Fishtown Tavern || @sam-loftgren
Although he had never been the most outgoing but he always did his best to keep up with the friends that he did managed to make. That had been harder in recent months due to the unpredictable nature of grief. Some days it felt almost bearable and he was able to come up for air. And others he was drowning in it, unable to figure out which way was up so that he could surface. Thankfully most people in his life seemed to understand, at least to some extent, that any distance that might grow between them probably wasn't personal or intentional. But that was as much as some could do - simply sympathise and give him some grace. It wasn't as though he was ungrateful for that, quite the opposite, but it was still a relief for him to have friends that he didn't have to explain himself to. There were times he still felt it was necessary and an apology was always given but there was always that sense of ease that they could fill in some of the blanks themselves.
With Noah at a playdate, Oliver had found himself at a loss for a few hours and had taken the opportunity to reach out to someone he felt as though he'd neglected in recent weeks. The holidays had been hard for him. The first without his brother and Kirsten, not to mention that other family memories were wrapped up in them. "My mom always loved Christmas. Her birthday was the 22nd so we used to just roll it all into one big celebration." It was a soft and simple confession that he hoped would go some way to explain his recent withdrawal. "I think it went okay though. Or as fine as it could be. For Noah at least."