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At that moment, a little boy came barreling into the kitchen.
“Mama! Mama! Grandpa and I went fishing yesterday! I caught three!”
The boy, Henry, stopped next to Sam and I. He beamed up at his mother and held up three fingers for her to see.
“That’s great, sweetie!” Sam declared, putting her hand on his head and ruffling his hair. “Did you eat them?”
Henry scrunched up his nose in disgust. “No! Eww! That’s gross, Mom.”
I heard more people walk into the kitchen behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Sam’s parents. Mr. and Mrs. Berner appeared surprised to see me, but they smiled all the same.
“Ryan!” Mrs. Berner declared. “What a surprise!”
I turned to them, and Mrs. Berner came and gave me a big hug. Mr. Berner stepped forward to shake my hand.
“Jason told us you were coming in for the wedding,” the man said. “It’s good to see you, son.”
“It’s good to see you both as well,” I replied, forcing myself to keep my gaze on them and act as if everything were normal.
However, all I wanted to do was turn back to Henry. Seeing him had shocked me to my core.
Henry looked just like me.
He had the same dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He even had a cow lick on the top of his head that matched mine.
He was my spitting image, and once I was able to get past my initial shock, I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone had ever put two-and-two together. How could they not?
Could Mr. and Mrs. Berner see the resemblance as we all stood together in Sam’s kitchen? It seemed impossible to miss, and my stomach twisted nervously as I waited for one of them to make some sort of comment.
When neither of them said a word, I marginally relaxed. Maybe they really didn’t see it.
Or maybe they were going out of their way to protect Sam.
Either way, I was grateful that they didn’t do anything to make this situation any more awkward.
Suddenly, I felt a tug on the hem of my shirt. I glanced down to see Henry staring up at me.
“Who are you?” he asked bluntly.
“Henry, don’t be rude,” Sam gently scolded him.
“It’s okay,” I assured her, my voice cracking slightly under the weight of my nerves. I looked from her back to Henry. “My name’s Ryan. I’m your…”
“Mom’s friend,” Sam interrupted sharply. I looked up at her and watched her quickly shift her panicked expression to a bright and chipper smile. “This is Ryan. We grew up together. He’s one of Uncle Jason’s best friends.”
That seemed to impress Henry. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped slightly open.
“Did you know Uncle Jason when you were my age?” he asked.
I scratched at my chin, feeling awkward and uncertain, but I nodded. “We were younger than you, actually. Really, really little.”
“Cool,” he breathed. “My Uncle Jason comes over and plays with me all the time. He calls me his little buddy.”
“Is that so?” I grinned, charmed and amused despite my nervousness. When I glanced back up at Sam, she appeared to relax somewhat. Was she nervous I’d break my promise to her? I wanted to tell her that would never happen, but I swallowed the words. I decided I could tell her that later when we were alone again and away from prying little ears that might be confused by my words.
Henry nodded. “Yeah. He’s my best friend now, but you can still be his grown-up best friend.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, bud. That’s really nice of you.”
