“Both, if that’s not too indulgent.” I glance up at Ben to check his expression, but he clearly isn’t surprised or disapproving of my request.
“Of course you can have both! I know you don’t get enough vitamins and calcium.” Layne starts pouring juice into two glasses. It’s either apple or white grape juice. “Ben, you’re getting both too.”
“All right then.” There’s a smile in his voice and on his face. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.” She hands us the juice before she pours out the milk. “We didn’t have cows in this region until a couple of years after Ben was born, so I feel like I’ve been pushing milk on him ever since.”
“She has,” Ben says. “You should sit down, Mom. You don’t have to serve us.”
“I like to fix food for you. All my babies have long deserted me, so it’s a treat to have someone here to spoil.”
“Your babies haven’t deserted you. You have a million grandbabies and even a great-grandbaby. You’re not lackin’ for babies.”
Layne laughs, a rippling, genuine sound that’s impossible not to appreciate. “I know.” She pulls the muffins out of the oven with a hot pad and sets them down before she turns back toward us. “Isn’t it kind of crazy that I’m a great-grandmother at sixty-three?”
“No, it’s not crazy.” Ben frowns at her. “Why would it be crazy?”
“I don’t know. But when I was sixteen, before Impact, I never would have dreamed my life would look like this. Life is always surprising.”
“It better be surprisin’ in a good way.” The new voice comes from the doorway of the kitchen, with a deep drawl that’s even stronger than Ben’s. “Unless you’re usin’ my absence to complain about your life with a grumpy, smelly man.”
Ben’s father, Travis, steps into the kitchen, dressed in faded jeans and a plaid, untucked shirt. His gray hair is chin-length, his face shows his age, and his eyes are the same blue gray as Ben’s.
“You’re not nearly as grumpy or smelly as you used to be. And my only complaint will be if you try to kiss me before you wash your hands and face.” Layne is beaming at her husband but holding up a hand to stop his motion toward her. “I don’t want grease all over me.”
Travis makes a show of grumbling, but I’ve never seen a man more satisfied with his life and woman and family as that man is.
Maybe Ben will get the chance to be that age too. Maybe he’ll be as pleased with his life as his father is.
I really hope so.
By the time Travis washes up at the sink, the muffins are cool enough to plate, so he has to wait while Layne serves us muffins, fruit, and bacon before he gets to kiss her.
“So what’s the plan for today?” Travis asks after his kiss, sitting in the chair across the table from Ben and me and accepting a glass of juice from Layne. When she goes to get her own muffin and milk, he pulls her into the chair beside him. “You got anythin’ goin’ on?”
“Zed asked if I’d help do some repairs in the school, but I don’t think they’ll take too long.”
“And don’t forget we’re having dinner with Jess and Gabriel,” I say.
Gabriel stole the Arsenal plans for us last year when he escaped from his administrative job in the Capitol. I didn’t know it at the time, but he’s from the wilderness too, his hometown not far from Ben’s. He’s several years older than Ben, so they weren’t friends growing up. But their acquaintance is how Gabriel knew how to contact us for help when he was trying to get across the border last year.
All this he only told me recently since he wanted me to make up my own mind about whether to trust him.
Gabriel and his partner, Jess, now live in a neighboring town, so I’ve been able to get to know them.
“Yeah, I got that in my head. Don’t think the repairs will take too long.”
Ben has been asked to help out with jobs a lot since we arrived, but I suspect it’s mostly because people want to spend time with him while he’s here. He’s much beloved in this area.
He deserves it.
“If y’all have time, you can stop by Cal’s birthday party Friday evening,” Travis says. “Rachel wanted to make sure you know you’re both invited.”
“Oh sure, I wouldn’t miss it.” Ben glances down at me. “Do you mind? You remember Cal from before, don’t you?”
“Of course I remember Cal.” Even Ben at his grumpiest and gruffest can’t begin to rival Cal. “I’d love to go tohis party. Although he doesn’t strike me as someone who will appreciate a big party in his honor.”
“Oh, he’ll act like he hates it, but he’s turning eighty-five. He’s getting a party whether he wants one or not.” Layne is laughing, and so am I.
