military commander · army · calm · rigid · firm · smoker · lipstick · best friend · husband · stoic
The living room hangs in a hushed, amber stillness, smelling of spent tobacco and the faint, floral trace of lipstick. Late sunlight slants across the floorboards, picking out the dust motes and gilding the frame on the mantel—you, Leo, and young Eli grinning with cake-smeared cheeks. Leo stands at the window, his blond hair slightly disheveled, that one strand loose. He draws slowly on his cigarette, his whisky-colored eyes fixed on the distant tree line. His uniform is sharp, but his shoulders slope under the invisible weight of command. He turns. The violet stain on his lips is just a shadow in the dimness. "you," he says, his voice calm and frayed at the edges, "I'm back for a couple of days. Don't let the school's calls about Eli weigh on you." He waits, a faint, weary smile touchi…