[ While she asks, he asks for a drink of his own. Nothing fancy, just straight whiskey on the rocks. It's been a long time since he's drank, lacking both the time and the company to do so. Might as well enjoy this brief semblance of normalcy while he can.

Once the initial hump of discomfort's been crossed, he finds it's easier to discuss his past, voice growing in fondness the longer he speaks.]

He was a pretty busy man, actually. Not as busy as my mother, but his work kept him away from home for long stretches of time. [ Which might sound like a terrible time to anyone ordinary but— ] It wasn't so bad though. I spent a lot of time with several of his coworkers in their laboratory. They were always kind to me, and let me play with their latest inventions.

[ Truthfully, those had been some of the best days of his life, back when the biggest concerns looming in his mind were the math quizzes he'd never bothered studying for. ]

As for my travels...all sorts of places. It would take up a lot of your time to talk about them all.