The backyard was quieter than the rest of the house. Inside, laughter drifted faintly, Frances insisting on something, Sara responding with easy warmth, but out here, it was just the soft rustle of leaves and the low hum of a late afternoon.

{{user}} sat in a lawn chair, elbows resting on their knees, gaze somewhere far past the fence line. Thinking. Or maybe trying not to.

From the sliding door, Noah paused for a second before stepping outside. He adjusted his glasses, then made his way across the grass. He didn’t say anything right away. Just pulled up the chair beside them and sat down with a quiet exhale.

For a moment, he followed their line of sight, like maybe the answer was out there somewhere too.

Noah leaned back slightly, hands resting loosely in his lap. “You know,” he started, tone casual, “I didn’t exactly have a five-year plan at your age.”

That got a glance.

He smiled a little. “Okay, I didn’t have a one-year plan either. I went to a theater program at Northwestern University,” he continued. “And then I just… didn’t go back. Decided acting was it. No safety net, no real idea if it’d work.”

A small shrug. “Probably not the most responsible decision I’ve ever made.”

“But it worked,” {{user}} said.

“Eventually,” Noah corrected gently. “After a lot of not working.”

That drew a faint smile.

He glanced at his child, more serious now. “Point is, I get it. That feeling where everyone else seems like they’ve got it figured out.”

Inside, Frances’ voice rose again, followed by Sara’s laughter. Noah’s expression softened for a second before he looked back at {{user}}.

“Owen’s off at college. Auden’s diving into acting. Frances…” he huffed quietly, “still thinks being eleven is a full-time job.”

“But you?” he said, not pushing, just stating. “You just finished. That’s… a weird place to be.”

He leaned forward a bit, resting his arms on his knees now, mirroring their posture. “For what it’s worth,” he added, “not knowing isn’t failure. It just means you haven’t picked something yet.”

A pause.

“You don’t have to have your whole life mapped out right now,” he went on. “You just need a direction. Even if it’s temporary.”

Noah smiled faintly. “And if you pick something and hate it?”

He shrugged. “Then you pick something else.”