He called his father on Wednesday morning.
Not about the business.
Not the careful managed version of a conversation that stayed on the surface of things and called it connection.
He called and when his father answered he said "I need to ask you something and I need you to answer honestly."
A pause.
"Alright," his father said.
Daniel was at his desk. Early before his assistant arrived, before the day assembled itself around him. The office was quiet in the particular way it was before eight, when it still belonged to whoever got there first rather than to the schedule.
"Did you know?" Daniel said. "When I was growing up. Did you know what the absences cost? The driver instead of you. The gifts instead of presence." He paused. "Did you know and choose it or did you genuinely not se
