"You mean you wouldn't be working here anymore?" He froze as he held two four-litre milk jugs, one in each hand.
"Yeah. I'm sorry to mess you around, but-"
"Xeno." He froze; he had no idea how his father would react.
"I'm not clipping your wings again; I'm doing this right. You deserve to be supported. I'm gutted to see you go, and all, but that's not my choice to make." His brow furrowed. "How would you like to come back home for dinner?"
"Really?" he was taken aback.
"Yeah. Your room's the way you left it, so you could stay the night. You aren't going to the museum tonight, right?"
"Nope. I'd love to come for dinner." The rest of the shift was a difficult one, but not unmanageable. They just barely managed to get the hundred cupcakes baked and decorated by five o'clock.
"Xeno, why are you walking with us to the car?" Asked Robin, looking up from his phone momentarily.
"He's gonna be having dinner with us tonight." His father replied.
"Really? That's great!" Shane grinned at Xeno. "I call shotgun."
Amidst Robin's protests, his father broke it up. "Boys, let Xeno sit in the front."
On the drive home, Xeno was thankfully spared from the conversation. It felt perfectly natural; he thought. Instead, Robin and Shane tried to explain cryptocurrency to his father, who wasn't getting it. When they got home, he still hadn't wrapped his head around it. "Call me old-fashioned," he began, "but I prefer my money to be something I can hold, rather than ones and zeros in a bank somewhere."
He resisted the urge to correct him, that that was all most money was nowadays. Don't bite the hand that feeds you and everything. When they got inside, he didn't know how to act. How was it that he was a guest in a house where he had his own room? Robin and Shane disappeared upstairs, and Xeno couldn't help feeling that this was normal, like nothing had changed in the last six years.
"Hello, Xeno! Your father told me you were coming, but I didn't believe it until just now! How are you?" He looked to see his stepmother standing in the living room doorway.
"I've been fine, thanks. How have you been?"
"All good, all good. Would you like to go up to your old room? I'll call you down when dinner's ready."
"Oh, thank you. Do you need my help with anything?" He asked.
"It's all fine, don't you worry."
He was hit with a wave of nostalgia as he went up the stairs. The house was relatively new, with four bedrooms. His was on the left as he ascended the stairs. When his dad had said it was exactly as he'd left it, he wasn't joking. The walls were covered with posters, and the clothes that still laid on his bed were coated in a thin layer of dust. When he'd left, he'd never expected to come back, so he'd tidied it a little. Still, it was definitely messier than he remembered. He lost track of time as he sat on his bed, reminiscing about his youth. Being in that room made him feel both old and young at the same time.
Finally, he was called down to dinner. As they sat down at the table, he noticed that this was a great deal fancier than the dinners he'd had growing up. Though they'd always sat at the table, this time there were champagne glasses next to each seat,four of them having the drink in them, one of them full of orange juice. He guessed that one was for Robin. On each of their plates was a roast dinner. They'd had one every Friday since he could remember.
"Before we begin, I'd like to raise a toast." His father began, his eyes looking at Xeno. "Today, Xeno told me that he might go back to work at the museum soon. I just wanted to say congratulations."
Everyone raised their glasses, smiling and congratulating him. "Thank you, guys. It really means a lot." he said, awkward at the praise. He made eye contact with his father across the table, who was smiling at him warmly.
That night, Xeno's father had most likely lost a co-worker.
But he had gained a son.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX:
Xeno paced up and down the hallway of his apartment. He'd told Haiden and Jess to meet him there after work, and it was a quarter past five now. Where could they be? Had there been some kind of holdup, and Ms. Pepper had worked out their plan? Surely not, right? Or maybe she'd bumped up the date for the department cuts? He put the thought out of his mind. They'd certainly be here soon.
After what seemed like an age, he heard a knock at the door. He practically jumped out of his seat on the sofa and ran to the door. "Heya, Haiden'll be here in a minute, but I thought I'd swing by a little early." Jess said cheerily.
"No problem, come in." Xeno motioned for Jess to step inside, and she followed him to his living room. Looking back, Xeno probably should have cleaned his flat a little more before he had people over. Shame crept into his cheeks.
"Why's Haiden gonna be late?" He ventured.
"He had to clean himself up after today." Jess replied, as if that didn't open up a million follow-up questions.
