Paul's heart ached, familiar and bittersweet familiarity. His own family...well. "Don't dismiss it as nothing, as silly, if it means so much to you. That's what makes it important."
He held a glass of water out, waiting until James had it securely before sitting down again next to him, close enough that their knees and thighs, at least, could touch. "I would give a great deal for you to be able to do so," he confessed quietly. "I hope, very soon, that you shall. My family were rarely...Eliza was the heart of our home, until she married. My own home..." He hesitated. "Do you mind that I speak of them?"
They were, after all, the past. James was, he hoped, the future.