He was tall for twelve, all elbows and serious eyes.
“Did you like the boat?”
“I did.”
“The keel is crooked.”
“So is the floor in our sail loft.”
“I can make another.”
“You don’t need to.”
“I want to.”
I looked toward Elias.
His face had softened.
Theo set the tray down. It held glasses of lemonade and something dark red.
“Blackberry tea,” he said. “Grandma made it.”
I took lemonade.
Reid chose tea.
Theo looked at my cane.
“Did the accident make your leg shorter?”
“The injury made one side feel shorter. The bones are still the same length.”
“Does metal hurt when it’s cold?”
“Sometimes.”
“Can airport machines see it?”
“Probably.”
“Do you remember the crash?”
The table went quiet.
A woman across from us opened her mouth, likely to stop him.
I answered first.
“Yes.”
Theo’s serious expression did not change.
“Is that bad?”
“Yesterday it was.”
“And today?”
