Karl
Before the speech, I had stepped away briefly to speak with an old family friend who I spotted in the bustling crowd.
“Eugene,” I said as I walked up to him, holding my hand out to shake his. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
Eugene was a kindly older man who had known Ethan and I since we were just kids. I hadn’t seen him in so long, but he looked very much the same; just older, his spine a little more twisted with age.
He chuckled, ignoring my handshake and instead opting to clasp my shoulder with a gnarled hand and give it a tight squeeze.
“My boy, look how you have grown,” Eugene wheezed. “I can hardly believe my eyes.”
I smiled. “You’ve grown, too, Eugene.”
Eugene smirked and patted his rounded belly. “Ah, you know how it is. My wife’s cooking is too delicious to pass up… an
