Tapio had left extra time tonight to get ready for the closing feast, so he could turn up right on time, cleaned up and ready for the festivities. He'd spent the day repotting several plants he had been able to pick up on the way out of the Forbidden Forest the other night, one of them quite unusual, but he had set a timer so that he wouldn't forget and show up at the last minute covered with dirt.
Greeting Adom and Leanne on his way to the other end of the table, he eventually took his seat beside Javier, who seemed deep in thought. "Good evening, Javier, all ready for the feast, I see," Tapio said cheerfully. "Any big plans for the summer? You've got a child ready to leave the nest for university, I believe." Tapio remembered both summers when he and Isla had had to let go of one of their nestlings--those summer trips had seemed especially precious to them, knowing it would be the last time they would be together in that same way. Oh sure, their sons returned home every year (for now), but it was never the same again.
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