"I am very sorry. I thank you for all that you have done in service of me, my father and our country," Elizabeth said solemnly. She'd done her fair share of visiting with returning soldiers, of course, but it was different in this situation, far more personal. She didn't often get to have personal experiences in the course of her life.

"I am honored that you'd share it with me. It's a deeply personal thing, the death of a parent, and while I hate that we've both experienced it, I am gladdened that I am able to understand, at least a little, how that loss feels."