“Huh. Well, that’s a welcome surprise.” Finnegan walked over to Andie and ruffled her hair, brightly colored acrylic-paint thought doodles of Andie and her siblings popping out of his head - each one smiling. “Anyway, glad you like it.”

“Connor!” Tully’s voice rang out from the kitchen, interrupting Finnegan. “Do you still want to help me make breakfast?”

Excitement flared in Connor’s eyes, sparkling like fireworks. He dashed off into the kitchen, stopping only to pick up his new hat when it fell off his head.

Finn’s smile widened slightly as he watched Connor run off. “There’s something about kids around that age, something that makes their joy so… infectious.” He turned back to Andie. “So, how’s life been?”

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“Pretty good. School’s been fine, I guess.” Andie shrugged and sat down. “I’ve been doing great in math and science - though I hate every moment of it - and Cedric’s been helping me out with English. Oh, and Dyllan’s been going through a rough patch, but we’ve been… helping him… through that…” Shock drained the emotion out of Andie’s face, as she watched a single thought doodle popped innocently out of her grandfather. An image of Dyllan and his shadow.

A sly, but slightly nervous look melted on to Finnegan’s face. “We’ll talk about it later, after -” A horrible sobbing sound cut the mischievous old man off. It had come from the kitchen, and was periodically interrupted by melodramatic apologies. Something must have upset Connor. “I’ll be right back.”

You could practically see the gears churning as Andie’s whole worldview slowly and silently clicked itself back together. Then, just a few seconds too late, she snapped back to reality. “No, wait! I have questions! Dad’s with Connor, he can…” She sighed. “…aaand he’s already gone. Lovely.”