I nearly declined.
Then Julian said, “I want to know him.”
“You don’t know anything about him.”
“He’s Dad’s brother.”
“That doesn’t mean he wants us appearing in his life.”
“Then we can ask.”
I heard Maya’s lesson inside his words.
Ask.
Don’t decide for somebody else.
So we asked.
Elena agreed.
We met at a public library halfway between our towns.
Lucas was thirteen now.
The same age as Julian.
That startled me more than I expected.
Thomas’s half brother and son had been born only months apart.
Lucas maneuvered a compact wheelchair into the reading room and looked directly at Julian.
“You look like Tom.”
Julian’s throat moved.
“You called him Tom?”
“Yeah.”
“What did he call you?”
Lucas shrugged.
“Usually menace.”
Julian laughed.
It sounded like relief breaking.
Elena sat across from me.
She had tired eyes and a composed manner.
