“Nothing,” she said, booting up the ancient desktop computer in front of her. “Actually, something about my old job. What you said made me realize not a lot of grace was given when peoplemade mistakes… I’m having an epiphany that that was chaotic in its own way.”
Epiphany. Good thing we’d done her flash cards.
I recalled her saying that she’d recently left the company she’d helped found. Or maybe I’d heard that from Johnny. Either way, I didn’t know too much about Cori’s career, only that it was in tech, and she’d made a lot of money.
“A cutthroat corporate thing, huh?” I questioned.
“I guess.” She peered up, looking like she wanted to say more, but didn’t. After a moment, she switched topics. “Chuck mentioned that you have quite the honey-do list.”
A brief laugh escaped my throat. “Haven’t heard that phrase in a while. I forgot you can be such a grandma sometimes.”
She took no offense. “Well, since you are myhusband…the honey-do phrase fits.”
“It’s a long list, but I’ll manage. I might need to bring in an electrician at some point, but I’ll see what Juan says.”
“Juan. He’s your business partner?”
“Business partner, friend, life coach, mentor, occasional therapist, reliable ride to the airport. Dealer’s choice.” Cori smiled as I stepped away from the counter. “I’m going to wander around a bit. See if I can sus out anything else that needs doing.”
I watched a group of boys play pickup in the gym while Chuck did his best to keep them in line. One of the older teens dominated the game, running circles around everyone else. He kept a mean mug on his face, practically daring someone to mess with him.
Reminded me of Cruz.
Moving back into the atrium, I plopped down on one of the couches, putting my head in my hands. I didn’t want to think about Cruz right now, rotting away in prison.
I rubbed my eye sockets a few times before glancing up.
And seeing…Eliazar?
But of course, it couldn’t be him. He’d been gone for eight years. The kid standing in front of me looked a lot like Eliazar, though—short and slight, with clothes that didn’t fit quite right. Except this teen didn’t have my old friend’s shy smile. This face was a storm cloud.
“Hello?” I said to not-Eliazar.
“You’re on my cushion.”
I glanced down at the couch. “I’m sorry?”
“Can you get up,please?” The last word came through gritted teeth. “That’s my part of the couch. I always sit there. Every day.”
I stood. “Sorry. I’m, uh, new around here.”
Not-Eliazar sank down on the seat I’d vacated. Something compelled me to sit in a nearby chair.
“I’m Deck,” I offered.
Not-Eliazar stared at me, obviously wondering why I hadn’t left.
“I’m Marisol’s brother,” I tried again.
The kid let out a deep sigh, as though to emphasize the amount of suffering caused by my presence. “I’m Reign. R-E-I-G-N. I’m nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them, and if you have a problem with that, you can fuck right off.”
They crossed their arms.
I nodded, blowing out a long breath. “Alright, Reign. That was… very informative. And I’m cool with whatever gender you are. Makes no difference to me.”
The pronoun thing seemed to have happened while I was locked up. I’d gotten a thorough education on it when Juan and I did a major roof repair at a local college.
Reign hmphed, still eyeing me with suspicion. “I didn’t know Miss Mari had another brother. One came in here a while ago. A cop.”
