Red Hook, Tasha, and Hayar sat down at the table. Tasha was still a little out of it and only followed Red Hook's lead.
Stitches, Frank, and Vaner didn't sit down with the others. Frank and Vaner were busy with training and usually didn't bother partaking in the social gatherings.
Stitches, on the other hand, left to go and get Joan and Joshua.
Joan knitted to pass the time like usual, and Joshua was practicing with his bubbles not far away. Both of them looked up at Stitches as he burst through the door and, with a smile on his face, asked them to come with him.
Stitches had spent a lot of time with both Joan and Joshua, so he was naturally happy that they would get to meet Tasha. Stitches couldn't contain his enthusiasm, and he pulled the confused Joan out of her chair and pushed her and Joshua in front of him toward the table.
Joan only half-heartedly tried to push against and get Stitches to explain since his smile and body language were more than enough to tell her a surprise waited for them where they were going.
It didn't take much for Joan to guess what could have Stitches in such a mood, but it was hard to believe it at the same time.
However, when she saw the broad shoulders and the sturdy back sticking out from the back of the chair, it didn't matter whether she believed it was true or not. Not even the gray hair and the slight slump could convince her it was someone else.
It was the same person she had grown up with, fallen in love with, and married. Nothing could convince her otherwise.
Joan knew it was Tasha, her husband, but she still didn't rush forward. Just like she recognized her husband from nothing more than his body, she could also tell how much he had been through by how unkempt his hair was and how frayed his clothes were.
However, Joan began moving again when Joshua squeezed her hand and cautiously pulled her forward with him.
Tasha was still a little out of it, so he didn't think too much when he sensed other people approach, but he still unconsciously turned around at the familiar presences.
Joshua let go of Joan's hand before Tasha could even turn his head enough to see them. The outline of Tasha's face was all Joshua needed to dash forward. Joshua had seen that same face more times than he could count. Every time Joan worked late into the night, Tasha would stand in the doorway and watch her without end. In turn, Joshua came to look at his dad's love-filled face from the side almost every night.
Even if Tasha's face was more haggardly and paler than before, and his eyes were unfocused, Joshua would still recognize it. The only reason he hadn't during the meeting with the Red Hook Pirate Crew was that he thought his dad was dead and didn't see his face that well from behind Stitches. Joshua also knew it wasn't the right time to stare at the face of one of the opposing pirates when it looked like a fight could break out at any time.
When he found out it really might have been his dad, Joshua regretted not reaching out to him back then, but those regrets vanished into thin air now that he could reunite with his dad without anyone interrupting.
"Dad!"
Tasha had just begun turning his head when he heard the shout that sounded exactly like what he had dreamed of just a few hours ago. His ears perked up, and he stopped turning since he couldn't believe it. Had he really woken up, or was he still dreaming?
"Tash!"
However, the following cry forced him to continue turning around.
Unlike the loving voice he heard in his dreams, heartache filled this one. Joan's voice was on the verge of cracking due to the flood of emotions that overwhelmed her.
Tasha stood up and turned around fully right when Joshua arrived in front of him.
Before Tasha could react, Joshua dove straight into his embrace like a cannonball, almost knocking the dazed Tasha off his feet.
Joshua hadn't been able to jump higher than Tasha's thighs before, but now when he was a mage, he had enough force to jump up and reach Tasha's chest.
Joshua hugged Tasha and clung to him like a bear cub. A tiny droplet slipped out of Joshua's tightly closed eyes as he held Tasha as tightly as he could, refusing to even think of ever letting go.
Tasha's eyes trembled, and he looked at Joshua. But before he could regain his balance and return the embrace, Joan came over as well.
Just like Joshua, Joan charged right into Tasha.
Tasha let it happen and gladly fell over while hugging Joan and Joshua.
He didn't even have the capacity to worry about crashing into the table. But he didn't have to since Red Hook moved it out of the way as soon as she saw what was going to happen.
Tasha closed his eyes and cried happily as he hugged Joan and Joshua even tighter while they burrowed into his chest.
When he first heard Joshua's voice, he thought he might still be dreaming. But not once had his dreams about Joan and Joshua felt so real. When he first fell asleep, Joan and Joshua greeted him outside a simple house in the countryside. It was something Tasha and Joan talked about sometimes. Getting a larger house and a farm before giving Joshua a sibling.
Unfortunately, they never got the chance.
When Tasha saw Joan and Joshua standing on the farm, waiting for him, he was so happy. They had been separated too soon in life, but they could at least be reunited in the afterlife.
Tasha ran over to them in his dream, but he was stopped halfway by an invisible wall. Joan and Joshua also came and stood on the opposite side of the wall.
Tasha felt like he could break the wall as soon as he wanted to, but something in the way Joan and Joshua talked with him made him hesitate. He soon realized that they weren't real, but he couldn't force himself to leave. He wanted to stay forever, but to do that, he had to break the wall.
Tasha was on the way to break the wall when Joan gently shook her head and told him to wake up.
Tasha tearfully obeyed, and he couldn't be more thankful he did since it let him be reunited with his family in life.
Red Hook and the others didn't want to intrude on Tasha's, Joan's, and Joshua's reunion, so they silently backed away and let them have their moment together. Red Hook didn't want to leave Tasha, so she followed Hayar and Stitches into the greenhouse where they waited for things to settle.
It wouldn't be a problem to leave Tasha behind, but Red Hook also wanted to know what he would do, now that he found his family.
