"It is nice," Aldric affirmed with a nod. He had a similar dream once. Family. Things were never quite so simple, though.
Aldric waved off her apology as he began searching for a tea kettle,
"Don't stress over it. I could use the distraction." He started the preparation, and chuckled,
"As a matter of fact, I have. Nar Shaddaa?" He asked to see if the planet alone would put the memory back into her mind,
"We were supposed to meet that informant at a bar? Took so damn long for him to show we started wondering if he'd either flaked or ousted us. Or died."
He moved to sit down in the chair that let him sit at an agle across from her,
"Had to keep up appearances somehow. But unlike you, I can't just wish away all the effects when I need to act like I'm drinking." At the time it had been a bit stressful, but now it was just an amusing little piece of their past. His amusement dropped, however, when she admitted to recent events.
"What?" Aldric blinked, then quickly shut his mouth. It was perhaps the last thing he expected to hear. And there was never an easy way to confront it. He frowned, sympathy shining through his eyes,
"God- Val- I'm.. so sorry. That's terrible," It had been hard enough when his wife left him. But the thought of death factoring into the equation made his stomach churn. Unimaginable. Valery assured she was getting better. After a few long moments studying her expression, he just nodded and answered quietly,
"...Good. Good." It didn't seem like something she wanted to dwell on. He couldn't blame her. He only wished he could've known sooner.
There was a bit of a mental reset before he spoke again, clearing his throat,
"Well I never made it much of a secret that I wanted something like this, but…" Aldric smirked,
"I can't lie, sometimes I find myself still itching for those SIA days. Certainly made me feel a bit younger than farming does, at least," He chuckled, then stood up to go finish the tea.
He was nervous about asking further, but eventually relented,
"...What about your daughter? How's she? I never did get to meet her. She's gotta be what, three-- four now?"