[ The truth is, the only reason he really believes the party line-- that those who end up going back home don't lose any time-- is because he kind of has to, by necessity. It's about the only thing keeping him from falling into some kind of helpless, hopeless pit of despair over being separated from his kid. She isn't even moving out age, yet! At least the portal could have let him experience his empty nest training wheels first, before forcibly separating him from his daughter through time and space!

...

But generational contemporary or not, Bev's still a kid, so he's not going to dump that on her. Instead: ]

You meet enough people who've been here longer, and they'll tell you about their own experiences, or their friends', of going back home and coming back here. No time lost.

Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and trust others, especially when something is completely out of your hands.

[ Otherwise, you're just screaming at a void, making no difference anyway. ]