex closed and locked the door, briefly explaining that his friends would probably try to come in while they talked. He turned towards his dad.

"Do you remember when you came home in the first grade, and your teacher had taught you about the 5 W's to storytelling?" Alex's dad asked randomly. Alexander laughed softly.

"I do, actually. I was furious because there was a sixth part, how, that wasn't talked about," Alex said, smiling at the thought of the memory.

"How about I answer those?" his father asked. Alex looked at him confusedly. "You take each one and make a question out of it, and I answer," his dad explained. Alex nodded, deciding it was a good idea.

"Well, then, I guess I'll start. Who exactly reached out to you, in order to put all of this together?" Alex asked. He had no idea how John would've been able to do that.

"James, I think. James Madison? He reached out, but directed me to John, who planned out the rest of it," Alex's father told him. That made more sense. Not only did James have more time on his hands, but he was more tech-savvy than John was.

"Okay. What made you agree to come and meet me?" Alex asked. His father cringed.

"Regret. Longing. Maybe even loneliness. I thought what I had done was for the best, but I figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't..." Alex's dad trailed off. Alex nodded, accepting the answer.

"Where have you been all this time?" Alex asked, jumping immediately into the next question. His father laughed a little.

"Coincidentally, I moved to the next town over after you went to college. I never expected to find you, especially not so close," Alex's dad told him. Alex was taken aback by this information, but didn't let it distract him.

"When did you start planning this with John?" Alex was still curious. It couldn't have been more than a few days.

"Just a couple days ago, actually. It was kind of last minute, but I don't normally do anything on Christmas, so I didn't have any reason to deny. I didn't want to, either." Alex nodded, and laughed to himself. His dad raised his eyebrows at the laughter.

"That means John didn't have any gift until a few days ago," Alex laughed. His dad chuckled a little, too, but soon they got back into what they had been doing earlier. "Okay, so, this is the question I've been wondering for a long time. Why? Why did you just stop talking to me?" Alex asked. He didn't know whether to be confused, or angry, or hurt. His father sighed.

"We were... poor. I knew you would make leaps and bounds in your life and.. I guess I didn't want to drag you down," his dad explained. Alex shook his head, hugging his dad again.

"You wouldn't have. You never would have, and you never will. I just need a father," Alex said. He dad laughed a little.

"I don't remember you being so sentimental... or you being such a hugger," his dad laughed. Alex did too, shrugging.

"It's John's fault. He makes me so damn sappy, it's honestly crazy," Alex chuckled. "Which brings me to the next question. How do you like him?" Alex asked, suddenly feeling like a teenage girl. His father grinned.

"I like him," he told his son, who let out a sigh of relief. "Anybody who goes through this much trouble in order to make you happy is a keeper." Alex nodded, smiling about his dad's approval. "Anyways, we should get back out there. Don't wanna miss out on too much," his dad said. Alex nodded, still smiling.

"Hey, Dad?" Alex asked, before his dad unlocked the door and left the room. His father turned around. "I missed you." His dad smiled at him, eyes mildly welling up.

Idk I thought this would be a sweet chapter