Tuls reached out to touch Stark's forehead, then snatched his hand back with a whoosh. Stark was burning hot all over. Tuls immediately picked up the phone and called the family Doctor.
Half an hour later, Howard hurried back. Tuls waited for him by the door. Howard was glowing with health, clearly enjoying a good life. He took off his fishing hat and looked at Tuls. "What happened? Why did Tony suddenly come back? Why is Doctor Pasi here?"
As they walked inside, Tuls explained things to Howard. There was not much to explain, really—he simply described how Tony had suddenly rushed into the estate, then repeated the delirious things Tony had said while lying in bed.
When he heard that Tony had been shouting in bed about not handing the technology over to Congress, Howard froze. A nostalgic look crossed his face, and then he slowly clenched his fist.
In truth, after Howard returned, none of that long-awaited reunion or heartwarming father-son reconciliation had ever happened. He and Tony were more like familiar strangers. They had never directly discussed their relationship, or even mentioned it.
It was as though they had silently agreed to let things remain that way. They convinced themselves that the past was over and people should look forward, using that notion to numb themselves and letting their relationship hover at a barely acceptable baseline.
But it should not have been like that. Everyone knew they were biological father and son. There were too many regrets to make up for, too many things to explain, yet their current relationship was nothing more than a numb escape.
Standing outside Stark's bedroom, Howard felt as though he had gathered every scrap of courage he had possessed in his life. He went in anyway.
But Stark's condition in bed