A laugh, "Yeah, I didn't feel like fucking with yet another alias so I just told him my parents we weird hippie types and, let's face it, you are." It was a good cover for why no one ever met his family members too. He'd been living a completely different life there for a while and it had been a much needed break from reality.
"As long as you're making your connections, Mother," he replied with a small smirk. She was always plotting, always up to something. Maybe he got that from her... that and his temper. Oh yes, the temper.
At the mention of food he positively grinned, "Hope you haven't forgotten just how endless my appetite is," he said with a thick chuckle. "I promise you, some things really do never change. And yes, alcohol. You're one of the few left I can drink with after Baldr has gone and forgotten what it's like to enjoy life's very important indulgences. Though I suppose, were Father around, he would be a decent second choice." He really needed to get out and find some fellow - okay, he wasn't single, he had to quit saying that to himself. But regardless, he needed to find some men who knew how to enjoy themselves and weren't shackled to their women.
He did notice the tear and that's why, when she hugged him, he wrapped his arms tight around her waist and picked her up, straightening himself to full hight and squeezing her back. He knew she could handle it. "Alright, alright..." he said. "Food. And we'll talk about your news. And I'll be damned if we don't do something about that you-not-eating-meat thing," he joked.