Page 177 of Shadowing You

He grinned at her. “Yes, ma’am.”

She pressed a hand to her chest. “Such good manners.”

“He’s a grown man.” Tom…Papa rolled his eyes, then looked beyond Ethan. “You’re Mei Lin?”

“Yes. Hello.”

They gushed over Mei Lin just like they’d gushed over Ethan. Sam excused himself and went upstairs, and Eliza stayed in the kitchen.

“Let’s get you into a chair,” Papa said.

The four of them went into the living room. Ethan and Mei Lin settled on the sofa where they’d sat the day before.

Nana perched on an armchair, wiping her eyes every few seconds with a cloth handkerchief.

Papa pulled a matching armchair close and started peppering Ethan with questions about everything from what sports he’d played in high school to how old he was when he stopped growing.

“The Washington Commanders are your favorite football team? And you admit to that?” Papa shook his head, clearly disappointed. “We’ll fix you up with some Patriots gear so you can root for a good team.”

To root for a good team would be a nice change, actually.

“Gavin tells us you’re a physician,” Papa said. “What’s your specialty?”

“Emergency medicine. I’m a third-year resident.”

Papa whistled. “That’s not for the faint of heart, son. You’ve got to be a quick thinker, prepared for anything. Tells me you’re smart, very smart.”

Mei Lin said, “He is very smart and a very quick thinker.”

“He gets that from me.” Papa puffed up.

“And maybe his father.” Nana reached over and gripped Ethan’s hand. “Or your mother. Tell us about her.”

So he did. He told them what it had been like growing up in Virginia, about his mother and how hard she worked, and about how well his father had provided for them.

His grandparents listened as if every word he said mattered.

It was…surreal.

A couple of hours later, more people were filling Sam and Eliza’s living room. A couple of kids whose names Ethan didn’t know ran across the floor.

At the edge of the room, Grant stood like a refrigerator with folded arms, but when a toddler wrapped her arms around his legs, he picked her up, and the refrigerator transformed into a giant teddy bear.

Not that Ethan was going to tell him that.

Somebody’s child was seated near the hearth, lecturing a stuffed rabbit with words only the girl—and maybe the rabbit—could understand.

Conversations were going on all around, rising in volume, ending in laughter, and then starting right up again.

Underneath all of it was the smell of Eliza’s apparently famous carrot cake, which Mei Lin had told him he wouldn’t taste until he ate something with protein in it first.

His wife had a vindictive streak he hadn’t expected. He would eat the pot roast he’d been promised, but he wasn’t eating any more of those terrible protein bars.

Mei Lin moved among the people as though she’d known them all her life. She already seemed to fit right in.

“This is Brooklynn.” Mei Lin steered a woman with dark hair toward the couch, a man following. “Brooklynn’s the one who got the clothes, and insisted on the haircut.” Mei Lin looked at her. “Thank you again for that.”

“Anytime. I mean, I know it was prison, but talk about cruel and unusual punishment.” Brooklynn was grinning when she turned her focus to him. “How you feeling?”