Ryan
I heard the sound of little feet and a child’s voice rushing toward the kitchen.
Sam shoved me away with wide eyes.
Henry was home, and I was still there. It was not what I’d planned, and it was definitely not what Sam wanted. I watched as her shock quickly turned to panic. She grabbed the front of my shirt and shook me.
“You can’t say anything,” she insisted in a hiss, her gaze a little crazy. “You can’t say anything to Henry about who you are, okay? Please, Ryan. Promise me!”
I was stunned by how anxious she was. It was almost fearful.
Not wanting her to lose her shit completely, I nodded.
“Okay, I promise,” I assured her. “I won’t say anything.”
She closed her eyes and released a breath of relief. Opening her eyes again, she pushed away from me and slapped a big smile on her face.
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.”
Henry seemed completely unaware of the tension around me and his mom.
Really, he seemed like a pretty happy-go-lucky kid who had no trouble chatting up new people, just like me.
I couldn’t help but feel a sense of delight knowing it wasn’t just my physical features he’d had inherited.
I could see bits of his mom in him, too, however. He had her little, rounded nose and rounded eyes. Her same puffy mouth, and even the way his ears stuck out was the same as hers.
He really was a perfect blend of the two of us, and it was so weird to gaze down at this whole person who was a little bit of me and a little bit of Sam.
It was kind of surreal.
“So, what brings you here, Ryan?” Mr. Berner asked, momentarily snagging my attention from Henry.
“Here?” I cleared my throat, realizing what my presence must look like. I was standing in his daughter’s kitchen, fairly early in the morning before anyone else had arrived. It definitely looked like I’d spent the night, though that was so far from the truth, it was almost funny. “Just, uh, wedding stuff. Just needed some help with my…my best man’s speech.”
“Oh, so early in the morning?” Mrs. Berner questioned.
“I’m an early riser.” I shrugged, looking toward Sam for any kind of help to get me out of this situation. She seemed torn between concern and amusement. It almost looked like she was fighting back laughter. When it was clear that she wasn’t going to help me out of this conversation in any way, I said, “All right, well, I should probably get going. I don’t want to interrupt your morning, by any means.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Mrs. Berner declared. “We’re just so happy to see you again. It’s been too long. You really should’ve come home sooner. I know you were so busy working, but we’ve missed you.”
They had? I gazed into Mrs. Berner’s eyes and saw only sincerity and honesty. They really had missed me.
There was only a single, small detail to the scene that kept me from believing her entirely: the fact that no one had bothered to call me in seven years in order to convince me to come home. No one had tried to tell me I had a family waiting for me to come back.
Henry tugged on my shirt again, and that was when I realized I’d spaced out for a bit.
“Yeah, bud?” I asked, looking down at him.
“Do you want to go upstairs and see my room?”
I stared down at him, a little bit stunned. I stole a peak toward Sam, who gave me a small nod of approval.
“I’d love to see your room, buddy,” I declared once Sam gave me the okay.
Henry seemed thrilled. His smile widened, and he took hold of my hand to lead me out of the room. When he slipped his hand into mine, it seemed as though everything else melted away—all my fears, insecurities, concerns..
With a wide smile, Henry turned and made his way out of the kitchen, and I had no choice but to follow him. Truth be told, there was nothing in that moment that I wanted more.