Older || Sequel To SOS

Forty-Four

"Bill." Luke smiles kindly as he swings the front door open, greeting the middle aged man waiting.

"Luke, glad I found the right place." He smiles, stepping through the door into the entryway. "I know Elodie said I didn't need to bring anything, but it felt wrong to come without a small gesture. So a bottle of wine, for you guys. It's the least I can offer after you've been gracious enough to allow me into your lives."

"Thank you, it definitely wasn't necessary, but very thoughtful of you. Everyone is out in the garden, just through here." Luke takes the bottle, leading Bill through to the kitchen.

"I like the artwork in your home." Bill comments as Luke sets the wine on the counter for now.

Luke can't help but smile as he sees which print Bill is admiring. "Each one holds at least one story of El's and my relationship. Though that one in particular holds a few."

"All of them? How many do you have?" Bill glances over his shoulder to Luke before focusing back on the Berlin skyline.

"Twenty or so now. I ordered the first handful all together after we'd known each other for about nine months. We had a really rocky and crazy start to an extent, and there were specific places that were key factors in making us. Or at least where those moments occurred that turned us into us. We met because Elodie joined my band's tour crew and our working relationship turned into a friendship and then more as we traveled in close quarters all over the globe."  He adds the explanation as it appears Bill is getting confused.

"So why Berlin?"

"You know the skyline of Berlin?" Luke is somewhat surprised.

"My grandparents immigrated from Germany in 1937, they had many many photos from home throughout their house in Missouri while I was growing up." Bill nods, "I've never been over there, but I'd like to eventually."

"You should tell El that, she'd love to know there's a family connection to that city. Berlin is where Elodie first spoke to me, about two months after we met for the first time. Without going into too many traumatic details, she saved my life that night, and the tide of our relationship with each other. It's also where I proposed last summer, on her birthday at midnight in the same place she'd first spoken my name. We'd played Berlin the night before and I took her to the place we'd first conversed and asked there. It was perfect, so much so that we discussed using Berlin as a name for Atlas before we'd settled on her name."

"Is the wedding going to be in Germany too?"

"No, it's here locally. I'm sure we will return to Berlin though. I hope, if you and El continue to grow closer, that someday you two could see Berlin together from your families point of view. I know how much that would mean to her."

"It would mean a lot to me too." Bill nods softly. "Thank you for sharing that with me, there's so much of her life I still don't know. I hope someday to have learned all I can about my daughter and the amazing life she has created for herself."

"Hemmo!" Luke turns as Calum sticks his head through the door.

"Yes?" Luke laughs as he makes eye contact with his bandmate.

"El says you've been withholding a song you wrote for Atlas and now everyone is begging to hear it." Calum smirks.

"Oh, I hadn't thought about those songs in weeks..." Luke frowns slightly, "um, let me grab my acoustic. I'll be out in a second. Bill, you are welcome to follow Calum, everyone else is outside." Luke offers, heading to the stairs down to his studio space as he does.

"This way, you're El's dad right?" Calum waves Bill forward, leading him out of the house into the yard.

"Ya, unfortunately I'm twenty-eight years late to the party though." Bill laughs.