05-16-2008, 12:53 AM
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apologies for the delay on this, guys. for future reference, moving + finals = (epic)fail[/html]
Maria had insisted on having a head start on the day, which Giuseppe had been reluctant to agree to. He'd never been known for his patience, and the current wait had him pacing like a caged feline. Still, it made sense enough. Maria would prepare Beppe for his father's arrival, and meanwhile the father had time to compose himself - under the pretense of cleaning up the night's campsite, of course. The smoke-toned male went about his task with deliberate slowness, less he inadvertantly rush. Still, it felt like scarcely any time had passed at all before he turned and followed the trail Maria set.
He found them easily enough. His family. The word was strange - a foreign blessing. Maria was much as she always had been, lovely and sweet. But Beppe he hardly recognized. His son had been a pup when they'd last seen one another; in front of him was a young man grown. "Lei è cresciuto." Cliche, certainly -- Giuseppe had never been the best with words -- but through the commonplace, overused saying shone a warm light of parental pride. Giu had thus far been an absent father, a fact he desperately desired to change.