chapter5

My phone buzzed.

I glanced at the screen. A text from Kevin:

Baby, just wrapping up. I'm dead tired. Wish you were here. Too crazy to get to Houston right now — but I'm thinking of you.

I stared at the words.

Something almost like laughter welled up in me.

He called Brittney baby.

He called their daughter baby.

Now he was calling me baby.

I slid the phone back into my pocket without replying.

"I'll just use the bathroom," I said, standing.

Brittney pointed me in the right direction.

I went in and locked the door. I leaned against the sink and pulled a second phone from my pocket.

I typed a string of digits and sent an encrypted message:

Check my registered dependents and all associated assets. As fast as you can.

Three seconds later, the reply came: Received.

When I came back out, the dinner table was set.

Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, a plate of sliced fruit.

Mr. Miller sat at the head of the table. Brittney was fastening a bib around the little boy's neck. The girl was already banging her fork on the table.

"Sit," Mr. Miller said, nodding at an empty chair. "Don't be shy."

I sat down.

He carved the chicken without looking up.

"Kevin," he said, "is the backbone of this family. Handles everything. Last month my car broke down — he dropped everything, took half a day off, went with me to get it sorted. This house — he ran himself ragged getting it. Found it, inspected it, negotiated for it."

Brittney smiled. "Dad, if you keep praising him he'll get a big head."

"Nothing to be proud of," the old man said, glancing at me. "It's just the truth. We're getting old. We rely on the young ones. And Kevin — Kevin does the work of three men."

I nodded and drank some water.

My phone gave a faint buzz in my pocket. While Brittney was wiping the baby's mouth, I tilted my phone up and read:

Two minors have been registered under your name. Female, three years and six months. Male, one year and two months. Listed as your children.

I put the phone away and kept eating.

"That NASA project Kevin's sister got into," Mr. Miller said again, "turned out to be a real blessing. School subsidies for the kids, medical benefits, and the tax break on this house because of the designation. Kevin was right to push her into it."

Brittney smiled. "He always knows."

The front door lock clicked.

Everyone looked up.

Kevin pushed the door open. He was carrying several shopping bags, a smile already on his face, and called into the house before he'd even stepped all the way in:

"Baby, I'm home! Wait till you see what I got you — "

He crossed to Brittney, bent down and kissed her cheek, pushed the bags into her hands.

"That bag you mentioned — I had someone bring it back from New York. And I got stuff for the kids."

Brittney laughed and looped her arm around his neck. "You said you were working late. You still had time to go shopping?"

"We wrapped up early. Picked these up on the way." He kissed her forehead. "Missed you."

He turned around.

And saw who was sitting at his table.

The smile died on his face.