” Understandably so, but… ”
She crossed her arms over her chest,
eyes shooting daggers straight through
his restraint. ( Thank the spirits he had
not done the same to her. )
” This used to happen with my
old friend whenever he’d come
home after a while. But he
never talked about it until his
stress became too much for him. ”
“ Just a bit of warning. And a
reminder that I’m a fairly good
listener – when I want to be. ”
"I’m fine," he answered reflexively, never one to admit his troubles first thing. Still, he could hardly be dishonest with his mother, especially when there was so much at stake around the world. "I’m just … stressed." Understatement of the era.