Page 63 of Reeves

So much for subtle introductions.

Reeves pauses at the bottom of the steps, hands in his pockets. The easy confidence from the beach has shifted into a more careful hesitation.

"You sure this is okay?"

"It's fine. They love unexpected guests."

Especially those who fathered their grandchild and disappeared for over half a decade.

Mom appears in the doorway, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her silver hair is pulled back in its usual bun, and she’s already smiling before she looks past Benjy.

Then she sees Reeves. Her smile freezes for half a second.

“Well,” she says slowly. “Look who it is. It's been too long, Reeves Stone.”

“Evening, Mrs. Parsons,” Reeves says.

He's polite, careful, just like he's always been. Even through all of our ups and downs, my parents always loved Reeves. And they would never be anything but polite to him. Especially with Benjy here.

Mom studies him for another moment, then steps back and pulls the screen door open.

“You might as well come in. The crawdads are ready.”

Dad emerges from the kitchen carrying a platter piled high with bright red crawdads. He sets it down on the long wooden table that dominates their dining room before looking up.

His eyes land on Reeves.

“Reeves,” he says.

“Sir.”

Dad gestures toward the table.

“Hope you’re hungry. I made enough for an army.”

Dad gestures toward the table covered with newspaper, bottles of hot sauce, and bowls of corn and potatoes. The smell makes my stomach growl despite my nerves.

"Oh, I'm not staying. I just wanted to come say hello since I was in the area. It smells delicious."

"Nonsense. You sit yourself down."

Before he can protest, Benjy breaks in. He's bursting at the seams to tell them what he and Reeves did at the beach.

"Reeves helped me build the best pirate trap ever." Benjy climbs into his usual chair, bouncing with excitement. "And tomorrow we're doing recon to see if pirates came during the night."

There it is again. We. Tomorrow.

"Pirates, huh?" Dad sits in his chair and starts crackingcrawdad shells with practiced efficiency. "What kind of bait did you use?"

"Shells and shiny things. But Reeves said we needed better fortification, so we made walls."

I watch Reeves take the chair across from Benjy, looking slightly overwhelmed by the spread of food and the casual energy filling the room.

"I've never actually eaten crawdads before."

Of course he hasn't. The Stone family probably serves lobster at their dinner parties.

"Well, you're in for a treat." Mom bends down beside Dad and immediately starts peeling crawdads for Benjy. "Ben's got the seasoning just right."