Dalis wasn't sure why he had a birthday...thing. It wasn't really exciting enough to be a party. Most people he knew just gave him the customary 'Happy Birthday' and went about their day. That was good enough for Dalis. At his age, there wasn't really a lot that he wanted.
Except for maybe some sort of normal relationship with his children.
The idea of normal was ludicrous, of course. He could invite them over for a dinner, pretend to have pleasant conversation, but if he tried to push anything normal, it just came off as ridiculous. All of their lives were fucked up, partial thanks to him, and there really wasn't any use to pretend otherwise.
And yet, there he was, inviting his children over to his house for dinner on his birthday anyway.
Part of him didn't expect them to show up. Keller was busy being a princess, and Rashel was off being...whatever it was that she did while Quinn was on the Council. They weren't the type of people who normally were in the area that Dalis lived. It wasn't run down as much as it was in the middle of nowhere. Nevada had a lot of desert, and Dalis was in a place out of the way, his house very near his store, which served home repair needs for the greater area. There wasn't much to do here other than sit on the front porch and think. Or in Dalis' case, smoke and think, which wasn't as good as smoking, thinking and drinking, but he couldn't have everything he wanted.
The cigarette dangled between his lips as he sat on the front porch, waiting for a miracle.
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