Page 103 of Reeves

She looks at me for a second, then turns to Benjy. "Wash your hands again before we eat."

"I already did."

"You've been touching the grill tools. Go."

He sighs but heads inside without arguing.

That leaves Charli and me alone on the patio. The silence stretches, but it's not uncomfortable. Just loaded.

I should comment on her table-setting abilities, or the weather. Thank her for letting me stay. Apologize for disrupting her routine. Ask what happens next.

Instead, I pull out a chair and sit down.

Benjy returns from washing his hands just as Charli takes a seat in the chair across from me. The evening light casts everything in warm gold.

"Can I have two burgers?" Benjy climbs onto his chair, eyeing the platter.

"One first. See if you're still hungry after that."

He nods and reaches for the biggest patty. I watch him stackit with cheese, pickles, and way too much ketchup.

"So, let's talk about tomorrow." He bounces in his seat. "What should we fix tomorrow?"

Tomorrow.

The word hangs in the air between us. I keep my expression neutral, but something shifts.

Charli laughs, but I can tell she’s holding back, protecting him from the inevitable. "Benjy, Reeves won't be here forever. Remember, he has to go back to work soon."

The reminder hits harder than it should. I take another bite of my burger and focus on chewing, but the lump in my throat makes the burger hard to swallow. I take a big swig of sweet tea.

"How many more days do you have?" Benjy asks.

"Not many, unfortunately."

He frowns, processing this. "But you'll come back after work, right?"

The question lands like a punch. I glance at Charli, but she's focused on cutting her burger into smaller pieces.

"I'd like that, but we'll have to see. I don't come back here very often."

It's the safest answer I can give. The most honest one, too.

After dinner, Benjy slides off his chair and tugs on my sleeve. He barely ate two-thirds of his burger. The idea of two is even more hilarious now, seeing how much food he can put down.

"Can I show you something?"

I glance at the sky. We have maybe twenty minutes of dusk light left before it goes black. I look to Charli before I answer. She nods.

"Sure."

Charli starts stacking plates. "I'll clean up. You two go ahead."

We walk back out to the treehouse. He climbs up and I follow, stopping at the top of the ladder looking in. He shows me all ofthe coloring sheets he has taped up on his walls, describing each one.

I take out my phone and use the flashlight to look at each one as he goes through them. I love getting to see some of the things he's created before I even knew he existed.

After we go through each of the ninety-nine coloring sheets he has, I tell him we better head back to the house. By now it's completely dark.